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Write what you love.
I know! I know! Markets and trends and audience appeal, oh my. Yes, it’s important to know your market. But how do you do that? You read in your genre. Do I read YA? You betcha! Do I read paranormal and fantasy? I eat it for breakfast. Combine the two and you’ve got me hooked. I just got back from vacation. What did I take to read by the poolside? CLARITY by Kim Harrington. My genre. I LOVED it! And I learned from it.
The point is, I didn’t climb on the dystopian bandwagon just because I loved Hunger Games. I’ve read quite a few, but it isn’t what excites me (writing wise) overall. It isn’t the thing that keeps me up at night with ideas. It isn’t the thing that makes me itch to get home and write when I’m running errands, or even out to dinner. Without that excitement, my work will be missing a spark. And that spark is necessary. It is VITAL. But paranormal is dying you say? I say, everything has a market. Everything comes back around. What I write today won’t be published for at least two years, so who knows what will be “hot” then? I have to be aware of these things, but honestly as long as I keep it original, I’m not as concerned as you might think. I write what I’d want to read, which I hope is something others will want to read as well.
Would I write something else? Sure! But I guarantee it'll be something that get's me just as excited.
Would I write something else? Sure! But I guarantee it'll be something that get's me just as excited.
Which brings us back to my point. You have to write what you love. Because in the end, isn’t that why you started doing this in the first place?
Psst! Did you guys see my guest post on the amazing Julie Musil's blog? She's running a contest so check it out!
I fully agree. As long as its original - that's the key. But I don't care what genre it has to be well written and original! Good point.
ReplyDeleteYes, of course--you have to write something you're passionate about, but it can't be a pale imitation or rehashing of overdone ideas, and I think that's the risk in writing a genre that's so huge. There's always room for innovation, just less low-hanging fruit, so to speak.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you. I've got to write what I love and I love me some YA fantasy. Knowing the market is a must but I don't think I'll write to trends. Better to be a trend setter. :D
ReplyDeleteTotally agree!! I wouldn't enjoy writing in a genre I dislike, so I don't! My biggest problem is I adore a whole bunch of genres ... and age levels. :)
ReplyDeleteI agree with this completely! I might like other books, but they don't really ignite in my the same passion I have for fantasy. I do find myself wanting to write in other genres, but for some reason, I know I won't be as dedicated to them.
ReplyDeleteHey, thanks for the shout out!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. Sometimes I feel out of place because I'm not writing what's hot, but I know that's not what would excite me. And there are MANY paranormal readers out there who will not let the genre die. With your creativity, you'll continue to write amazing stories and you'll have plenty of readers!
i always write what i love...it just usually happens to be what the trend is. and i'm usually a day late and a dollar short. sigh.
ReplyDeleteMan, I hate that people say paranormal is dying. I actually disagree. I just thing... paranormals have to stand out and be really unique to get picked up these days. Which is fine with me :)
ReplyDeleteAnd anyway, like you said it takes around 2 years for something you write today to come out (if not longer), so by the time something trends, it's almost too late to write to it anyway.
I'm glad to see so much passion out there! Not that I doubted that. Don't get discouraged. Just hang in there.
ReplyDeleteI did see that post and I've spread the word a bit. Congratulations on the publication of your short story. Wonderful.
ReplyDeleteMy son is really into ghosts and ghosts stories and those reality ghost hunting shows. So I took some of that and am writing an MG ghost story. Am I writing to a trend? Yeah, maybe, but it's my story and I'm proud of it. So yeah, I'm totally with you.
ReplyDeleteerica
Did you see the post yesterday about the top 3 movie franchises of all time? Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter. All SFF.
ReplyDeleteNow, I know they are movies, but fantasy and other paranormal type genres stay with us for a reason. They've been here ever since the first mythologist told a story about the first god. I don't think it's going to die any time soon.
And you're so right, as always, about writing what you love.
Unless you can push out a book to print in 3 months or less, writing to the "market" is like a dog chasing its tail. Don't think you'll ever quite get it.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I've talked to one writer yet,(in my incredibly small circle of writerly friends) that said: "I think/know (fill in genre here) will be hot in 24 months. I'm going to write that now." Maybe it's happened and I just wasn't listening.
