I am not a car girl, but I love to watch BBC’s Top Gear. Yet, I don’t watch it for the expensive cars or races. I watch for the adventure that takes place every week. You never know where the hosts will end up – or what they’ll catch on fire. There’s always a story to be shown, whether in a Ferrari, in a Pinto or in a mini-van. That’s the beauty of the show – the creative story telling.
Our writing should be the same. We should always look for creative ways to show our stories, to show the conflict or journey of our characters. And from watching the show, I’ve learned a lot more about story telling than I have about cars.
Five Lessons I’ve Learned from Top Gear:
- Faster is Not Always Better – Our stories need time to percolate. Sometimes the first thought we have isn’t the most creative or isn’t the least predictable. When we strive to put out our best work, it takes more time, but our patience will be rewarded.
- Road Test Your Work Before You Send It Out – Critique partners, writers groups and beta readers are vital to making your story the best it can be before you send it out to agents or editors. You can get a feel for what’s working or what isn’t, and still have time to make changes.
- You Don’t Have to Know Everything About Writing to Be Successful – When there’s something you don’t know about writing your story, don’t be afraid to find out. Ask someone – a mentor or writing friend, writing books, conferences, blogs, online classes, etc. The list goes on and on with resources there to help you learn the ins and outs of writing and publishing.
- A Little Humor Can Liven Up Your Story – The BBC Top Gear hosts are so funny. You don’t know what they’ll say or do next, which is what makes the show so successful in my opinion. A little humor can lighten the tension, or may bring the reader into the story more, even help them identify with the characters.
- An Adventure in Fiction Can End Up in a Totally Different Place Than You Thought – When I start a story, it never turns out exactly as I planned. Like the show, it goes through ups and down, maybe a few fiery crashes – or a near dive off a cliff – before I find the best ending. So don’t be afraid to go on the journey, think of all the possibilities.
After all, isn’t that why we write fiction? To explore new ideas and stories, have some fun along the way?
What do you love most about fiction?
