I admit a dirty little secret. I spend as much time following the news, buys, acquisitions, production company buzz in Hollywood as I do the publishing biz in New York (and Toronto, Vancouver, Chicago — New York’s just metaphorical.)
No, this is not another post about why Hollywood needs New York, or the growing trend for studios to acquire books before they even hit the shelves (Cool, though, eh? — how, terribly Canadian of me)
Here’s my thought for the day. I recently read a wonderful and hilarious book by Blake Snyder called Save the Cat, which I reviewed on filmsandbooks.com for non fiction reviews. There’s as much in that little gem as in Stephen King’s On Writing or any other great “writing” book. The story principles are universal—Hollywood or New York is not relevant to the concepts Blake so charmingly conveys.
But the “Blake Snyder rule” I loved, not a new concept, was “The Same Only Different.” It’s what Hollywood wants. First, tell them how your story is the SAME as something that has been done before successfully—so they know it works. THEN, tell them what’s different. The famous Hollywood LOGLINE is often just a mish mash of two stories: “It’s Raider’s of the Lost Arc meets Star Wars.”
Of course, in New York (Toronto, Chicago, Vancouver) such a concept is sacrilegious. Be different, period! High concept or complex characters. Noble themes or provocative ones.
We’re not so different in New York (Toronto, Chicago, Vancouver.) It really is much of the same, only different. Even the highest concept of high concepts has been done before. It’s ultimately the treatment that makes the difference.
What led me on this long ramble? Frankly, it was a BookList review of my current novel, The Game (plug, plug, ISBN 9781601640017) from Kunati. Booklist is relatively prestigious, so I should be offended, by I’m anything but. I’m thrilled when David Pitt of Booklist writes:
“But, for all of that, the novel somehow manages to avoid feeling derivative. Armstrong’s abundant enthusiasm for his material, combined with the semi-satirical
plotline, compel us to keep reading, and his prose style keeps us chuckling. The sleuth who disdains the world in which he finds himself is an idea as old as Raymond Chandler, but Armstrong injects the trope with new vigor. This is a series to watch from a new publisher to watch.”
I didn’t set out to “inject the trope with new vigor” or to “avoid feeling derivative.” I thought I was the first to write a mystery on the set of a reality television show (almost, not quite, according to this reviewer, who compared The Game favorably to Ben Elton’s bestseller Dead Famous).
The same only different? I’ll take that.
By the way, I hope you’ll pop over and help me populate my new “column” at suite 101 (or is it sweet 101?). I’m taking over for Carol as the editor/columnist for Literary Culture. Pop over and give me ideas, chat, give me a hard time. I’m Game (Pun intended).
Derek Armstrong,
Author, The Game
ISBN 9781601640017 Kunati Books
