Be cliched or remain unique

kelliewallace

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I have finished writing my WW2 Nazi drama 'Darkness before Dawn' after 6 long months.
The Collaborator by Margaret Leroy was an inspiration. But as I read these HF, most recently finished reading The Kommandant's Girl, a question arises.
In both these books, the female MC winds up pregnant by her Nazi lover. In my book, she doesnt. I am torn to rewrite the whole ending to incorporate this or to leave it as is.
I already have a character with a child, unmarried and I know back then contraception wasnt widely used.
Do I stay cliched or remain one from the crowd? I wonder what a publisher might suggest.
 

pdr

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Why?

Why do you feel you have to have the same thing? Your heroine is your creation and not a copy of another writer's surely?

Having the same pregnancy ending should only come about if that fits your story and your character. Honest writing based on your research and your imagination and your characters stands a better chance of publication than merely following the crowd.
 

kelliewallace

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Thanks guys. Pdr, it wasnt planned in my storyline and Ive gotten away with it so far. I think the book is better without it :)
 

Puma

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Stick with your original idea. There's no value in copy-catting what seems to be an expected outcome. Circumstances were not always the same. Puma
 

Belle_91

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I also stay stick with your original idea.

I agree with what pdr said and that this is your character and your story.

I just finished a Revolutionary War story and I have been reading historical fiction books about the time. Nearly all of them have the MC spying on the British. In fact, it seems that every HF I pick up on the Revolutionary War and Civil War has the MC spying on someone.

There were alot of awesome people who didn't spy. There were women struggling to keep their property and family united. They were defending their homes and helping soldiers in hospitals and sometimes on the field.

Sorry for my little rant, but I know where you're coming from where you feel like you have to change it, but I don't think you do.
 

Snowstorm

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I'm glad you're sticking with your original idea.

I find it tiresome that the gal usually ends up pregnant.
 

Siri Kirpal

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Sat Nam! (Literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

And if you're worried that it won't ring true because of the lack of contraception, don't fret. The conditions in the camps often caused women to become infertile.

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal
 

L.C. Blackwell

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Sat Nam! (Literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

And if you're worried that it won't ring true because of the lack of contraception, don't fret. The conditions in the camps often caused women to become infertile.

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal

Even if it's not in a camp--assuming it isn't--it's not as easy to get pregnant as most people think, and the chance of conceiving goes down as a woman's age goes up. That is, someone in her mid-thirties is far less likely to get pregnant than someone in her early twenties, even with normal health and diet.

Then too, men who are otherwise virile can have a low sperm count. So pregnancy, while possible, is not an inevitable consequence.

And goodness, no!--you don't want to follow a story-line just because everybody else does it. If you do, why would readers pick up your book?

:)
 

Hip-Hop-a-potamus

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If not infertile, starvation-type conditions (such as anorexia in modern day times) can cause women to stop having periods.

Problem solved.
 

Carmy

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I agree. Starvation, stress, fear - all of these add up to affect a woman.

Stay original! I loathe reading books that tell the same story as dozens of other books. I make a point of avoiding that author's other books, because they're probably cliches as well.