Lesson 4: Analysis of Data
The general things are easy and obvious. But, believe it or it, so are the more specific things.
When I need to analyze the books of a line or publisher, I read several and write the answers to all the question on my index card.
Once I have a few completed cards, I set up a file in my computer called “types of beginnings” and pull from my index cards all the types of beginnings I’ve found. I set up another file for black moments and pull all the information about the black moments for that file. I do one for endings. One for character types. One for hooks.
One for every answer on the index card. Because having similar things in the same file is a quick way to see what’s repeating.
But finding the recurrences like “all the stories were marriages of convenience” (which I doubt would happen, but could) is only the beginning. In the same way that we found the critical success factors by reducing everything to its lowest common denominator, the trick to analyzing the recurrences of specifics is also to reduce everything to its lowest common denominator.
I first heard Tony Robbins give the definition of genius as someone who can recognize hundreds of patterns in something. Or hundreds of different ways to do the same thing. I later heard Brian Tracy give that same definition. If you stop to think about it, it’s true. Einstein saw more “patterns” or ways to look at things than his peers. Madona sees more ways to sing and dance, mutating only slightly each time so that she doesn’t lose her old audience as she acquires a new one. Nora Roberts sees more “romance plot” patterns than the rest of us.
So the definition of genius hinges on being able to see what’s in front of you – and you don’t really see what’s in front of you until you learn to reduce everything to the lowest common denominator.
In other words, if you see a repeat of the marriage of convenience hook you need to figure out the lowest common denominator of a marriage of convenience. And I’m going to give you a clue… It isn’t the marriage. A marriage is a very specific thing. It isn’t generic enough. You must ask…What does it mean to be married?
The answer is that the hero and heroine are “together.” Together is a very generic word that opens lots of doors because there are lots of ways heroes and heroines can be “together.”
Now, usually in a marriage of convenience, the next “generic” thing you will find is that they are not happy to be together. Don’t think about why. That’s too specific. Just go for the generic and write “the hero and heroine are unhappy about being together.”
The next thing you notice in a marriage of convenience is that there is always a reason they are together.
So, the lowest common denominator of a marriage of convenience is that the hero and heroine are unhappily stuck together for a reason. That means that any story containing a hero and heroine stuck together in a mutual problem would probably work for that publisher, line or editor.
You can do the same thing with hero types. If all the books for the month just happen to have heroes who are CEO’s you could think the line only wanted CEO’s. But…analyze a little further. Take it down to the lowest common denominator. What’s a CEO…He’s somebody who is in charge. Typcially he has money. He has power. He’s not a wimp. He’s a strong, decisive, powerful man.
So that line or publisher isn’t necessarily looking for CEO’s. It’s probably looking for strong, decisive, powerful men.
When editors say they want books that fall within the confines of their lines, yet are fresh, this is what they mean. They want you to look for the lowest common denominator of the stories they have out, and use that lowest common denominator as a base to make a new story or to put a fresh spin on the story.
They want you to look for the lowest common denominator of characters, hooks, beginnings, endings, conflicts, sexual tension…etc, etc. and put a fresh spin on that.
For your homework, if you have a few books you read recently enough to remember them, answer each of the index card questions for these books and see if you can come up with some lowest common denominators.
Tomorrow, we’ll take a closer look at fresh spin!
susan meier
THE BABY PROJECT, 4/11
SECOND CHANCE BABY, 5/11
A BABY ON THE RANCH, 6/11
All part of the BABY IN THE BOARDROOM series for Harlequin Romance!
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