April Fool’s Day! Have you been pranked today?
The best April Fool I remember from childhood was running to the barn, at my mother’s behest, and saying “Daddy, where are the pigs?” My dad did not like pigs and they were always breaking out of their pen. He muttered something blue — little pitchers were not supposed to hear that language — and took off running toward the pig sty, where he found all the pigs happily rooting about, just as they were supposed to be. Mom giggled all day. It wasn’t often she got one over on him.
On a less fun note, I feel as though all last week was a bad joke. I began three different novels, and gave up on all of them. One was two boring, one was too smutty, and one was so predictable I didn’t even need to skim the last page to figure it out.
Although last week’s experience was particularly irritating, I’ve noticed a trend over the past several months (years?) The books I most enjoy are by debut authors. When I pick up a second or third book, I find it just a retelling of the first one. They also seem “dumbed down.” What is going on? I have my own theories.
- Publishing Houses are running scared. I’ve been reading Margaret Atwood’s memoir and been amazed at the number of choices she had when it came to publishing. Small presses abounded and many medium sized ones challenged the big ones for new authors. They also helped authors build careers beyond the first sale. Now we have “the big five” and self-publishing. Small and medium presses have nearly disappeared. The big five are the most significant players in the game. They still pay substantial advances, put some effort into publicity, and, most importantly, place their offerings in bookstores and libraries. But they are constantly looking over their shoulders fearing another merger, or worse.
- Because the big guys are worrying about the bottom line, they are afraid to take risks on authors who may be “original.” For many years now, the marketing department has had more say than the editorial department in acquiring books. These sales people are more invested in the “how” of the sale than in the “what” of the sale. They want books that will fit neatly into a category. They want books that will mimic other profitable works. Why bet on a “new” idea when the old ones are a sure thing?
- Amazon is the most important platform for self-publishing. Amazon asks authors to select three categories and seven key words when uploading their book for sale. If your story doesn’t fit within those parameters, you are pretty well sunk. It seems readers of e-books like to search for very specific tales. A quick glance at the romance genre shows searches for “friends to lovers,” “enemies to lovers” “firefighters” and “fake dating.” There are ways to discover which of those many tropes sells the most books. So, authors are tempted to set aside their imagination in order to produce, or reproduce, a popular narrative, over and over again. No wonder I experienced such ennui with the books I picked up last week.
From ancient times, story-telling has been an essential part of the human experience. It is how we discover ourselves. The purpose of fiction is to: entertain, –-tired plot lines lose the ability to entertain unless given new vision.
inform, — matters of fact in history, science, philosophy, religion, any topic really, can be made meaningful in the context of a good story. Readers who would never crack open a geography book, may be enthralled with the tale of a perilous hike, and learn about the mountains or the desert or the coast through fiction.
reflect — the world we live in. Not many of us care about the slums of Victorian London, at this date, but in Dickens’ time they were a blight on the nation. Through fiction, his stories illuminated the reality of life for thousands of children.
challenge– Just as Dickens’ challenged the society of his time to take action, so too did Sinclair Lewis, Tony Morrison, Margaret Atwood and many, many others. By holding up a mirror to our times, authors can provoke, challenge and illuminate the society of the day.
Stories are immensely powerful. Religious writings are filled with stories to teach the faithful how to live. Humourists like Stuart McLean use story to evoke laughter and compassion. Propogandists use story to instill fear of “the other.” In South Pacific, the lyricist explains how bigotry is “carefully taught.” Even a tale as old and as simple as Cinderella carries a powerful message of empathy– Especially important when the audience is a child.
Let us embrace stories that carefully teach empathy.
But please, can we have stories that are fresh, well-written and original.
In my last post I talked about re-reading. That is one antidote to worn out tropes, but not a complete answer. If you, dear reader, can recommend a tale that will entertain, inform, reflect or challenge (doesn’t have to do everything) please drop the title into the comments box. (top of page)
One of the fundamental aspects of writing a novel is developing a cast of characters to act out the story you want to tell. These characters will come from work/play relationships, hobby groups, proximity . . . and family. 
Ironically, as we come out of lockdown and into a semblance of normal life, people seem to be experiencing more stress than ever. The formerly cheerful checker at the grocery store scowls and tells you to wait while she santitizes her station. The server who was glad to get his job back, is grumpy about wearing a mask. And all those self-appointed behaviour police who rant and rail and ramp up the fear quotient about perceived health code violations don’t help. The attitude of “we’re all in this together” seems to be crumbling at the edges. 
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