Blogger: Wendy Lawton
The X-factor is that indefinable “something” that denotes star quality. In books it’s the something that makes a project an exception that overcomes all our naysaying and all our rules.
At a writer’s conference, when an editor or an agent panel is asked what they are looking for, someone usually answers with a frustrating “great writing.”
A writer will often put up his hand to say, “Can you be a little more specific?”
But the best the agent or editor can do is, “I’ll know it when I see it.”
What is that all about?
Let’s say we were able to synthesize one of those amazing books and figure out exactly what it is that makes it great. Let’s even say we were able to come up with five specific elements that ake it over the top, it still wouldn’t help the writer who’s trying to unlock the key to that illusive X-factor. If you were to combine all five elements in your manuscript, it would guarantee nothing. The X-factor cannot be quantified or mimicked.
It’s so illusive that we can recognize it but we cannot manufacture it.
You’ve seen how some speakers are able to woo the crowd each and every time they take the stage, right? They’ve got that X-factor. Another speaker could study the technique and painstakingly apply it to his own presentation and it would still miss the mark. It’s like that with books.
There is something instinctive with some writers, some innate ability to connect, to use language and to present ideas that simply rise above the norm. It’s the same with performers. Some are physically beautiful and technically perfect but compared to someone who has that x-factor, they simply fall flat.
It’s much like memoir. Many writers cannot distinguish between telling their own story—personal narrative—and memoir. There’s a big difference and much of it is that X-factor. We talk about “memoir voice.” I don’t think it can be taught. You either have it or you don’t. It’s a transparent way of telling your story—usually using sophisticated literary devices—that allows the story to become the vehicle for presenting universal truths.
The X Factor. Hmmmm. So I spent an entire blog not defining what it is.
But I know it when I see it.
Discoverability and the Writer
Kermit the Frog described it well, as “The Rainbow Connexion”. I’ll go with that.
* I do believe it’s individual to both the artiste and the recipient (I love saying, ‘artiste’, don’t you?), and it may be as elusive as Lewis Carroll’s Snark. For example, I don’t care for much of Coldplay’s oeuvre, but “Viva La Vida” stops me every time, and gives me chills, but barbara can take it or leave it. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvgZkm1xWPE)
* It’s also interesting to see the X-Factor develop, as it were. One of my favourite authors is Richard Bach, and if you track his work from his first published book, “Stranger To The Ground”, through “Biplane”, “Nothing By Chance”, and “Jonathan Livingston Seagull”, you can see the unfolding of a chrysalis, taking full wing with “Illusions: The Adventures Of A Reluctant Messiah”. “Illusions” is to my mind the best short novel I’ve ever read; not a word is wasted, not a scene left too short or too long, and the story and character arcs are so well defined as to be excellent examples for a master class. But I know that some of you won’t agree with me, find the character of Donald Shimoda both prosaic and unappealing, and the story a rehash of Khalil Gibran.
* So I wonder…does the X-Factor really come down to a kind of personal resonance, to a degree inculcated by the society and milieu in which we live, and by the stage in our own lives through which we’re passing? Much of this is culturally shared, which sure an advantage for artistes (that word again!) and their agents and publishers, so maybe if there’s a brass ring to be seized that could increase one’s chances of X-Factor-ing, it’s tapping into that reservoir of collective love and yearning.
* But that would be a whole lot of work, and I’d have to read articles in ‘Psychology Today’ and stuff, to understand it all. Think I’ll just keep typing my fingers to the bone, and then go have a beer or four and hope for the best. I’ll save a few for you…Fosters, the Nectar of Heaven!
Kermit the Frog. Nice!
God amazes me: so many people, no two alike. And each of us continually growing and changing (hopefully to be more like Christ). Everyone’s X-factor is different, and it changes over time. So it isn’t surprising that you can’t sum it up in a few words, Wendy. But you are gifted with the ability to recognize that an x-factor crossing your desk will apply to enough people to make publishing profitable.
* For we who write: maybe our x-factor is for just a few folks, or maybe just for ourselves. That doesn’t reduce it’s value . . . it just reduces its profitability. And in God’s economy, value isn’t measured in dollars.
I like your thoughts, Shirlee. God knows who our audience will be, and the number in that “crowd.” We shouldn’t try to strive in a different direction from where God is leading us.
“Everyone’s X-factor is different…”
Shirlee, I know what one of yours is–fostering wisdom and hope a few words at a time.
Oh Wendy, I tried to think of a long and complicated response . . . nah, just couldn’t do it 🙂
Wendy, this post made me smile and cringe at the same time. “I know it when I see it.” I’ve given up asking the questions that lead to this answer. Because I now understand more of why this answer comes to questions like, “How do you define great writing?”
*I know most writers have to learn writing craft. What I’m seeing is that these skills come more easily to some than to others. But, I’m guessing many writers, if they are willing to learn and practice, can develop an “X-Factor” in their writing. Yes?
Jeanne, I had that same question. Is the “X-Factor” something that one can develop, or is it something with which one is borne? At the moment, I suspect it is the latter. Either I have it, or I do not.
I believe one can study, practice, practice some more, and become “good” and just about anything to which one sets focus. But “X-Factor” is something that transcends being good. It is that intangible quality (Wendy called it illusive) that leaves us sitting in our seat, breathlessly asking, “Wow, what just happened?” I don’t believe that is something that can be learned.
Ugh — “Z-Factor.” I meant “born” not “borne.”
