Writing Tips

If you have watched TV in recent years, you have probably noticed the plethora of so-called ‘spin-off series’ – original TV series that take their inspiration from a tiny part of an existing film or TV franchise. Results are mixed, obviously. The Disney corporation has become especially adept at this in recent years, with multiple TV series based on Star Wars or the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The seed of the new series can vary enormously. Sometimes that link is very explicit, other times less so. For example, the Marvel series Loki centres on Thor’s brother, portrayed several times already in various Marvel film entries, such as the Thor films or The Avengers by Tom Hiddleston. Before then, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D took a very minor character from the Marvel film series, Agent Coulson, and crafted a show around him that ran for seven years and 136 episodes. Both of these examples (and numerous others besides) often have lots of cameos from  other characters in the franchise. Early in its run, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D would often have actors from the film series briefly reprise their role in an episode.
At the other end of the spectrum, the critically-acclaimed Mandalorian series is based, indirectly, on a very briefly seen character in the original Star Wars film trilogy (the armour-clad bounty hunter Bobba Fett). He is only in a couple of scenes in The Empire Strikes Back (Episode V) and Return of the Jedi (Ep VI). His backstory is further fleshed out in the prequel film, Attack of the Clones (Ep II) – of course the twist here is that the Mandalorian in the eponymous TV series is not Bobba Fett, rather a bounty hunter from the same race as Boba Fett. The concept of Bobba Fett led to the exploration of a whole new corner of the Star Wars universe that is familiar in look and feel, and follows the ‘rules’ of that fictional creation, without being heavily reliant on existing characters from the original source material.
Of course, this is not a new phenomenon. Spin-off or tie-in novels from TV and film franchises have been around for decades. I own hundreds of Star Trek novels (and have read even more). The most common are ‘additional episodes’, if you like, of the various Star Trek TV series. I have many dozens of Star Trek: The Next Generation (ST:TNG) books which could easily have been a TV episode. Excitingly, the freedom of the format allows the writers to tell stories that can’t be filmed, either because of expense, limitations in visual effects, or in later years because the actors that portrayed these beloved characters are no longer with us. I also own books that create new characters, set within the Star Trek universe. Peter David’s New Frontier series, which first appeared in the nineties, featured a new starship and entirely original characters. It was unquestionably part of the existing and ongoing ST: TNG universe, with ‘cameos’ from Captain Picard etc, and it followed the ‘rules’ of that universe. As a huge fan of the TV series, when reading the books, my mind’s eye easily conjured up images based on the TV series’ aesthetic.
So, where is this going? As a writer, we are often looking for inspiration, and a spin-off from an existing work can be a great way of creating of original material. You may be fortunate enough to have an existing work of your own that you can expand. For example Harlan Coben has taken characters from his incredibly popular Myron Bolitar series and given them their own novels.
Otherwise an option is to take inspiration from someone else’s creation. Unfortunately, unless you are writing not-for-profit fan fiction, using intellectual property that is still under copyright without permission will likely land you in hot water. Neither Lucasfilm or CBS are going to look kindly on you writing spin-off novels set in the Star Wars or Star Trek universes (please note, I still await the call from Pocket Books to write a Star Trek-based detective novel). Even older franchises can have some limitations – some of the characters from the later Sherlock Holmes books will remain off limits for a few more years. But there are plenty of older, public domain, novels. Dracula and Frankenstein’s monster have been reimagined many times, with other characters from those novels sometimes taking centre stage. The much-lauded crime writer, PD James, continued Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice with her own Death Comes To Pemberley.
Could a spin-off be the inspiration for your writing? What spin-off series do you think work particularly well? What spin-off series would you really love to see?
As always feel free to share here or on social media.
Until next time,
Paul.
If you are a writer with a tip to share, or fancy writing a fictional interview between you and one of your characters, please feel free to email me.

For this week’s #TuesdayTip, I am looking at stories told in two or more different time frames. There are lots of different versions of this particular narrative device, each with their own strengths, weaknesses and challenges. I have dabbled myself, writing a short story some years ago for a charity anthology, Dark Minds, and I have some other projects on the go 🤫.
The most basic use of this device is to simply have two parallel storylines that are linked in some way, with one of them set earlier than the other. Typically, there is a ‘modern’ story, which bookends the tale, perhaps the protagonist introduces the story, then we see the events that took place earlier, before returning to the modern times.
The film Titanic is a good example of this. After the discovery of the picture in the wreck of the ship, 100-year-old Rose contacts the dive team. She then recounts what happened 85 years previously, which we see as the storyline that forms the bulk of the main narrative, before we finally return to the present where Rose wraps up the story.
This is typically fairly easy to write. There is little crossing-over between the two timelines, so little danger of the reader becoming confused.
A rather more complex version sees the two timelines told in parallel, with frequent switching between the two. This is where it can become more challenging. It is important to remember that books are rarely read in one sitting. Many people will read a few pages at a time, for example in bed, and might take a break. Therefore it is important to ensure that the reader is confident within a few pargraphs of restarting which timeline they are currently reading. You can of course start each chapter with a date and/or time – but what if the reader put the book down after reaching a section break, rather than a chapter break? How will they know which timeline they are currently reading when they pick the book up again?
In some ways, filmmakers have it easier than authors in this respect. In Titanic, the clothing and opulence of a 1912 ocean liner is easily distinguishable from contemporary 1997 and of course Kate Winslet playing a 17-year-old Rose looked different to her modern-day counterpart, played by a heavily made-up 87-year-old Gloria Stuart. The Guy Pearce film, Memento, is able to easily avoid confusion between two different timelines, one played forward and one in reverse (a clever plot device designed to replicate the protagonist’s short-term memory loss and inability to form new memories), by shooting one in black and white and the other in colour.

