Identifying what a good book or story is, and reverse engineering it.

 So I've been thinking about what it means to be a writer, and what I'll write, and what I'll most likely be any good at, assuming I get on with this thing.

"Write about what you know" is, as they say, what it's all about. So what do I know? Well, I know about rage, and rape, and aspects of psychology that lots of people don't look at. I know about fear, and terror, and sex, and love, and travel, and desperation, and daring. I know about courage, and hurt, and loss, and then there are my thoughts about free will, etc. I have opinions about crime and punishment, which are in conflict with each other. Understand about internal conflict, about betrayal, and about self deception and passion. I have thoughts about magic, about the occult, about science, about time, about paradox, etc.

I was thinking today about what makes a good story. What, for example, do I like about the story of Beth Harmon in "The Queen's Gambit"? Well, I like that she's an underdog. She's a woman, and she's an orphan, and she's had a difficult life. And she's odd, and she's kinda ugly. But she wins in the end. And you're never sure if she's going to, but she does. And she's human. And there are setbacks. And there are nerds and geeks, and people who eventually make it through with her. She is David against Goliath, which I suppose is one of the 7 stories, or Seven Basic Plots

So, to take my understanding that everything can be broken up into its component parts and anything can be built once you have an understanding of the elements of a thing, then I'm thinking I can analyze a story before its been created, and then, as it were, reverse engineer it from scratch. I start with what my book is, which can be a genre at random, and then give it the elements that will build it.

And, of course, if I'm to understand that the story is already written, but merely in the future, then I won't as much be creating it as discovering it. Which is a heck of a lot easier than sitting in front of a keyboard and forcing my mind to come up with it.

 So I have my strategy, and it's hilarious and amazing.

 And what I'm thinking is, perhaps I should make it all about that. The book could be about someone who's come to realize that the future is already set, and he's just finding out what it is.

 

WOW!

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