Friday, May 7, 2010

The Frankenstein Challenge at PQS

Currently reading - Amazon Queen by Lori Devoti

Here's an interesting challenge if you think other writers will steal your ideas. Rick Daley has a contest over at The Public Query Slushpile with real-live No Prizes stolen from the Marvel Comics vaults!

Seriously though, he's got a nice little exercise/experiment on creativity. Rick has posted a story outline. You just have to write a query letter and the first five pages of a novel based on the outline and e-mail them to Rick by 10PM EDT on May 28, 2010. He'll post each entry on the 31st, then launch a public discussion about the entries on June 4th.

Personally, I think Rick's experiment will show that it's not the idea itself, it's the execution that attracts the agents, editors and readers.

4 comments:

  1. Personally, I think Rick's experiment will show that it's not the idea itself, it's the execution that attracts the agents, editors and readers.

    Agreed. Only baby writers (and a handful of oldtimers who never got the clue) get all paranoid about people stealing their precious ideas. Ideas are a dime a dozen; it's what you do with them line-by-line that matters.

    Angie

    ReplyDelete
  2. The problem is I've heard/read something similar from a couple of agents. Those type of comments do not fill me with confidence in these folks' competence or knowledge of the publishing industry.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Those type of comments do not fill me with confidence in these folks' competence or knowledge of the publishing industry.

    No I agree completely. :/ Yet another reason to ignore the whole agent game. Or at the very least, ignore those particular chunks of it. Good grief.

    Angie

    ReplyDelete
  4. LOL Don't worry. Those particular chunks have been crossed off my list.

    ReplyDelete