For novelists, such trickery isn’t possible. So how can a reader tell, within a few paragraphs, which storyline they are reading?
The most obvious is simply the events that are taking place. The two timelines may be so different that it is immediately obvious when the story is occurring. But what if that isn’t enough? Can you seed clues in?
Crucially, you don’t want to be explicit. Subtlety is key. You want to give a ‘flavour’ of the time period, rather than screaming ‘this bit is set in 1998’. 
For example, imagine a story in which two police investigations take place, a few years apart, with the same detective driving both.
The first thing to do, is to ask yourself what is the same about the two stories (and may thus create confusion) and what is different (and therefore can be used as a marker to differentiate the two).
Here are some quick suggestions:
Characters involved. Perhaps some of the secondary characters change between the two situations? DC Plod wasn’t involved in the first investigation, so when they speak it is obvious that the book is currently focusing on the later investigation.
The weather/season. The first investigation took place in winter, the second in summer. So when a character grabs their thick coat, or grumbles about the aircon not working, it places the story appropriately.
Character evolution. If the timelines are several years apart, how have the characters changed? Have they aged? Is one of them now a parent? Are they bald?
How has society changed? TV and films will take great care to get the correct period detail. A character’s mobile phone will look a lot different in 2010 to 2023. It will also have different fuctions and apps. You can use these differences to subtly set the scene.

What are your thoughts on stories set in dual time frames? Have you seen any clever tricks that can help a reader easily place themselves in a particular timeline? As always feel free to share here or on social media.

Until next time,
Paul.
If you are a writer with a tip to share, or fancy writing a fictional interview between you and one of your characters, please feel free to email me.

If there is one thing I really love, it’s a mid-point twist.
This brilliant device is when about halfway through a book, the writer completely upends the story and smashes all of the readers assumptions, making them start again from scratch.
Those who have read Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl, or seen its film adaptation, will know exactly what I mean.
Without giving away any spoilers from specific books or films, a classic example might be that the entire narrative is based on something apparently happening and then the writer suddenly reveals that it never took place, or it was just a figment of a character’s imagination.
For it to have been pulled off successfully, and for the writer not to be accused of cheating, the reader MUST be able to stop at that point, go back and reread, and realise that yes, everything still works even if what they assumed was true isn’t.The secret to a good mid-point twist is the set up.
I’ve already discussed the use of Red Herrings TuesdayTip#153 and how to whittle down the suspect list TuesdayTip#154, and both of these are possible tools. Other examples of twists might be a person assumed to be dead/alive not being so. A crime that never occurred. A supposed motive that turns out to be completely off base.

I call it a mid-point twist to differentiate it from the twists that often occur towards the end of a book. And for me, it has to be a big twist. Not so much an elimination of possible suspects or the closing in on the real motive, rather a complete game-changer.
For many writers, the mid-point twist is often the focal point of the book and is conceived right at the very beginning of the writing process. In the author’s mind, the book is then composed of two parts – the before and the after. Many writers work outwards from the twist, making sure that both parts are compatible with that twist.
Of course it isn’t easy. Since the twist is perhaps the most memorable part of the story, it is vital that the writer balances the need to completely catch out the reader (and characters), with the need to ensure that all the clues were there from the beginning. This means the author needs to hide them or disguise them. It is not enough for the reader to simply exclaim “I didn’t see that coming!”. They need to be able to retrace their footsteps with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight and realise that it caught them out because of their assumptions.
Again, without giving away spoilers, I can think of several recent books that caused me to actually gasp out loud or swear at the author’s audacity.

In a way, it is analogous to the brainteasers that you sometimes see.
An old chestnut (that is far less effective these days, thank goodness) is this puzzle

A man and his son are involved in a serious car accident. The man dies and his son is seriously injured. When the son is wheeled into the operating theatre, the surgeon proclaims “I can’t perform the operation, that’s my son!” How is this possible?

Of course the answer (which would have caught out far more people forty years ago) is that the surgeon is the son’s mother. It plays on the outdated assumption that a senior doctor, such as a surgeon, must be male, thus the boy’s dead father. An alternate solution, using more modern attitudes to family structure, is that the son had two fathers, one of whom died, the other being a surgeon.

Of course this can be fraught with challenges.
First, as we see from the above example, readers’ assumptions change over time. It’s hard to imagine modern audiences being fooled by a twist that relies on most surgeons being male.
Second, if you have your eye on your book being adapted for the screen, you need to consider that it can be much harder to hide crucial details and clues on the screen than on the page. In a book, the reader only gets the information that we want them to see.
Third, you have to decide if other characters are in on the secret, or they to are fooled. If they already know about it, then you also need to craft their interactions with the reader and other characters in such a way that they don’t give the game away, or you don’t have to jump through too many hoops to make it plausible that they knew all along but said nothing.
Finally, you still have to be fair. Just as introducing the culprit right at the very end of a book can be frowned upon, turning everything on its head without giving the reader at least a chance to work it out beforehand is cheating.

Remember, you can mislead, distract or fool your readers, but you must never lie.

What do you think of the mid-point twist?
As always, feel free to comment here or on social media.
Until next time,
Paul.
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If you are a writer with a tip to share, or fancy writing a fictional interview between you and one of your characters, please feel free to email me.