Eli Cash

I didn't say it was impossible. I asked how you were going to do it. Check the tape.

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Wildcard

As was said before; his characteristics, motives, methods, lifestyle...these will all be the distinguishing factors. Also the method of writing and the story's conclusion. The setting, the people around him, the victims...I could go on and on.
I hope this answers your question.

W.C~~

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Wildcard

double post sorry

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lin

Nice going, Shawn. Now everybody can click to one of the most exploitative and wrong-headed writing sites I've ever seen.

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Eli Cash

So, you've read The Killer Inside Me, then? How did you like it?

How about American Psycho?

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Wildcard

Actually I haven't read that book but I have watched American Psycho, I think that was a good movie.

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astralis

American Psycho was brilliant.

Eli, why do you think his story will be identical because it's a fpp of a serial-killer? I haven't read "The Killer Inside Me" so I don't know how similar it is, but wouldn't there be many variations on that premise?

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How to write a story

Eli Cash

There could well be many variations upon it. That's why I asked which ones WC planned on pursuing.

The problem, of course, is having not familiarized himself with similar works, like The Killer Inside Me or American Psycho, (the Brett Easton Ellis novel, not the movie) WC has no idea if he's still treading the same ground. He doesn't know if he has anything new to say on the topic, because he doesn't know what's already been said.

This is the problem with a lot of writers on here, in my mind. They haven't read, so how can they write? This is telling in the poor understandings of grammar, usage, and punctuation, as well as the pervasive ignorance of both modern and classical works.

What I'm centrally trying to convey here, is that if WC is counting on the uniqueness of his premise to carry him through to publication, he shouldn't. He is, therefore, in my mind, counting on the quality of the storytelling to make the sale. Judging from the initial post, he has some hard work to do before he can achieve that goal.

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Wildcard

You've made a good point Eli, now allow me to counter.
I love to read any and everything I can get my hands on. But I do not choose my books based on the works I'm about to write or works-in-progress. Just because I am undertaking a category that other writers have already tackled does not mean I have to go and grab every book written from the fpp of a serial killer.
I believe that if you had to take 10,000 people and ask them to write a book in the fpp about a dog in Germany, each one of those works would be unique even though they are based on the same topic.
Every writer is different and so is every spark of imagination spawned from the minds of those writers. The only reason you would have two seperate pieces with the same plot or style is if one or both of those pieces were plagiarized. So I will remain adamant that this work can be completed and be very definitive even if I dont read a single novel based on the fpp of a killer.
And hopefully I will have you to judge that since you have already read both of those novels as I update this piece.

W.C~~

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Eli Cash

Hm, I see. Obviously, I didn't realize your work would be unique, special, and worth reading simply because it was something you, as a unique individual, wrote. I was always under the impression that you had to work hard at becoming a good writer in order to achieve those attributes in your writing.

I stand corrected.

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Wildcard

That may not necessarily make it worth reading, but it would definately set it apart from other works. All I'm saying Eli is that if you plan to write an article on let's say rice, you don't have to go off and read every other article ever written about rice before you can pursue your own.
Writing is something that comes naturally, or at least it should. You're either a writer or you're not, simple as that. I know many people out there who have read almost every type of literature there is but still cant write worth a damn.
I am not saying that I don't do alot of reading, because I would be lying. All I'm saying is that reading the works of others is not the factor that sets you aside as a good writer. That is based solely on you, the individual.

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Truth-Teller

"Hi, I'm Jack, and I'm a serial killer."

Great comedy.

Terrible for a thriller.

I can't stop laughing...

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When you try to impress, instead of communicating the written word, you have already failed as a writer; and if you're writing to be loved, instead of loving to write, you should not be called on.

astralis

Consider the book and movie, "American Psycho". It's a thriller and it's hilarious.

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How to write a story

Eli Cash

That's totally, completely, and patently false.

Writing is something you have to work hard at if you want to be good at it. One of the things you can do to improve is a close reading of good works.

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Truth-Teller

That's why it's one of the most shittiest novel.

Boring, atrocious, piece of shit.

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When you try to impress, instead of communicating the written word, you have already failed as a writer; and if you're writing to be loved, instead of loving to write, you should not be called on.