Characteristics of Successful Works: How to Create an Award-Winning Novel (7)

I am Nijimaruka, a writer on the edge.

This is the seventh installment of "How to Create an Award-Winning Novel."

You can find the sixth installment here. ↓

Review of the previous installment

Last time, I explained the concept of novelty.

Creating novelty means,

coming up with new words that can be included in the title

right?

As for specific methods to achieve this,

1. turning desires or phenomena that have not yet been verbalized into words

2. combining stimulus words with standard patterns

I introduced these two methods.

I have now mostly explained standard patterns and novelty, but let me add a little more explanation regarding the balance between these two.

This time, the topic is "Characteristics of Successful Works."

The form of a successful work

I think you already understand that a successful (read/sold) work is one where standard patterns and novelty are balanced.

Here, let me explain the ideal form of a work.

It looks like this. ↓

You might not understand at all, but I think you will get a sense of it if you do this. ↓

Successful works are shaped like a spear

A work is a weapon.

Using that weapon to defeat the enemy known as the editor is what a newcomer award is all about.

Eventually, you will enter the battlefield known as the market, but the situation is the same there.

It can be said that a writer's mission is to use the weapon known as a work to defeat the enemy known as the reader.

So, what shape does that weapon take? It is easy to understand if you think of it as being shaped like a spear.

As you can see from the diagram, each part is:

Standard: the shaft part
Novelty: the spearhead part

It is structured like this.

Let's explain each one.

The standard is the shaft part

The standard refers to 'story patterns that readers like'.

This corresponds to the shaft part of the spear.

You cannot defeat an enemy with a spear that does not have a solid shaft.

By gripping the shaft firmly, the spearhead reaches the enemy.

And what is important is that the shaft part is longer than the spearhead.

If the shaft part is short, it just becomes a knife.

Then, you have to get close to the enemy, which increases the danger.

That is not a smart way to fight.

In other words, when creating a work, you should increase the proportion of standard elements.

In terms of ratio, you should think of it as about standard:novelty = 2:1 or so.

If you don't increase the proportion of standard elements, you won't be able to hit the enemy with the spearhead.

Novelty is the spearhead part.

On the other hand, novelty is the quality of being 'something that has never existed before'.

This corresponds to the spearhead part.

It is this spearhead part that has offensive power.

In other words, the offensive power of a work lies in its novelty.

The spearhead must be strong and sharp.

This is because it is the spearhead part that actually hits the enemy.

However, just because of that, if you make the spearhead too large, it will actually become harder to fight with.

For example, you can see that fighting with a weapon like an axe is quite difficult.

Such special weapons are not something an amateur can handle. Therefore, a weapon with a long shaft and a spearhead, like a spear, is ideal.

You cannot fight with just standard elements or just novelty.

It is difficult to fight with just the shaft part or just the spearhead part.

Even if you try to fight with only the spearhead (novelty), you will hurt your own hands the moment you grab it.

You should know that you cannot fight on novelty alone.

So, what about the handle (the standard/cliché) part?

Since the handle is essentially a stick, it actually has a certain amount of attack power.

If you beat your opponent senseless with a stick, there is a possibility you could win, right?

In other words, if you can only fight with either the standard or the novel, you should choose to fight with the standard without hesitation.

However, you should also understand that it is difficult for an amateur to fight with just a stick.

Unless you are a master, if the enemy is wearing armor, the stick will quickly become useless.

Therefore, an amateur can barely fight with just the handle or just the spearhead; in the end, you cannot compete unless you shape it into a spear.

Weapons for Newcomer Awards

In the previous article, I explained that you can compete in newcomer awards even with fairly new types of works.

The weapon (work) in that case would look something like this: ↓

You use a solid handle (standard) and compete only with a spearhead (novelty) that is mysterious and has never been seen before.

If you were to bring out a weapon like this on the battlefield, the enemy would be confused.

The strategy is to beat them senseless during that opening.

Actually, I won an award using a strategy close to this.

It didn't sell at all in the market, but the strategy of intimidating people with an unusual weapon has a track record, so it's worth keeping in mind.

Summary of this article

This was the seventh installment of How to Create an Award-Winning Novel: 'Characteristics of Successful Works'.

1. Successful works are shaped like a spear

2. The shaft is the standard, and the tip is the novelty

3. Aim for a ratio of about 2:1 for standard versus novelty

4. You cannot compete with just the standard or just the novelty

5. If you have to choose one to compete with, choose the standard without hesitation

6. Since new writer awards allow for a fair amount of novelty, change only the tip to something unique

Next time, I plan to provide a 'comprehensive summary'.

See you later, kuma.