Podcast notes:

It is *definitely* okay for new authors to write derivative work! DO IT! Use it to figure out plat structure, characters, etc.

Screenwriters literally write spec scripts based on existing shows. Write fan fiction.

If someone else does your idea first…do your idea anyway! Yours *will* be different. Focus on what you would focus on anyway: make it as good as you can

MICE quotient? I’ve seen this before, but not talking about it here. Relates to how much story you’re going to get out of a certain numbers of characters, settings, plot points, et.

Robert Jackson Bennet – “City of Stairs” – epic fantasy with heroes of color

Exercise for practicing setting: pick a location in the world. Have your POV character describe what it looks like. ALSO: pick a piece of writing by another author with a similar setting, write THEIR description of their setting (don’t copy and paste; read it, then try to duplicate it).

There will INEVITABLY come a point as a professional author where you will shift from writing “what am I most excited about?” to “what is my next deadline I have to meet…and how can I get excited about it?”

Do not get in the habit of abandoning stories – this can be a trap many writers fall into.
Writing Exercise:

Take one of the ideas you’re excited about, and then audition five different characters for the lead role in that story. Make sure they’re all different from each other.

A cop joins a group of outlaws to fight the corrupt authorities on a near-future virtual reality internet.

CHARACTER ONE: Alpha Male, but dark and brooding like they all seem to be these days. Not like a John Cena or the Rock…more like a mix of Fox Mulder and I keep thinking of Jim Butcher’s hero – odd, but good looking, and very smart. Maybe even VERY good looking, like the lead in Lucifer. Lonely. Early 30s. EXPECTED.

CHARACTER TWO: Alpha female, badass, smart, gorgeous, has a chip on her shoulder because she’s an alpha female in an alpha male’s world. Has to work extra hard, overachieve. Also very lonely. Late 20s. EXPECTED.

CHARACTER THREE: Schlubby male. Awkward. NOT a badass. Saving grace must be that he’s SMART, and/or has some special ability…funny, charming. Think Columbo. Poor. Blue collar. Older. 40s. LESS EXPECTED…but still nothing new.

CHARACTER FOUR: Schlubby female. Awkward, not a badass, smart, charming, funny, nerdy. Think female detective characters from the European cop shows. Blue collar. Just trying to do her job. Older. 40s. EVEN LESS EXPECTED…but not groundbreaking.

CHARACER FIVE: YOUNG “schlubby” female, overweight, smart, charming, and really, really good at being a cop. Underestimated by society, completely. A sneaky badass. Fierce. And “ethnic” Asian? But not “ethnic” in a way that overly draws attention to that aspect of her, she simply is a woman of color. Single, by choice.