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Kathryn Flatt

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Blogs by Kathryn Flatt

Pure Invention
2/11/2013 2:07:58 PM

Did some work on "Seer, Tyro, Fiend" today, moving the story forward. I also have a list of changes I want to make to earlier passages.

A thought struck me about the subject of precognition, and that was how wide open it is to my imagination. I can make the experience unique to Stefanie without having to research "facts." Unlike some other paranormal themes--vampires, werewolves, etc.--I am not restricted by commonly-accepted legends.

For example, the popular lore of vampires is that they cannot go outside in daylight.. If I wanted to do a different kind of vampire novel, according to my own lights, I would have three choices: (1) stick with convention; no going out in the sun; (2) come up with a device which explains why my vampire is not subject to The Rules; or (3) hang convention and write what I wish, at the risk of reader criticism from "ain't she stupid" to "no fair!"

This would be the downside, or one of them, of choosing to write about somebody else's legends or universe. In an earlier post, I mentioned I thought choosing a vampire or zombie or other monster as an antagonist was kind of a cheap way out. The rules are set, the characterization instantaneous. No need to give them a motive for evil. It's quick and flawless. It's also tiresome. Even if a writer comes up with a fabulously creative twist on a long-established legend, he or she runs the risk of landing on the trailing edge of a wave of popularity.. Once readers have gotten their fill of bloodsuckers, they will see "vampire" in the blurb and cast the book aside as same-old-same-old.

Give 'em something new, make them think and stretch themselves. In return, my imagination gets to run free, making up new rules and creating new worlds to discover.

