Years ago, when I worked for the largest newspaper in the State, daily issues were still being printed. For the always super-sized Sunday paper, there was an early issue that came out on Saturday called the Blue Streak. Because I’m having eye surgery tomorrow (January 31st), this is a two-day early Blue Streak for my blog which usually appears on the 1st day of the month.
I recently read an article about why the Coca-Cola from McDonald’s restaurants tastes better than anywhere else. The top-secret Coke formula is exactly the same wherever the product is sold. So, why is McDonald’s Coke better?
The reason is that the Coke is delivered to McDonald’s in stainless steel tanks, while most other places get their Coke in plastic bags. The tanks protect the flavor in a way the bags cannot do.
McDonald’s also uses a top-tier filtration system to mix with the Coke, using a special water-to-Coke ratio, pre-chilled syrup to keep the Coke cold, and a wider-than-average straw for the thirsty customer. In a nutshell, the best Coke is all about the delivery.
https://www.allrecipes.com/article/why-mcdonalds-coke-tastes-better-than-all-others/
Writing is the same way, After all, formulas exist for every genre of writing. For example:
Romance: Man meets woman, they fall in love, then they face problems that could break them, but they manage to find their way back to each other again.
Mystery/Suspense/Thriller: There’s a killing (or disappearance/crime) to be solved. Nothing is as it seems.
Sci-Fi: The concepts are futuristic and usually involve space and aliens.
Fantasy: There’s magic (and perhaps folklore or mythology, too) in the fiction.
Western: Land in the West (and probably fighting over it) is involved.
That may be an over-simplification, but not far off. So, how are there so many great stories for us to read? It’s all about the delivery.
Someone could have written, “A blond girl breaks into the house of a bear family, then gets caught.” Instead, the myth was written with flavor, literally: “This porridge is too hot/too cold/just right.” The myth repeats this theme: “This chair is too soft/too hard/just right. This bed is too soft/too hard/just right.” Those repetitions add flair.
The story of the big bad wolf adds poetry that warns of danger, “I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house down.” So does Jack and the Beanstalk. “Fee, fi, fo, fum. I smell the blood of an Englishman.”
If you want to be the McDonald’s Coca-Cola of great writing, think about the delivery. Put some frosting on that cake!
Why do some of us watch shows like Project Runway? We want to see the creativity of the designers in how they “make it work.” In other words, we like to see the delivery of the final project.
Boy, I'm gonna remember this one, Lisbeth! I think the "delivery" strategy can be applied to many things, but in my case, I'll apply it to my writing endeavors for sure. And thanks for filling us in about McDonalds' cokes. They are super scrumptious, but I had no idea the reason why!
This glass of Coke looks spectacular--I can never get enough ice in my cold beverages! And the chocolate cake...where's my fork?
I agree with wanting to have/give the most. My favorite genre is the humorous mystery. I have found few humorous mystery writers who supply enough original funny material. So many throw in curse words, or words like broads & goons and this is supposed to be funny...or they make the characters so horny that is supposed to be funny, or the book will be listed as a humorous mystery, but there are only one or two funny scenes in the entire book. I WANT MORE!
I'm working on a humorous mystery which makes me appreciate how hard it is to write comedy, but when I make myself laugh writing a scene it makes it all worthwhile. Till tomorrow. When I'm back to seeing how little I've written, or realize how much of what I've written probably won't make it into the finished novel. But I live for those short, funny moments of insight into human behavior.
It's good to be human. And a writer. And to have this moment enjoying readers and writing.