plot | Susan Baganz

Reading Time: 5 minutes

Author Confessions: It’s All Been Done Before

Ecclesiastes 1:9 famously states: What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun.

This collides horribly with our desire to be unique or feel like we are special or that no one has ever gone through what we have gone through. It’s a tightrope to walk between realizing the truth of that as not minimizing the struggles, challenges, traumas, that we all go through at one time or another on a world cursed by sin. Ouch.

In writing a story we are told to try to be unique, yet when it comes to marketing we are to compare our stories to similar authors or tales, while at the same time explaining why our book is different and the world needs this manuscript to be published. While this is more for non-fiction, it is sometimes applied to fiction as well.

As we learn and grow as humans we have “Aha” moments, right? Moments when we discover a truth or a unique hack that makes life make more sense or better. Often we don’t share those things because it may be foolish to others because “I was today-years-old when I learned….” Have you been there? I sure have!

Like when I found out that the best way to dry out my children’s wet shoes was to stuff them with newspaper. By morning they were dry. Amazing!

Social media has exposed us to so much information, so many “hacks”. Lots of stories of personal triumph and tragedy. It can be overwhelming. But after a while it all starts to sound familiar, doesn’t it? People get sick. People die. Someone is grieving putting down a pet. Someone has a cancer. Someone is struggling financially. Someone has to move or is looking for a job. The list goes on but if you spend any time on social media you are familiar with pain and struggles. And the sales pitches.

When it comes to writing however, familiarity also rings true. While the exact combination of words and characterizations might be unique, there are similar story lines. The term used for them is plots. The more a readers consumes fiction, the more he or she will understand that there are some overarching plot lines. There is not a definitive list but here are some I’ve come across:

Alienation – examples would be 1984 (Orson Wells), The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton), Donuts and Detours (Susan M. Baganz)
Ambition – Great Expectations (Charles Dickens) , Macbeth (William Shakespeare), Jingle all the Way (Susan M. Baganz)
Betrayal – Game of Thrones (George R. R. Martin), Operation: Allegiance (DeeDee Lake and Susan M. Baganz)
Man vs Society – Catching Fire (Suzanne Collins)
The Importance of Family – Little Women (Lousia May Alcott), Pesto and Potholes (Susan M. Baganz)
Discovery – Eat, Pray, Love (Elizabeth Gilbert), Feta and Freeways (Susan M. Baganz)
Love, sacrifice, and reward – Les Miserables (Victor Hugo), It’s a Wonderful Life (Jeanine Basinger and Leonard Maltin), Operation: Reconnaissance (DeeDee Lake & Susan M. Baganz)
Overcoming Adversity – Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins), Operation: Skirmish (DeeDee Lake and Susan M. Baganz)
Death – The Graveyard Book (Neil Gaiman), Root Beer and Roadblocks (Susan M. Baganz)
Good vs Evil – Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit (J.R.R. Tolkien), Whitney’s Vow (Susan M. Baganz), Madi’s Secret (Susan M. Baganz), Finnian’s Rescue (Susan M. Baganz) The Black Diamond Regency Series: The Baron’s Blunder, The Virtuous Viscount, Lord Phillip’s Folly, Sir Michael’s Mayhem, Lord Harrow’s Heart, The Captain’s Conquest (Susan M. Baganz)

In Romance there are a few, called “tropes” that stand out as well and many overlap with the above plots:

Long-lost love – Madi’s Secret (Susan M. Baganz)
Secret love child – Root Beer and Road Blocks (Susan M. Baganz), Madi’s Secret (Susan M. Baganz)
Couple first dislikes each other but find common ground
Secret love (finally exposed) Feta and Freeways (Susan M. Baganz)
Enemies to Lovers – A Husband for Christmas (Susan M. Baganz)
Fish out of water – Finnian’s Rescue (Susan M. Baganz)
Rivals
Sworn off relationships
Forbidden love
Oblivious to love Donuts and Detours (Susan M. Baganz)
Unrequited love
Trapped in an elevator
Alpha hero Whitney’s Vow (Susan M. Baganz)
Work colleagues
Dark secret
Emotional scars Pesto and Potholes (Susan M. Baganz)
Redemption
Rejected as unworthy by parents and former lovers
Damsel in distress – Lord Phillip’s Folly (Susan M. Baganz), A Slam-Dunk Christmas (Susan M. Baganz)
Dude in distress
Injury – Operation Skirmish (DeeDee Lake and Susan M. Baganz), The Virtuous Viscount (Susan M. Baganz)
Different worlds
Secret identity
Sunny vs grumpy
Pen pals/ secret identity
Work adversaries
Rich vs poor/ unequal social status
Opposites attract
Forbidden love – Romeo and Juliet (William Shakespeare)
Secret identity/billionaire/royal Lord Harrow’s Heart (Susan M. Baganz), A Tangled Christmas (Susan M. Baganz)
Stuck together – The Captain’s Conquest (Susan M. Baganz)
Best friend’s brother/sister Sir Michael’s Mayhem (Susan M. Baganz)
Second chance – Truffles and Traffic (Susan M. Baganz)
Soul mates
Fake relationship
Wedding fever – runaway brides/jilted/best men/wedding planners
Amnesia/mistaken identity – Sir Michael’s Mayhem (Susan M. Baganz)
Holiday romances – Gabriel’s Gift, The Doctor’s Daughter, Sugar Cookies and Street Lamps, Pixie’s Almost Perfect Christmas, A Slam-Dunk Christmas, A Tangled Christmas, A Husband for Christmas, Jingle all the Way (Susan M. Baganz)

I’ve put as many of my books into some of these categories but as you might be able to tell, there can be overlap and more than one “trope” in a book! This is not an exhaustive list by any means. There is a reason that some people love Hallmark books and movies, because they have a formula for their plots that works and for many that similarity is a comfort.

