Tell it like it is

My daughter has wavy hair.  After years of sleeping in foam pink rollers when I was a girl, I think her hair is a miracle.  One day, my daughter came home from kindergarten to say a little girl called her hair "messy".  After that, my daughter wanted to straighten her hair.



Writing can be like this.  We want our writing to be well-received.  We want it to be an instant hit, make us millions and sell ten movie rights in the first ten years. But if we overly focus on what we think people want, if we write in reaction to what has already been successful, we can only ever be second rate. 

Stephen King, J.K. Rowling, John Grisham, Neil Gaiman - they all have something in common.  They each have their own unique brand.  Why?  They are themselves.  Pure and simple.  There is a very good reason many, many agents post that they do not want the next Harry Potter.  Perhaps what they want instead, is the next you or me.

There are things to learn from literary icons.  But to create something fresh and new, it has to be let out.  The risk, of course, is the work (and author himself?) will be rejected.  The fear is failure.  But if everyone stopped here, would there ever be new books?

My daughter did try to make her hair straight - special shampoo, comb, blow dry, comb some more.  In the end, she decided it wasn't worth the hassle.  Her hair is wavy once again.  That's my girl!