The Ungettable Get

"Remember it is all about the get. We cannot make a splash if we only get the gets that everybody has already got. I need the ungettable. Got it?" - Diane Roberts in Someone Like You

I watch quite a few agents on Twitter, and I devour any post or comment on their query statistics. I find them enlightening and a bit depressing. One thing that I see commented on is related to originality (or lack thereof). That's what agents are looking for; the original idea that can spark the imagination of millions of readers. They are looking for the ungettable get.

I take this concept to heart. I want to be fresh and original. Often I think I'm original, and I realize that I'm not the only writer out there that thinks that (based on the query critiques that I see posted).

Here's a true story from my own experience. I signed up for Writer's Digest Online course a couple of years ago. (The Fundamentals of Fiction Writing in case you are curious, and I know you are...) There were perhaps ten of us in the class, all at varying stages of wanting to write, polish, or perfect our fiction technique. I had decided that I wanted to write some kind of historical fiction thriller with a dash of romance. I researched historical anomalies and after careful consideration, I decided to focus one of the main character's life long quest on the Voynich manuscript. I had never heard of the Voynich manuscript prior to researching it, and it was well down the list of "ancient mysteries" that I uncovered. I was sure I had found something fresh and original. Imagine my surprise and chagrin when another student in my class posted a response to my story telling me that HIS story was focused on the Voynich manuscript as well!

That was the first blow to my writer's ego, but it taught me a valuable lesson. I am forced to constantly ask myself the question am I truly writing that "ungettable get", or am I just tweaking a well-trodden story?

What do you think? Do you think there is such a think as an original idea in fiction anymore?

I Lost Myself in the Retweet

"I don't have anything interesting to say."
"The things I do in my life aren't that interesting."
"Nobody cares what I have to say."

If you ever happen to review my tweets on Twitter (prior to this post), you will see that I am a serial retweeter. I spread good information out to my tweeps from the many wonderful folks that I follow, and I've learned a lot. But scrolling down the page and seeing each post start with "RT @" gives me a few moments pause. Where am I in all this? Where are the things that I want to say to engage with the people who follow me? It's missing.

Almost immediately when I think about changing this, my head is filled with nonsense like the phrases at the start of this post. I hide behind those excuses. It is time for a swift kick in the arse.

If I am a writer (and in 2009 I laid claim to this status) than I should, in theory, have A LOT to say. So what's holding me back; why all the excuses? I could only draw one conclusion: I'm afraid. I'm afraid that people won't like me or what I have to say. Even worse, I am afraid that people may ignore me altogether.

But one of my writing goals (as it is for every writer) is to "Engage". This fear is doing nothing for me other than holding me back from my potential and forever keeping me in the boring status quo rut. My 2010 self has decided that it's time to put my big girl panties on. I will post more than just a RT on Twitter on a daily basis. I will find more engaging ways to use Facebook (without turning into the person who overshares- you know the one.) If I'm posting about things that are interesting and exciting to me, then at some point it will interest and excite others.

I'm going to go tweet something now.