Indie Book Club discussion

Good morning group :)

I tend to be a formula writer, as in I have a pattern to my stories that has been described as a 3 act play. For my second set of books (new characters and locations, but still within the same fantasy realm as my first set) I keep wanting to break the pattern, or at least change it up a bit, but then I worry if I change style too much that it won't "feel" right.

Has anyone else found themselves changing writing style over the course of several books? If so, has it worked out well for you?

Thanks!

I change my chapter style to suit the POV of the main character in that chapter. I try to limit this to the main characters. Usually one good, two bad and a few victims. Toward the end it's all good because the bad folks are made to shut-up.

I might say it's useful to learn all the rules, structures and conveyances. Three acts has worked well since Euripides (480bc). For example: Get your hero up a tree; throw rocks; get her down from the tree. Once you do that, then it's fun to take a box cutter to rules and write what screams from your spirit.

Thus I write in three genres: crime thriller (Goat-Ripper), pre-history fiction (The Journey, unpubished) & political spoken-word doggerel (Campaign Zen, 2012).

If you're growing as a writer, I suspect you'll see many style changes over several books. Ever the books of the Bible evolved from begats to revelation. Thanks!

Thanks Peter!

Maybe I should stop arguing with the Storyteller and just let her tell the tale. :)

Yep, my fav way to write dialog is to wind up my characters and listen. ;-]

I'm also a 'formula' writer. I found The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories invaluable. It's a hefty read that analyses hundreds of works of fiction to demonstrate that you can see distinct patterns in different types of books. Using this I saw my novel Hollow Moon had a 'voyage and return' plot (similar to the 'personal growth' storyline common in YA fiction), so when it came to write the sequel (as yet unpublished), I deliberately fitted the story around a different basic plot (the 'quest') to make the sequel quite different to the original.

Thanks Steph! I think I'm just going to let the storyteller do what she does, and stop worrying over "the formula".

Adhere to the formula until you can break its back. Steven King says just tell a good story. E. Hemmingway says write one decent sentence. B Simpson says "What?"

hehe, "what?" I like that.

I'm getting the urge to go back and watch the old Joseph Campbell "The Power of Myth" series. If nothing else, my goal is to tell a good story that makes my chosen audience happy. :)

Happy? That's asking alot, but it's in our Constitution. Haw! Here's a story arc for you. Every story is about a hero stepping up to the plate, whiffing two strikes, and then changing thr nature of the game.

hehe, well, how about...if it makes my kids happy, then I've done well. If I'm lucky, other people will want it and a few of them might actually pay for copies. ;)

Ok I'll raise my kids allowance to 99-cents a day and $2.99 on weekends. IF they'll make their beds or sleep on the floor.