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Strange Attractors:

As writers, we are drawn to strange events, odd moments, and disturbing or jarring experiences. Keep in mind, when we introduce odd moments, we are promising the audience we are going to make it mean something by the end of the story. Intelligent audiences are often very suspicious of clever setups. We’ve been burned by stories and fantastic hooks that have only left us hanging.

Example:

There are two parts of an idea to a good story. The familiar is the part of the idea that the reader understands. For example, a familiar in a story would be pirates. If 100 people picked up your story and read that it was about pirates I’d bet that everyone would expect something similar. Something familiar. Then there is the other part of the idea that your story is based upon, the Strange attractor. An idea that is new and original that will hook your readers. So instead of having just a book about pirates, what if the pirates didn’t just roam the ocean. Instead they roamed the multiverse and raided planets. Pirates: familiar. Pillaging planets: strange attractor. Another thing I want to mention about strange attractors is that they evolve through time. For example, the multiverse. 30 years ago this would be a strange attractor, something new. But nowadays, the multiverse is a familiar concept. And the strange today will be familiar in 30 years.

A Thought:

I don’t want to be the person to tell you your story is boring. But I don’t want to read a story without that strange element. I think that the best stories have those strange elements in them. The strange elements that the creators push to the absolute limit and beyond.

Are you using Strange Attractors in your stories? I’d love to hear about it, so drop me a comment below.