When I decided I was going to write a treasure-hunting novel, I went searching for juvenile or young adult books in the genre. Turns out, there's not a lot of them out there. I wanted more fiction than fantasy, but ended up settling with about 50/50 of each, the selection just not giving me the room to be picky.
I think it's kind of exciting, though, writing in a genre so sparsely populated. It gives you the chance to be a bit more original, to be a bit more outrageous and courageous.
It's not a treasure hunt unless something goes BOOM.
Well, at least, I've yet to discover a treasure hunting story without explosions.With every treasure hunt, obstacles have to be thrown in the characters' faces, and not just bad guys and difficult clues that lead to gold hordes.
There's booby traps, too.
LOTS of them.
I think booby-traps are some of the coolest ways to heighten stakes, because they aren't things you can reason or plead with. They aren't on a side. They can pick off both the heroes and the villains. You have to contend with the laws of physics and nature, and sometimes it takes more brains to figure out how to get past them than it takes to decode any clue.
One of my all-time favorite movie scenes is the one in National Treasure: Book of Secrets where they enter the ancient Mayan caves, and stumble onto a giant slab of stone, which is upheld by a single pillar of wood. And they then have to keep their balance while crossing to the other side, without tipping the whole structure and falling to their deaths.
If you had a huge stash of gold, you wouldn't leave it unprotected, would you?
Historical accuracy isn't an issue, apparently.
Trust me. You don't need to be nervous about bending history a little bit. People expect you to put a twist on events and people from the past and weave a story with them. Even if it's completely outrageous. Just look at National Treasure.
That isn't to say, though, that research isn't important. You should always strive for good accuracy in your story. But don't pull your hair out over it.
Your clues don't have to rhyme.
Seriously.
You can make nerdy cool.
I am very tired of this whole age of making fun of nerds and geeks as being weird, instead of seeing them as the very smart and interesting people they are. Nerds and geeks are often people who grow up to be leaders and writers and world-changers.
One of the cool things about treasure-hunt stories, is that (usually, not always) there is as much need for a macho protagonist who can deal with the obstacles and gun-slinging bad guys as there is for a protagonist who knows his history, who's smart and clever and has to out-fox everyone. Sometimes these characteristics are split between two people, and sometimes, as in the case of Indiana Jones and Ben Gates, you can have swashbuckling and smart in the same person.
Treasure hunting isn't just about 3000 year old artifacts.
It can be much more modern. There are so many thefts and losses of important cultural art or even hordes of wealth that have happened in the last century, you don't have to limit your sights to Mayan temples and the Knights Templar.
Stayed tuned for next week's Writers Wednesday piece, where I'll be hosting a blog tour for Aidyl Ewoh and her new book.
~The Scribbler in the Attic
No comments:
Post a Comment