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More Blogs by Kathryn Flatt
• The Why - Thursday, November 14, 2013
• Point of View Can Be Tricky - Wednesday, November 13, 2013
• More on The Name Game - Tuesday, November 12, 2013
• Updates and A Bit of News - Monday, November 11, 2013
• Updates and Miscellany - Friday, November 8, 2013
• The Name Game - Thursday, November 7, 2013
• Too Much Too Soon? - Wednesday, November 6, 2013
• OMG I'm Writing a Cozy - Tuesday, November 5, 2013
• Lo and Behold - Monday, November 4, 2013
• Still Two Worlds at Once - Friday, November 1, 2013
• Feel the Power - Thursday, October 31, 2013
• Gone and Done It - Wednesday, October 30, 2013
• The Final Edit? - Tuesday, October 29, 2013
• News and Updates - Monday, October 28, 2013
• Useless Words - Friday, October 25, 2013
• Decisions, Decisions - Thursday, October 24, 2013
• Planning Ahead - Wednesday, October 23, 2013
• Updates et al. - Tuesday, October 22, 2013
• Spreading My Name All Over - Monday, October 21, 2013
• Uncertain Ground - Friday, October 18, 2013
• Packaging - Thursday, October 17, 2013
• Meanwhile, Back at the Manor... - Wednesday, October 16, 2013
• The Promotion Engine, etc. - Tuesday, October 15, 2013
• I Know I Shouldn't But... - Monday, October 14, 2013
• Miscellany - Friday, October 11, 2013
• Progress! - Thursday, October 10, 2013
• Publicity, Etc. - Wednesday, October 9, 2013
• When Will It Ever Be Done? - Tuesday, October 8, 2013
• The Quest for Perfection - Monday, October 7, 2013
• Word Pictures - Friday, October 4, 2013
• Trying to Stay Focused - Thursday, October 3, 2013
• Moving Forward - Wednesday, October 2, 2013
• The Blahs - Tuesday, October 1, 2013
• Plot Change Already? - Friday, September 27, 2013
• Fun Stuff - Thursday, September 26, 2013
• Busy, Busy - Wednesday, September 25, 2013
• On Many Fronts - Tuesday, September 24, 2013
• Another Milestone - Monday, September 23, 2013
• When Is It Enough - Friday, September 20, 2013
• Proofing One More Time - Thursday, September 19, 2013
• Feeling My Characters - Wednesday, September 18, 2013
• New Book and Other Progress - Tuesday, September 17, 2013
• Another Pause - Monday, September 16, 2013
• Back On It - Sunday, September 15, 2013
• Editing Is a State of Mind - Thursday, September 12, 2013
• In a Slashing Mood - Wednesday, September 11, 2013
• Joliet Author Fair and Updates - Tuesday, September 10, 2013
• Miscellaneous Updates - Monday, September 9, 2013
• Still Editing - Friday, September 6, 2013
• Editing, The Next Phase - Thursday, September 5, 2013
• Ain't That The Way It Goes - Wednesday, September 4, 2013
• Time Off and New Perspective - Tuesday, September 3, 2013
• Potpourri - Friday, August 30, 2013
• New Book Planning - Thursday, August 29, 2013
• More Paper Editions - Wednesday, August 28, 2013
• Progress and Updates - Tuesday, August 27, 2013
• Trying to Stay Focused - Monday, August 26, 2013
• Transitional Phase - Friday, August 23, 2013
• Updates and Stuff - Thursday, August 22, 2013
• Polishing - Wednesday, August 21, 2013
• We Have A First Draft - Tuesday, August 20, 2013
• Almost There - Monday, August 19, 2013
• Great Guns - Friday, August 16, 2013
• Blog Traffic, Reviews, and Progress - Thursday, August 15, 2013
• About Plausibility - Wednesday, August 14, 2013
• Torn - Tuesday, August 13, 2013
• All Mapped Out - Monday, August 12, 2013
• Always Looking Ahead - Friday, August 9, 2013
• Reading in the Modern Age - Thursday, August 8, 2013
• Time Line Time - Wednesday, August 7, 2013
• A Pacing Quandary - Tuesday, August 6, 2013
• Changing the Story - Monday, August 5, 2013
• More Progress - Friday, August 2, 2013
• Delicate Balance - Thursday, August 1, 2013
• Getting Organized - Wednesday, July 31, 2013
• Dark and Gloomy - Tuesday, July 30, 2013
• Wouldn't Ya Know It - Monday, July 29, 2013
• Boom - Friday, July 26, 2013
• Throwing Dirt - Thursday, July 25, 2013
• Giving in to Distractions - Wednesday, July 24, 2013
• Feeling the Pull - Tuesday, July 23, 2013
• "Resistance" and "Dabblers" - Monday, July 22, 2013
• Turning Point - Friday, July 19, 2013
• The Importance of Setting - Thursday, July 18, 2013
• Who's Who - Wednesday, July 17, 2013
• The Dreaded Gerunds - Tuesday, July 16, 2013
• Excited - Monday, July 15, 2013
• Busy Day - Friday, July 12, 2013
• New Energy - Thursday, July 11, 2013
• My Fickle Muse - Wednesday, July 10, 2013
• Getting Down and Catching Up - Monday, July 8, 2013
• Uh-Oh - Thursday, July 4, 2013
• Muse Takes A Holiday - Wednesday, July 3, 2013
• Best Laid Plans - Tuesday, July 2, 2013
• Changing It Up - Monday, July 1, 2013
• What Happens Next? - Friday, June 28, 2013
• Getting Organized - Thursday, June 27, 2013
• Bogged Down Again - Wednesday, June 26, 2013
• How Many Webpages? - Monday, June 24, 2013
• Sometimes It's a Struggle - Friday, June 21, 2013
• Critical Passages - Thursday, June 20, 2013
• The Story Invents Itself - Wednesday, June 19, 2013
• A Simple Conversation - Tuesday, June 18, 2013