All that to say, hopefully the writing, in spite of any tropes, is good enough to keep the reader engaged to enjoy the journey even if it is perhaps similar to one someone else has read. As an editor I’ve had to reject books that were too similar to other books I was aware of. One especially was too similar to another by a famous author, and while I can’t accuse her of plagiarizing the work it was too similar for me to be comfortable with, which was sad because the writing was great.

There’s nothing new under the sun, yet as creative people, authors are still trying to create something fresh within the reality that it’s all been done before in some form or fashion. It is gratifying when a reader will tell me how a book surprised them. Even if something’s been done before I hope my readers will find enjoyment and perhaps learn something as they read my stories. If you find that an author has surprised you and you really enjoyed a book, please help them out by writing a review on Amazon so others can enjoy it as well. It really does help!

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Author Confessions: Imperfect Parallels to God’s Omniscience

Omniscience is a big word. God is King of kings and LORD of lords and ruler over all. He is in control of everything in the universe from the division of every cell to the weather changes. He, as royalty and the Creator and Sustainer of all life. He truly does know everything: past, present, and future and that in many ways should terrify us all.

In college I had a philosophy professor who was an atheist and delighted in tearing down any Christian who spoke up in class. In a class on Ancient Greek Philosophy, studying Plato, he singled me out in front of the class when I stated I believed in an omniscient God and free-will. Now I was young in my faith and had never really deeply contemplated the tension of these two beliefs. He then told me that I needed to debate another student who was an atheist to prove the existence of God.

I could sense the entire class gasping and holding their breath. Another Christian in class who would challenge the teacher would be so roundly chastised he would skip the next class.

I responded calmly. “I will not do this.”

“Why not?” he demanded.

“For one, it has no connection to what we are learning in this class. Two: No one else has to do this assignment. And three: I don’t need to prove God’s existence. He can do that on His own.”

Everyone was tense. He surprisingly backed down but did make me write my final paper on the topic of free will vs. omniscience for which he gave me an F and stated that he had a “personal problem” with my paper. I appealed and wrote it again after the course was finished and got a D. I had an A going in that class. He told me there was no way I could ever get an A on that paper. After that I reported his bias and misbehavior to the head of his department. I learned later he was denied tenure.

This man wanted me to solve, in ten pages or less, something that theologians have been fighting over for centuries. Whether you are a Calvinist or Wesleyan, I think that our attempts to put human paradigms over Scripture are going to be innately flawed and God will likely l laugh at us all and say: “You missed the whole point.” Studying and researching it is good but stay humble. There are godly people on both sides of this debate.

However free-will and omniscience work I have no clue, so if you thought I was going to solve this here, I’m sorry to disappoint you.

As an author I get a glimpse of this in my writing. I know the type of ending my characters will have: Happy. As I write their story without a plan it unfolds before me. Sometimes my characters surprise me. I doubt anything I do surprises God. The thing is, I always get my characters where I want them to be regardless of the surprises they throw in my way.

God writes stories through me, and He knows all the details. He also understands all the real-life plot twists, decisions, feelings, traumas, and healing that I endure on my journey through the story He is writing in my life. I need to trust Him as the Author. Worship Him. Obey Him. I will get where He wants me to be, and He will use me (and others He places in my path) for His purposes along the way.

Yes, this is simplistic, but sometimes we make the Christian life too complicated. Good theology should always lead to doxology: worship and obedience to our King and Creator. Surprisingly enough, even my sins are known by Him before I commit them and yet, He forgives me when I confess them and turn from them. The free gift of God’s grace doesn’t make much sense in a logical way either. There is a reason it is called faith. The fact that He predestined me to be His child doesn’t make sense either. I made a choice, a willful choice, led by the Holy Spirit, but God knew before I ever did that, the life I would live and the path it would take. My mind is blown by these concepts. How about you?

He knows my end as well. My dreams and fears. My hopes and disappointments. None of that escapes our holy, righteous, all-powerful God! There is comfort in that as well as deep awe when I stop to think of it.

That same God equipped me and called me to write stories that reflect aspects of His glorious character and the truths of Scripture. Not all my stories are deeply evangelical, but the truth is there in between the pages. It is also up to His Holy Spirit to use those words in the hearts and minds of the reader (or listener) if there will be any lasting impact from my labors.

This is why it is not a job to write – but a calling. God called me and led me to this work so I trust Him for the results, although I’m doing all I can with what I know to spread the word about my stories so others can be blessed and encouraged. And I hope my imperfect parallels to God’s omniscience gave you a little glimpse of how mighty He truly is.