Writing Mainstream For The First Time

Walk around the world with your eyes open and write about what you see :)

(Sorry, you probably meant helpful advice ...)

Let's get this thread -- and this forum -- moving again.

I think a lot of people shy away from writing mainstream because it often involves ordinary people doing ordinary things. It's very difficult for me to write about that.

Speaking for myself, that leaves a choice of writing about extraordinary people doing ordinary things -- for example, how does a 6'8" tall woman live in a world where everyone is shorter? She's a freak, in a practical sense, she's going to draw attention wherever she goes. Does she try to hide from the world, or does she meet it head on? Think about it -- it's not an easy life.

The problem is that there are not a lot of those kinds of stories around, so you have to take the alternative route: an ordinary person faced with an extraordinary challenge -- or at least an unusual one. How do they cope?

I am reminded of a line I'm sure I heard in a bad old movie whose name I can't remember, but I'm also sure was taken from somewhere else -- sounds like Faulkner, but could be almost anyone: "There are no extraordinary people. There are only extraordinary challenges which normal people are forced to meet."

I know that's a very broad-based and sweeping comment, but I think that does a pretty good job of explaining what mainstream is. But what's extraordinary? Good quesion, and you have to answer it -- but for me, it's a challenge that might not be extraordinary for everyone, but is for the character that you are working with. As a for instance: a woman that has never worked in her life is suddenly divorced or widowed and left penniless -- she has to support herself and her kids. Yes, I know many women are in that category -- but how an individual faces up to the reality and wins or loses can be a pretty good story.

Hope this helps.

what I did for my nano was to first come up with characters. first I did my MMCs, my MFC, and my antagonists. it wasn't long before I was sort of stuck too. I just thought "What would my MMC want to do?" and wrote about that for a while, then thought "what would my antagonists want to do?" and wrote about that for a while. it wasn't long before there was conflict (boy was there conflict) and I had a plot.

try forming characters you can really understand, and make sure everyone has a reason to do what they're doing and a plot will create itself in no time.

That would be a good idea...

I've written novels number of different ways, from wirting col to planning out every detail to having a semi-hard outline and making up the in-between, but I've written Horror for so long that it's easy for me to work past my blocks and stuck-points. The problem for me is that I don't really understand what the typical twentyplus woman goes through, or what a normal story about normal things is like. With the kind of life I've lived, the word "normal" doesn't really apply.

What IS mainstream? what are types of mainstream plots?

It seems just a little bit....boring, honestly. But that's more than likely due to my complete and total lack of understanding of the genre.

queen of the double post

My advice, hit the mainstream section of your local library.
Pick out 10 books at random.
Read the blurbs.
Which ones intrigued you? Why?
Blurbs are basic cores of the story.
Now read the first chapters of a few.
How's it set up? How is the conflict introduced?
Conflict [as every writer should learn early] is the main focus of every good story.
Now,
What's the conflict in your idea?

Anyone know a good definition of Mainstream fiction? I have an idea of what it is but want to be sure.