I'd love to have a market be hot for my WIP when it finally crawls from its cave, blinking hard at the bright light of the reading world its been hiding from for so long. But hey, if it comes and and finds a barren landscape void of creativity and life, I guess then it becomes a trend setter and faces little competition.
Win-Win...I like that!
write what you love and you'll never go wrong! great post! And I so don't think Paranormal's dying out just yet.
ReplyDeletenutschell
www.thewritingnut.com
I agree! This is just too much work to slave away at something you don't love. (I met a writer friend at workshop who writes children's books on spec - non-fiction chap books and other cool things, but her passion is YA - and her novel-in-progress is waaaay cool. I think you can do both - write to pay the bills, and write your heart&soul.)
ReplyDeleteCouldn't agree more, especially at my pace of writing. My third book was a dystopian that I wrote back in 2005, way before the genre became popular. By the time it's ready for publication, I'm sure dystopian will be out of style again...*Sigh*
ReplyDeleteBecca @ The Bookshelf Muse
I'm with you...
ReplyDeleteI agree 100%. We have to write what we love to write. If we're passionate about our work, it will show in our writing. I don't think paranormal is going out.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely agreed. I've tried writing things outside my interest a few times; while I have no problem putting the words together in pleasing patterns, the heart to make something memorable is missing.
ReplyDeleteI've pondered this question a lot recently. Why do I write YA? Why do I write YA urban fantasy? The answer always comes down to: because it's what I love. These are the stories I wanted to read when I was 8, and 10, and 15, and 25. They're the ones that I want to make available if I can't find them. The draw in my heart as either reader or writer is unswayed by trends. As the battered copy of The Silver Kiss I've carried overseas and back twice attests to, this has been constant throughout the years, and I know that there are other 12-year-old girls eating it up as I type this. The dreams it allows those girls to reach will always exist, whether or not they're the rage to everyone else at the moment.
Staying original and loving what you write is the key indeed.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reminder and for the record I don't think Paranormal is dying at all. :)
Writing what I want to read is exactly what I do. One problem with that is I'm pretty weird and have very different tastes than most people. Another problem with that is that I don't have kids and what I like to read is middle grade fantasy. A middle grade writer who has kids would have a bit more credibility (and first-hand knowledge).
ReplyDeleteYou are so right! It has to be about the love. I'll bet they said paranormal was dying out back when Dracula was published too.
ReplyDeleteI did see your post and loved it! Julie is my agency sister:) I agree. I have to write what I love. It's hard enough doing that. Forcing myself to write to a trend would be torture. Besides, you never know, you might start or reignite a trend by writing what you love!
ReplyDeleteYou got it! Write what you love. I agree 100%
ReplyDeleteTrend or not, your passion for your story has to be there. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI think that when you write to trends, the writing can fall flat. Write what you love, always. Tell a great story and the rest will follow.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Nice to meet you, Lisa!
I was practically clapping as I read your post. I really think passion (or the lack of it) comes through in writing. For me, too, it's just more fun to write about what I am passionate about.
ReplyDeleteYES!!!! Sorry, I'm a bit late getting on this one. :)
ReplyDeleteTHIS is exactly what I tried to explain to my grandmother the other day when she asked: "Why PNR and UF?" (quick background: she's a retired, southern-baptist missionary) Answer: Because it's what I KNOW and what I LOVE! I've tried reading and writing other genres, but my heart is never in it. PNR & UF? My heart's always there!
Thanks, Lisa! I'm going to print this out and take to her the next time she mentions it. :)
I completely agree with you! I'm writing contemporary YA and I love it. I hear that editors are looking for contemp YA but the problem is, it isn't selling as well as other genres. So I realize what I'm writing may not get me a book deal quickly. But I'm writing it anyway because I love it and that's what matters. :)
ReplyDeleteFortunately what I like to read and write isn't a trend. Maybe I'll start one. Sounds good to me. :D
ReplyDelete