Writing Undeniable Fiction, By Josh Stallings

 

Undeniable, is that even possible? 

Today is the fifth week in the month so we decided it would be blogger’s choice. I’ve decided to muse or mumble on what’s rattling around in my brain. 

As a reader I’m always looking for a book that surprises me both in content and form. It has been said there are only a certain number of stories, and Shakespeare already told them all. In a reductive sense that’s true. But here’s another truth, every human is distinctly different if you are willing to look closely at them. How would you have written Romeo and Juliet? Maybe she was raised in the 1960’s by feminist parents. Same elevator pitch but a very different play.  

No two writers have lived the exact same lives. When we write honestly from our heart and soul no two writers have the same voices. How we lived our lives effects the lens we see a story through. I was raised poor, by well educated politically aware activists. I can’t help seeing the humanity in all characters, the good, the bad, and the ugly.

How do we get to authentic writing? My experience has been that we all have wonderfully unique voices, AND we all have a very similar committee of critics in our heads. So if we want to write unique stories we need to kill the internal critics. You know, the ones that say, “That idea will never sell.” Or, “Great idea, but are you really the one to write it?” Or, a personal greatest hit from my early days, “You can’t even spell, why do you think you could write a book?”

Some of this is imposter syndrome. Ask most writers and you’ll find out they suffer or suffered from this in one form or another. For me I discovered that none of this rears its ugly head when I’m actually typing. I am filled with self doubt when thinking about a new book, not when writing it. I pay those intellectual bullies in my head little to no attention. It seems to help quiet them.

How do I find books that surprise me? 

I don’t limit the kinds of books I read. I follow my intuition from book to book. My siblings or other readers suggest books. What I’m working on effects what I read. The last MS I wrote was about LA, in it is a gang leader, part of writing him was discovering what books he would read. Through this I discovered Paco Ignacio Taibo II and his brilliant fresh take on the detective novel. I’ve now read every book of his that has been translated into english.

Part of my newest work in progress takes place in Ecuador and that introduced me to Poso Wells by Gabriela Alemán. An absolutely original voice, and must read for fans of weird crime fiction. I also discovered City of the Beasts by Isabel Allende, a fantastic Amazonian adventure tale where the old religions are real.  

How do I apply this desire to surprise myself to my writing?

By any means necessary.

How does any means necessary look? 

I was 10,000 words into my current work in progress, had it mapped out. Knew where it was headed, and then… I had a fresh idea. An idea that scared me and would take the novel into an uncharted direction. So I started reimagining, restructuring, and rewriting. Now at 19,000 words I’m excited to keep going. It is my voice, my kinda writing but not like anything I’ve written before. There are one million reasons to not write this book. I don’t care. I am willing to keep going purely on faith. I have a fragile belief that this is the book I should be writing. Fragile, i.e., it can be broken easily, must be handled with care.

Books all start with me in a place of fear. And I must keep slogging through — paying the fear no attention — until at some point the book takes on a life of its own. That is when it becomes undeniable. When it becomes a fully formed world, then it is up to me to shepherd it home.  

How do you write a book that sells? 

That's what we all wanna know. What’s the trick, where’s the secret? Wendy, a friend I walk dogs with reminded me, “Write the book you want to read and you at least know one person will like it.” That’s the truth. 

There are no sure paths to writing a NY Times best seller. You can write a book that's good, and maybe with editing and help you can make it damn good, but will it sell? That my friends is a roll of the dice.

I believe in the two universal forces, chaos and serendipity. Hard work and talent ups your odds of serendipity striking your book. But there are no guarantees. I also believe writing a good book needs to be its own reward. What denotes a good book is absolutely personal. 

My goals have become disconnected from sales. That’s not to say I wouldn’t love big sales numbers, it’s just not my goal. I want to write a book that thrills me to think about. Build a world that is fresh and doesn’t feel like drudgery to play in. And to believe that I have something to say worth saying. As do all of you reading this.

If there is a trick, this might be it:

Have the courage to speak your truth. Speak it well. Surprise yourself.