• Back On It - Monday, June 17, 2013
• Reminiscing - Thursday, June 13, 2013
• New Look - Wednesday, June 12, 2013
• Digging for Details - Tuesday, June 11, 2013
• Plot Coming Together - Monday, June 10, 2013
• This and That - Friday, June 7, 2013
• Back Story - Thursday, June 6, 2013
• Fast Typing but Longer Thinking - Wednesday, June 5, 2013
• A Name Change and a Dilemma - Tuesday, June 4, 2013
• Freedom, Promotion, and Progrss - Monday, June 3, 2013
• Story Conflict and Notes on Rejections - Friday, May 31, 2013
• In the Name of Promotion - Thursday, May 30, 2013
• Organic Development - Wednesday, May 29, 2013
• We Have A Corpse - Tuesday, May 28, 2013
• The Creative Groove - Sunday, May 26, 2013
• Unstuck - Friday, May 24, 2013
• Writing and Promoting - Wednesday, May 22, 2013
• Updates and Progress - Tuesday, May 21, 2013
• Aaannnd...Action! - Monday, May 20, 2013
• Little Scenes - Sunday, May 19, 2013
• The Purpose of the Scene - Friday, May 17, 2013
• Ah, Proofreading - Thursday, May 16, 2013
• More Books and About Suspense - Wednesday, May 15, 2013
• Day By Day - Tuesday, May 14, 2013
• Progress and a Gotcha - Monday, May 13, 2013
• Oh, To Be Able To Type As Fast As I Think - Friday, May 10, 2013
• Characters, Archetypes, and Stereotypes - Wednesday, May 8, 2013
• Series Update - Monday, May 6, 2013
• Back in the Saddle - Friday, May 3, 2013
• New Faces and Old - Tuesday, April 30, 2013
• A Working Title - Monday, April 29, 2013
• Keeping A Good Attitude - Friday, April 26, 2013
• Slow going - Thursday, April 25, 2013
• Last Thing I expected - Wednesday, April 24, 2013
• Pulling It Together - Friday, April 19, 2013
• Nature Intrudes - Thursday, April 18, 2013
• Don't Be Afraid to Just Say It - Wednesday, April 17, 2013
• Grunt Work - Tuesday, April 16, 2013
• Editing Continues - Monday, April 15, 2013
• Narrative in a Sequel - Friday, April 12, 2013
• Anachronisms - Thursday, April 11, 2013
• Dealing With Structure - Wednesday, April 10, 2013
• Payday! - Tuesday, April 9, 2013
• What's Next - Monday, April 8, 2013
• We Have A First Draft - Saturday, April 6, 2013
• Busy Morning - Friday, April 5, 2013
• Scattered - Thursday, April 4, 2013
• It's All Coming Together - Wednesday, April 3, 2013
• The Home Stretch, Sort of - Tuesday, April 2, 2013
• Nailed It - Monday, April 1, 2013
• Who's The Hero? - Friday, March 29, 2013
• Back to Writing - Thursday, March 28, 2013
• Advertising Day - Wednesday, March 27, 2013
• Couldn't Put It Down - Tuesday, March 26, 2013
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• Flying Over Hurdles - Friday, March 22, 2013
• Zowie - Thursday, March 21, 2013
• A Battle of Words - Wednesday, March 20, 2013
• For the Love of It - Tuesday, March 19, 2013
• The Good Stuff - Monday, March 18, 2013
• You Know It Don't Come Easy - Friday, March 15, 2013
• The Ever-Present Promotion Quandary - Thursday, March 14, 2013
• Quite A Day - Wednesday, March 13, 2013
• On the Right Track - Tuesday, March 12, 2013
• Nine To Five - Monday, March 11, 2013
• Who Are These People - Friday, March 8, 2013
• Time On My Hands - Thursday, March 7, 2013
• Let It Flow - Wednesday, March 6, 2013
• Getting Into It - Tuesday, March 5, 2013
• Discovering Characters - Mine - Monday, March 4, 2013
• Recap of Day 1 - Saturday, March 2, 2013
• Retirement - Day 1 - Friday, March 1, 2013
• My New Career - Thursday, February 28, 2013
• Transitions - Tuesday, February 26, 2013
• Counting Down... - Monday, February 25, 2013
• One Door Closes... - Friday, February 22, 2013
• Not Above Begging - Wednesday, February 20, 2013
• Ongoing Learning - Tuesday, February 19, 2013
• Characters Are People Too - Saturday, February 16, 2013
• If My Book Became A Movie... - Friday, February 15, 2013
• Plotting and What's Next - Thursday, February 14, 2013
• Pantser - Tuesday, February 12, 2013
• Pure Invention - Monday, February 11, 2013
• Whirlwind - Saturday, February 9, 2013
• Promoting and Other Stuff - Friday, February 8, 2013
• Busy, Busy - Wednesday, February 6, 2013
• Eager to Create - Monday, February 4, 2013
• Catching UP - Sunday, February 3, 2013
• Meetin' and Greetin' - Friday, February 1, 2013
• Showing Versus Telling - Wednesday, January 30, 2013
• Always Writing - Sunday, January 27, 2013
• A Bit More Progress - Friday, January 25, 2013
• On Progress, Creating Characters, and Reviews - Thursday, January 24, 2013
• Plotting, Plotting - Wednesday, January 23, 2013
• Put It To Bed and Start the Promo Machine - Tuesday, January 22, 2013
• The Home Stretch - Sunday, January 20, 2013
• Torn - Friday, January 18, 2013
• Coming Events - Thursday, January 17, 2013
• Multitasking - Wednesday, January 16, 2013
• Jumping the Gun - Tuesday, January 15, 2013
• Winter . . . Boooo! - Sunday, January 13, 2013
• Proofing, Etc. - Friday, January 11, 2013
• Juggling - Tuesday, January 8, 2013
• Going Astray - Monday, January 7, 2013
• Banging It Out - Saturday, January 5, 2013
• On Research - Friday, January 4, 2013
• Back On Track - Thursday, January 3, 2013