Thursday, September 23, 2010

Who is the author?

Today's Thursday inspiration comes from Tink, who had this idea:

"What if you didn't know who the author of the book was and the book was like a mystery where you had to find out?"

I am fascinated by this. You could write it as a scavenger hunt through the internet or even, gasp, the real world, where you had to figure out what historical figure was supposedly the author.

But I want fiction. A middle grade mystery with changing points of view, one of whom has written the book but doesn't admit it. In the story, a certain book has powers of some sort. Something important* hinges on who the author is, but nobody knows. After a few chapters, we realize the book in question is the one we're holding and WE have to figure out who wrote it. I want it sort of terrifying, like if we don't figure it out before the book is over something dreadful might happen to us in REAL LIFE.

I want a smart mystery with a brand-new structure and definite chills. Who will write me this book?


* No, I don't know what powers or what hinges. And this is why YOU are going to write the book.

5 comments:

cath c said...

that scares me just thinking about writing it!

but it does sound fun.

Anonymous said...

Sounds very meta to me...

J. Thorp said...

very cool, J-Robb. too many good ideas, and no time...

Jacqui said...

cath, I know. I kinda want someone to write it REALLY scary.

Debbie, tis.

Thorp, ain't it the truth? I wish I could write this one.

Julie Hedlund said...

I don't know any children's books like that, but I recently read a book called Blind Submission that took place in a California-based literary agency that was exactly that: a "whowroteit?"