Originality Checklist For Your Novel – Do You Have What It Takes To Be Chicken?

Fried chicken. The stuff of summer picnics, napkins and grandma’s home recipe. It is enough to make the most diligent dieter splurge. There is just nothing like it.

So loved by the masses, this one food inspired the start of a restaurant chain by Harold Sanders in 1952. Kentucky Fried Chicken is all about the chicken. In a plate lineup, most of us would be able to pick out KFC chicken over all the others because it is that unique.

The ingredients, each in their delicate balance, create a taste sensation that stays with you long after you’ve eaten.

Have I got what it takes to be chicken?

If we want to be published, we’d better hope so. I’m not talking about feathers, grease or drumsticks. It’s much more than that. It is the unique blend of ingredients in your writing that makes you recognizable to your readers as a one stop shop. They crave your novels and nothing else will do, because your writing is just that unique.

You might have what it takes to be chicken if:

*You Have An Original Plot. If the plot is overused, it is hard to surprise the reader and the premise doesn’t excite them. Originality keeps the reader guessing and coming back for more. A great example of this is the book Butterfly Palace by Colleen Coble.

*Unexpected Turns. Readers need to be surprised by some turns in the plot. If they know exactly what is going to happen or they can guess the ending, they will be tempted to put your novel down. They want to be surprised either in how you get to the end, or in what happens at the end. A great example of this is the book Exposure by Brandilyn Collins.

*Your Characters Are Empathetic. Larger than life characters catch the attention of readers. They make them laugh, cry and scream ‘No, don’t go into that dark stairwell.’ Characters our readers relate to are essential to the right flavor in our novels. A great example of this can be found in Wish You Were Here by Beth K. Vogt.

*Your Writing Has A Unique Flavor. Voice is something all writers strive to find. It is the blend of sentence structure, word choice, pacing and content. We all know Dr. Seuss and the voice of his writing. Test it on your friends. Stack your hook lines against other authors. See if they can pick yours out of the crowd. Vanished by Irene Hannon illustrates this very well.

*You’ve Learned About The Right Ingredients. Craft is the underlying method of communicating our plot, characters and voice. We must know the ingredients or risk becoming a poor imitation.

Here are some craft books I recommend:

                            

 

What do you think it takes to be chicken in the writing world? OR What Author do you feel shows originality in their work?