When Two Ideas Collide
by Philip Martin
Director, Great Lakes Literary, LLC

Originality is a key to creating reader interest – and to having your work accepted for publication. So, how do you create a unique story?

In an article in The Writer (May 1968), titled “Thought on Plots,” Joan Aiken pointed out that it takes two ideas, colliding, to spark a story.

I shall always remember H.E. Bates [English, 1905–1974], that master of the short story form, saying that besides inspiration and a lot of sheer hard labor, a story requires, for its germination, at least two separate ideas which, fusing together, begin to work and ferment and presently produce a plot. . . .

Aiken agreed. She noted that “Once you are in the way of noting down ideas for plots, they spring up everywhere. . . . I used to find the personal ad columns very fertile sources. Sometimes, as an exercise, I set myself the task of combining two or three into a short story. Consider these: ‘Agile bagpiper with waterproof kilt wanted for party.’ . . . ‘Model rhinoceros wanted.’ ‘Would exchange gentleman’s library for Jersey herd.’

Those were genuine clippings from the London Times that ended up in her files.

This strategy – combining two ideas to make a story much richer – is a simple concept that over the years I’ve often recommended to novelists. It is also applicable to certain nonfiction book-length projects. Two stories that “collide” create a unique intersection, a hybrid more original than either of the two original ideas alone.

Think of the greater number of ideas you might generate by watching a traffic intersection where several busy streets come together. At the intersection, you’ll not just see more traffic than on each street alone, but you’ll now have the likelihood of more interesting episodes as people face more decisions, have to deal with crossing traffic, and end up in surprise situations, aggravations, and, yes, collisions.

As I look at my bookshelf, many examples of writers who used this technique to create an original work spring out:

Example #1: Skelling, by David Almond (1999 fantasy, winner of prestigious Whitbread Award). First story thread: young protagonist, Michael, has just moved into a new house with his family. His baby sister is extremely ill and in the hospital. Soon, he meets a friend, a strong-willed girl named Mina. Second thread: Michael discovers in a corner of their new home’s old, cluttered garage a pale mysterious creature seemingly near death, and secretly tries to help it survive. Sure enough, the two stories move at first independently, seemingly unrelated, but then come together wonderfully, in mystical imagination inspired by the images of poet William Blake.

Example #2: The Harry Potter series, by J.K. Rowling. One thread follows the great struggles of good versus evil, with a stream of magical creatures, wizard allies, and dastardly opponents. The other thread shows a cadre of schoolchildren in a boarding school, following their youthful friendships, rivalries, worries, and questions of trust and maturity. This combination leads to all sorts of scenes like the amusing magic-education classes, or the interactions with a variety of adult teachers with conflicting advice and information, not to mention odd minor characters as classmates, unusual school sports like Quidditch, and so on. This gives the series a rich setting to distinguish it from other epic struggles between dark and light forces.

Many novels use as their second story the idea of an occupation – doctor, cowboy, detective – explored in detail throughout the book and with its own storyline. This offers frequent collisions of the dramatic plot with interesting occupational situations. Consider whodunits such as the Egyptian archeologist mysteries by Elizabeth Peters or the National Park ranger mysteries by Nevada Barr. The details of professional practices are interesting in themselves, and always contribute substantially to the story of the mystery investigation.

Narrative nonfiction often uses a dual-story approach. Consider books like A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson or Blue Latitudes by Tony Horowitz. For those, the first element is the history or ecology of the places being visited. The second is the often humorous travel experiences of the authors – in both cases, with very eccentric sidekicks who tag along to provide comic relief. The books alternate between historical accounts and tales of modern life, often focusing on the incongruous contrasts.

Note that this concept is more than just a main story and a secondary one. As H.E. Bates, via Joan Aiken, pointed out, these are two ideas in collision, often from the very beginning. The outcome is a hybrid that draws equally from both original elements. For instance, in the Harry Potter books, considering the elements of (a) the good/evil struggle and (b) the schoolboy and his friends, which is the primary story and which a subplot? I’d suggest they are equal and interact so actively to have combined to make a unique story. Same is true in most of the other cases I’ve cited. They are blended tales, and this gives them an originality to distinguish them from other books in their genres.

The techniques:

• Look for two stories, or starting ideas, not just one – and perhaps two that are very separate, perhaps incongruous, and not often put together.
• Develop for each, somewhat independently, a flow of plot points, story arcs, and characters, with their needs, desires, challenges, activities, customs, and other aspects, as far as you can.
• Look for ways the two stories can cross, alternate, intersect, and impact each other, to create richer episodes and new perspectives.

Too many beginning writers create manuscripts that are solidly written . . . but really just have one core story. They follow that story faithfully from beginning to end, but in the end it lacks a certain complexity or originality. These stories lose out on the editor’s desk in favor of the unique creations that are the intersection of more than one idea.

My advice: wait till you find two fantastic and independently interesting ideas that create a real spark when they collide. Then see what happens to your story.