Damon, I am wondering if it is a little bit of both….Not sure. But, as we writers study people (for fiction) and craft characters that ring true to readers, this will help the story to resonate. This is something that is part intuitive and a lot intentional. It’s not easy, but every writer starts somewhere, right? And every writer must decide how far they are willing to journey in the pursuit of improving their craft.
*That said, some people do seem to have a way of weaving words that appears effortless. But every writer knows there is nothing effortless about writing beautifully, or with that X-factor quality.
*Anyway, that’s my two cents, now that I’ve had today to ponder this post. 😉
I can’t even identify exactly what it is that makes one novel hook and hold me, let alone others, because it varies from novel to novel. Even if I could, that might not be the X-factor for anyone else. When someone posts a glowing review at Amazon, I can know my novel had the X-factor for that person, and I give God thanks that the many hundreds of hours I spent moved at least one. But how does that translate to the novel I’m writing today?
*It becomes even harder to know what the X-factor will be when you fold in international readers. I don’t even know which countries they all live in, and every country’s culture is different. How can I identify why one of my novels works for someone in Hungary when I’m not really familiar with Hungarian culture?
*What I can do is ask God to help me write so my books will encourage the faith of those who do read them and lead those who don’t yet believe to begin asking if they ought to. That may not produce hundreds of thousands of sales, but it does keep me working for the kingdom, which is what I want most of all.
Beautiful, Wendy. Yes … every reader knows it. You know the book that you want to read over and over. Timing and mood so critical. And I do believe the X Factor can be different for everyone. Because some published books are memorable to me, and some aren’t … but the aren’t must have been so to someone, or it wouldn’t have been published. That’s all I can figure. And even my favorite authors produce a combination … swoon-worthy and just worthy. And I wait for that swoon-worthy to grab me again. I know it will. For me, it’s a vulnerability and a tenderness that take hold of my hands, inviting me to wrap the book in a hug.
“Vulnerability and a tenderness that take hold of my hands…” This is the sort of writing that makes me love your blog, Shelli.
Wendy Mac, thank you so much. 🙂
It strikes me that one way to develop an X-Factor is to be super-responsive to your readers, caring about them as individuals. Do that, and they will read personality and relationship more deeply into your work.
This is a great thought, Andrew!
Nice closing, Wendy! Gave me a chuckle. Your blog reminds of teachers and teaching. We are taught strategies, tricks, procedures, and so on all throughout college and while working with mentors and professional development groups. But after all that, there are some teachers who have the “X Factor” and some who don’t. I like to think I have it (I hope I do anyway:)). But I remember a student teacher I had who just couldn’t get some basic classroom management skills down. I felt bad, and coached her repeatedly, but she wasn’t able to nail it. A skill so integral to teaching, she just couldn’t “manufacture it.”
Thank you for teaching us publishing truth, Wendy. Your words make sense, though they’re painful to read. My memoir won’t be written by a woman who possesses the “x-factor.” It will be written by a writer who has the “t(cross)-factor” and who has studied those who have the literary magic of an Ann Voskamp. My story won’t have the movie appeal of “The Glass Castle”; however, it will move those who’ve been–or still are–in deep places that threatened their life and sanity. So be it if I end up self-publishing when I’ve reached the end of my editing journey. It will have been worth the hours I’ve put into it. For I’ve gained a bird’s-eye-view of the cross-factor’s transforming power in my life story. No price can be placed on a heart of faith.
Blessings ~ Wendy Mac
The “cross-factor” … yes 🙂 Because He can move mountains. “He can work a miracle” … in us.
This makes me wonder how often Writers recognized the X factor in their own work. I have written stories I feel good about, but then along comes and idea that grabs me by the heart, and words that seem to come not from myself – – culminating in something I can only describe as “the book of my heart.” But I wonder how often a book that feels that way to the writer translates the same to readers.
Oooh, I know what you mean, Becky. I think maybe it will translate to the readers who are in the same place as the writer. 🙂
If I had to solve for the value of “X,” I’d say a story has to vibrate in my soul so deeply that it hurts. It thumps on my chest so hard that I don’t dare put it down.
Its characters make me rethink my opinions as they flow and eddy, chapter-to-chapter. They may even gravitate toward one another as they orbit around me. And while their movie plays in my mind, it sets thoughts in motion that may change me, even make me better somehow.
That’s how I’d solve for “X,” with “resonance.”
Wendy, thanks for posing such a challenging question!
This kind of tells me what the x factor might be part of (?)
I’ve heard that many think of their stories as their “children”–and if they’re good parents, nurture them with love & knowledge, until they’re able to go out into the world on their own.
However, that doesn’t mean the world will accept them in the specific areas of our choosing (like training them for certain jobs for instance) especially if someone brighter stands out. (A competitive world).
So, I see the x-factor as pt. of God’s plan to place that “child” where He needs him/her most. Those who might not have any strong early interests may need to wander for awhile; find a new path.
And that seems to go for “kids” with both a good–or poor–upbringing.
p.s. I apologize for this being off-topic but I’ve searched for concrete answers and really haven’t gotten any. I’d thought to include a dream sequence in my historical romance (story has a kind of gothic feel) but have heard that including dreams aren’t really all that acceptable. Thoughts?–and thanks!
“we can recognize it but we cannot manufacture it.”
This struck me. Think of how many things this could apply to. I’m sure there are many, but faith and authenticity spring to mind.