Hey everyone, remember all the times I've talked about writing a mystery and/or a fantasy where the main character was blind and it was all in the first-person? Well, someone already beat me to it. In Book Two of N.K. Jemisin's The Inheritance Trilogy, called The Broken Kingdoms, the main character is Oree, a young blind girl. I just started reading this book so I'm not sure what she'll do. Yes, it's entirely in first person from her perspective and she can kind of see via magic or something. Hard to explain though as I'd have to read through it. Am I surprised? Shocked? Upset? I'm surprised, yes, but not upset. Obviously I'm not the first person to come up with a story revolving around a blind MC who can ‘see’ in one form or another. It's just a funny little coincidence that when I'm struggling to figure out how I can write a story from this POV, here comes Oree to show me exactly how. I just hope Jemisin won't mind if she ever opened my fantasy story to see that my MC is a blind teen who can kick ass, and it's from the first-person perspective. So what about you all? Ever had that feeling where someone else beat you to an idea floating around in your head? What was your reaction?
I wanted to write a novel about a girl who was born with a deformed face but I never got to do it and years later I came across Wonder. At first I was annoyed but when I read the book I realized it was completely different to what I had in mind so maybe one day I will still write it xD
Heh, that reminds me of the time I wanted to write a historical fiction about a deformed Russian boy. It was planned to be the successor to my Colonial Mystery where the boy meets my now aged blind former detective Amos Garnier and asks him to embark on one last adventure to assist him. Never got around to writing that, to be honest.
I read a book with a blind MC's first person POV about 20 years ago. It was a middle grade book but still, I would bet a hell of a lot of money that this one you've found isn't the only adult fantasy/mystery with this feature. Coincidences happen far more often than the human brain is comfortable with. Hang around on writing forums long enough and you'll see that it's really not rare for two writers to come up with very specific ideas (much more specific than blind, first person MCs) at the same time, let alone decades apart. I've seen three different writers who all swear blind that Stephanie Meyer stole Twilight from them, and their manuscripts had a lot more in common with hers than just a teen vampire romance. There are countless more who had to rewrite or shelve manuscripts because they found newly published works so similar that people would've accused them of copying. Most of these authors acknowledge there was absolutely 0% chance of that author having stolen their idea--they just came up with it at a similar time. It's some kind of zeitgeist effect coupled with coincidence. I haven't even been writing fiction for two years and yet loads of these little coincidences have occurred with my writing. I always find it funny or interesting rather than worrying. If you're holding out to write something truly original, you'll never publish anything! Novel #1 - One of my MCs has haphephobia (a fear of touch). Not something I'd come across in fiction before, and you wouldn't think it was a common thing in romance because of obvious difficulties. About three weeks ago I beta read the opening of another author's romance novel and, guess what? His hero has haphephobia. A few months before I beta read an erotica novel where the heroine has a less severe case of haphephobia. The hero in that novel had the same job as my hero. Novel #2 - The MC is called Ally, and in the first chapter she wears a blue cocktail dress. Recently beta read a novel where Ali was introduced wearing a blue cocktail dress. It has a scene where an elderly dog passes away at the vet's. The same week I sent the MS to my agent, no less than three of her clients sent her manuscripts where elderly dogs pass away at the vets. Novel #3 - A critique partner and I swapped chapters. Both of them featured MCs seeking out psychics for readings. The hero is grieving for his young son, who died in a water-related accident. While I was writing it I watched a boxset with my friend, where the male MC is grieving for his young son who died in a water-related accident.
I was just reminded of a movie I watched recently called Marie. The basic premise is just like The Miracle Worker only it's in 1900s France, and it's set in a school for deaf girls. Interestingly enough, it's based off of an actual French girl who lived a few decades after Helen Keller who was both blind and deaf just like Helen was. Guess that's why they say reality is stranger than fiction.
I've been working on a first-person POV too. Turns out Conan Doyle beat us both to it. ... In all some seriousness, the main (though not POV) character of my WIP is a black woman named Charlie Petersen who's been selling cocaine, and one of my secondary characters hates jazz on the whole but also holds a special place in the hole where her heart should be for hating Marion Harris above all others. I just read Sonny's Blues for an English class: the main (though not POV) character is a black man who's been using heroin, but who also loves jazz and particularly recommends Charlie Parker, although he has a very specific opinion about Louis Armstrong being a sell-out hack.
