Random Writing Lessons: "Red Queen" and The Rule of K.I.S.S.

Back in high school, I took a songwriting class. When my professor was trying to explain to us how to actually make money at music, he told us to follow in the footsteps of the band KISS.

From left to right: the Starchild, the Catman, the Demon, and the Spaceman.

KISS is the band behind earworm radio hits like "I was Made for Lovin' You," and "Rock N Roll All Night." Just by reading the song titles, you can probably hum the rest of the melody yourself. 

Even if you didn't grow up in the 70s or 80s, odds are, you're probably familiar with the big hair, leather tights, and black-and-white face paint. Even I do, and I was born in '99.

Why? Because KISS refuses to let the world forget about them.

KISS has a crazy amount of merchandising. You can even be buried in a KISS casket. 

Rock n' roll will never die...unless you're buried in one of these.

KISS has even made appearances for pop culture aimed at younger audiences, to make sure their legacy lasts forever.

KISS in The Fairly Oddparents (2009).

(2015)

Yes, this is the worst Scooby-Doo movie. Trust me...I know... :(

Going back to my songwriting teacher, he told us that the secret to KISS's success is in their very name itself. 

"What does KISS stand for?" he said. "Keep It Simple, Stupid."

KISS is an extremely simple band. They aren't a band that evolves its sound over time and consistently produces music. In fact, most of their CD releases are live recordings of stage performances. They don't innovate or challenge. Despite this, they are one of the most recognizable bands of all time. Why? They Kept It Simple, Stupid. 

Here are the two key features of the band KISS that make up what I call, "The Rule of K.I.S.S."

#1 - Exaggeration: The dynamic black-and-white face paint. Gene Simmons wagging his tongue. Broad statements like "I want to rock and roll all night."

#2 - Repetition. Don't innovate or change your design, just bring attention back to what made you big in the first place. If a member of KISS leaves, another member assumes the persona of the person who left it behind.

I think about these two principals a lot, especially when it comes to my own artistic pursuits. Sometimes I can get caught up in elaborate plots and overthink the details I write in my stories. But wouldn't it be better if I just gave up the pretense, thought smaller instead of bigger, and just Keep it Simple, Stupid?

Recently, I picked up a copy of the book Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard. It's the first book in a fantasy YA series. It's also quite popular - as of writing this, on Goodreads, Red Queen has a rating of 4.03 stars based on 811,000 ratings left behind by readers. Not only that, but Victoria Aveyard is successful enough to have multiple book series published. I even got to see her on a panel on sci-fi/fantasy worldbuilding at the Santa Monica book fest, Yallwest. 

"Power is a dangerous game."

My friend who went with me to Yallwest told me that Red Queen actually wasn't that good of a book, but I bought a copy anyway, determined to figure out how it became so popular. What I discovered is that Red Queen shows us the Rule of K.I.S.S. in action. 

So, how does Red Queen...Keep It Simple, Stupid?

#1 - Exaggeration.

Red Queen is told in first person, so the protagonist, Mare Barrow, gets to tell you everything she's seeing and thinking at any given moment.

The conflict is clearly established within the first few chapters. Red Queen takes place in a world where common Red-blooded people are ruled over by Silver-blooded people. The Silver-blooded people are all aristocrats with superpowers. 

Mare's narration uses a lot of metaphors and similes to make the storytelling as vivid as possible. It's the kind of story that you can skim through and understand what's going on. In particular, there's a lot of animal-based descriptions, comparing people to wild like cats, or stinging like wasps. By using familiar animals, it makes the world that much easier to understand.

It doesn't take long for the narration to transition from one place of living to another. In one day, Mare starts as a poor Red who's about to be conscripted into the army, then gets a job working for the Silvers, then produces Silver-like powers that a Red like her shouldn't have. In less than 24 hours, Mare turns from a nobody into a pretend princess engaged to one of the Silver princes. For longer periods of times like weeks, Mare just recaps what's happened without going to deep into detail. 

#2 - Repetition.

Silvers are powerful and strong and they take advantage of Reds. Mare wishes she was more like her more gentle and talented younger sister, Gisa. The sisters miss their three older brothers, who all left for war. Mare hates pretending to act like a Silver. She doesn't know what kind of being she is, but somehow, she's special, and it's driving everyone crazy.

The narration repeat itself on these points - a lot. Sometimes it "restates" itself - saying the same thing, but using different words. 

A routine is established in the middle arc of the story. It sets up the status quo of Mare living with the Silvers, allowing her freedom to explore the world without the story becoming "lost."

There's a great advantage to all of this, because you're never going to read this book and feel you're missing something, or not understand what the characters are going through. But in the nicest terms, this type of writing comes off as...juvenile. 

Yes, yes, I know it's YA, it's not meant to be super dense or cryptic.

But you know what? Sometimes YA can be dense and cryptic. If you want dense, read Twilight. If you want cryptic (and really really really good mystery that pays off in the end) read When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead.

So, what's the lesson here? Should all of us writers limit our ideas and repeat ourselves, hoping that a story that's easier to understand will sell more books? 

                                      

If I saw fanart of my own characters like this I'd cry tears of joy.

Let's look at another book series that isn't as successful or simple, but is very dear to me. 

Get ready for the Magical Depression Lesbians.

Fire Logic is the first in the Elemental Logic series of books by Laurie J. Marks. It's not YA - it's a thick and complicated fantasy novel. The characters in this world operate on different ways of thinking - the titular "logics." For instance, the protagonist Zanja has Fire Logic, meaning she instinctively understands something and knows she must do it, but the reasons why are not clear to her at first. As a reader, you often have to trust the character's own doubt. In the end, it makes for very satisfying storytelling, when all the clues the characters find are put together. 

The Elemental Logic series isn't simple. It's complex. It invents its own rules and lore. But when you finally do come to a point of understanding, the payoff is absolutely marvelous. 

Also, it's full of gay characters who get married and start families without any persecution (which in itself can be a difficult thing for some readers to accept). 

Zanja and her LITERAL GIANT wife Karis.
They're not this happy in the book, unfortunately.

On Goodreads, Fire Logic only has about 2,000 ratings - which is 0.2% of the readership that Red Queen has. This is also a bit disheartening when you consider that Fire Logic was published over ten years before Red Queen.

But still.

That's 2,000 people who read this story and cared enough to leave a rating, myself included. Fire Logic may not have the public's attention in the way that Red Queen does, but it did find its audience. It was an important find for me at a time when I doubted that publishers were interested in LGBT stories. Despite not following The Rule of K.I.S.S., Fire Logic is in its own way, a success. 

One thing I'm learning to embrace is that even if your writing doesn't reach a huge audience, it will still find its way to someone who appreciates it and understands it in a way no one else can. 

In conclusion...should you as an artist: Keep It Simple, Stupid?

I think it depends.

There's nothing wrong with Red Queen. I'm enjoying it in the same way my little sister enjoys Reality TV. It's a little trashy, but it's fun trash. And I admire the intelligence of Aveyard as a writer to know just how simple to keep her storytelling. 

But, I will love and appreciate Fire Logic and Laurie J. Marks more for writing a story that is unafraid to take creative risks - especially because those risks paid off.

Just because a piece of art uses familiar and simple tropes, it doesn't make it less of art. I think the band Axis of Awesome nailed this in 2011.

And just because a piece of art might not have a wide appeal, it doesn't mean it's unloved.  

When I get to publishing, this is the review I'll be waiting for.