My Novel Is The Next Big Thing!

Well, okay, maybe not. But Chris Kelworth (of The Kelworth Files) and David Powers King (of The Cosmic Laire) both tagged me in the Next Big Thing, or Be Inspired, meme-whatsit that's been circulating in the blogosphere and asks people about their current works-in-progress. Thanks for tagging me, guys!

The questions are a little different for each tag but basically ask the same things, so I'm going to mix and match from both. The WIP in question is my upcoming NaNoWriMo novel since I've pretty much decided what I'm going to write about. This will help me flesh out my ideas, at any rate.

On to the tag!

1. What is the title of your book?
I don't know, actually. It's just half an outline and an underlying concept at the moment.

2. Where did the idea for your book come from?
A bit of a long story. You see, I was feeling destitute of good ideas, and in hopes of jogging my creative side I decided to write down ALL of the things I liked in fiction onto slips of paper (separated by category, such as Writing Style, Plot Element, Point of View, etc.) and then randomly combine a few from each. One of those combinations inspired the idea of a ship traveling to a new planet. Then, editing the idea, I thought:

"What if colonists decided to land on a known and as-yet-unexplored continent, but while journeying to their destination were plagued by mysterious disappearances and tragedies onboard an airship? And what if the main character befriended the saboteur behind their problems?"

Yup. That's the stuff that comes out of my brain.

3. In what genre would you classify your book?
Science Fiction/Steampunk. I love reading Steampunk but I've never actually tried writing it myself. I'm not positive about the age group, though I think the protagonist will be from 15-20 years old.

4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie?
Other than the obligatory Alan Rickman somewhere, no clue. I'll probably have more of an answer after the book's been written.

5. Give us a one-sentence synopsis of your book.
On the way to a new world, the son of a prominent airship captain becomes tangled in the beginning of war that could lead to the destruction of his family and his career.

6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
My dream, at the moment, is to have my work represented and traditionally published. I think self-publishing is a great and highly viable alternative, but I think I'd try submitting to agents first. Just to see if anyone liked what I had to offer.

7. How long did it take you to write your book?
Seeing as I haven't written anything yet, I'd estimate this novel to take around two months. I finished last year's NaNoWriMo novel during December.

8. What other books within your genre would you compare it to?
I am hoping for a Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld/Airborn by Kenneth Oppel/Jules Verne-ish feel. I'm sure it will fall far short of such works of fiction, but those are the novels with a Victorian Era setting that come to mind. Though it's not exactly Victorian Era; the world isn't Earth and the society has key differences.

9. Which authors inspired you to write this book?
All Steampunk authors influence me, but other than that, there aren't any specific people.

10. What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?
I'm contemplating adding a few steampunk dragons--and other animals. Hovercraft, cyborgs, and sentient trees are already in there.

11. Tag five people!
I'm going to do the same thing David did here and tag the last five people who commented on my blog (though if anyone I list would rather not do the tag, that's fine with me):

Ellie Garratt
Nutschell
Patricia Stoltey
Rachna Chhabria
Anthony Stemke

**********

What are you working on right now? Are you gearing up for NaNoWriMo or brainstorming for some other project?


-----The Golden Eagle

Insecure Writer's Support Group

Sorry this post is so late in the day, everyone. I didn't have time to write it this morning, and had stuff going on for the rest of the afternoon.

But to the post topic, which is on being entirely unoriginal.

There have been times when I've thought of something, then realized that it sounded very similar (or at least on the same plane) to a blurb or book I'd read but forgot about temporarily. Sometimes I even forget which story I've taken it from, but I'll remember later it's not new.

This bothers me for several reasons. One, I don't like that sense I'm using someone else's idea. I enjoy coming up with my own stuff, ridiculous as it may be. Two, IF I was ever to be published, then I don't want the author thinking I used their idea. Even similarities I don't see, someone else might find. Three, I also think it might just be a lack of effort. There are so many possibilities when it comes to all ideas, so there's really no excuse for copying another one.

Every once in a while, though, I feel like I've come up with a good idea. An example: for the setting of my current project, it's influenced by other things, and it might be entirely in the realm of Science Fiction, but I can't think of anything that's really close to it.

Of course, some famous author will probably publish a book with a similar idea a week after I publish this post. :P

Do you worry about originality?

**********

***I'm also guest posting HERE at Orchid's blog The Haunting of Orchid Forsythia, about The Inheritance Cycle (don't forget the last book comes out on November 8th!).***


And speaking of that current project, I'm off to write some more in my NaNoWriMo novel . . . though I will be replying to comments and visiting as many blogs as I can.


-----The Golden Eagle

You Pick Up A Book. You Read. You Come Across Something That's Very Similar To A Bit Of Your WIP

Only one conclusion can be made.

The author stole your idea.

Disregard the fact there's a chance you picked the word up and don't remember where.

Never mind the author died 8 years before you were born.

Surely the fact their book was published 24 years before you even thought of yours doesn't matter.

They must have future-reaching, idea-stealing machines that rip the only brilliant pieces of insight away from innocent writers.

And, obviously, the only thing left to do about this travesty is . . .

Sue their estate
Sigh and do something else, and/or hope your readers haven't come across the book you're reading.

**********

Have you ever found a device/phrase/term/etc. in a book that's like something in your own novel? If so, how did you react?


-----The Golden Eagle