Hey all sorry this might end up quite long... a bit of background is that i am a huge fantasy genre fan having read a lot of Robert Jordan (wheel of time), George RR Martin (a song of ice and fire), Christopher Paolini (inheritance cycle), Trudi Cameron (black magician trilogy), J.K Rowling (harry potter obv), J.R.R Tolkien (lord of the rings) and then also robyn young (brethren trilogy) and dan brown (da vinci code and angels and demons), a lot of my dvds are very theme orientated such as troy, kingdom of heaven, pirates of carribbean, gladiator, a knights tale, 300 and 10000 bc. and basically this is my problem, because of these influences i became heavily into this sort of genre with the knights templar and wheel of time being the centre of it and i started writing a book with this being a theme, i reached 50,000 words and became very obsessed with editing what i had already written and it has been about 3 years now and i still havent managed to extend this iv bogged myself down and each time i try to write i edit. (for the record i am approaching my 19th birthday so i know i have many years ahead of me to continue writing and possibly correct this) but my real problem has occured since i read stephenie meyers twilight series which for those who dont know is a modern day vampire, werewolves and humans...well since i read this i cannot focus on anything but her books and cannot write at all not even edit my old book all i can think about is her books, they fascinated me and i couldnt put them down until i finished the whole series. BUt i now feel as though i want to write in a genre similar to hers but cannot get any ideas its made me feel lost as i cannot write but want to... can anyone help?
i strongly suggest you get out of your fantasy rut and start reading the classics, along with the best contemporary fiction has to offer in other genres... that will give you a much more sound foundation in the art of writing, so that when you return to the novel you want to write [or start a new one, if you decide the old one can't go anywhere], you won't be just aping those fantasy authors in either writing style or ideas...
As above, I'd suggest that for the time being you simply continue to read. You could start with a blend of genre novels - for that I'd suggest authors like Neil Gaiman and Lian Hearn's Otori series - they have roots in the fantasy genre, but combine many other elements as well. The more different types of literature genres you allow yourself to experience, the wider the scope of influences and inspirations tends to become. Broadening your horizons, so to speak, is also likely to help make you a little more objective about your own work, and add things to it that (I assume due to the constant editing) you might feel are missing.
As much as you can be intrigued, even obsessed, with a particular genre or subgenre. I believe that becoming a successful writer requires something more - a love of language itself. It's one thing to want to create new stories of a particular type, but to put in all the effort to captivate a reader, that takes a different kind of obsession.
I like the idea of broadening your horizons. If you enjoy Dan Brown (I just finished Angels & Demons ) than check out James Rollins. He's very similar to Dan Brown, but his books have a bit more action. Check out Map Of Bones (just saying this because it is centered in and around religion/science like Brown's books). Just try to read different types of books and get used to different genres. Hopefully, this'll help you stop focusing so much upon Stephanie Myer's books. I know what you mean: I actually just finished my book and became focused heavily upon a certain band who's songs narrate a ficitonal story and I got a tad obsessed . I just started listening to (and reading) different things and broke away from it.
I think your problem lies in the very fact that you concerned yourself with the Twilight series. Just kidding. Kinda. I agree with everyone except the recommendation to read Dan Brown. Sorry, I just cannot get into him. Maybe that's the kind of stuff you want to write, though, I just think his writing is horribly drab and mundane. But to get back to the main point: read, read, read.
If you are in the mind set to read then you should do just that, but don't just read about fantasy - as others have said. When you are in the mind set to write, then you do just that. I have found times when I am horribly unmotived or worse yet, have a block! I find other things to do, reading being one of them. When I was doing sports writing I was much more pressed for time as I had deadlines and while writing one piece I was doing interviews for other pieces and it got to be too much sometimes and I wasn't doing my best at any of it. I found that if I wasn't into doing it I couldn't force myself to work past it. Usually that meant I had to stop and put it away for a day or two, unfortunately with deadlines that is all the time I had to overcome any blocks. If you are craving to read then read, and then when you crave to write, write whatever comes out your pen. If you choose to pick up with your old idea then my suggestion would be to rewrite (ie, start over, not edit. There may be a subconscious reason you keep wanting to edit. Good luck.
thanks everyone that has all made a lot of sense, there are a few books iv been meaning to carry on with that i never got round to, especially Miltons Paradise Lost i only had books 1 and 2 so never read past them, the thing that makes it most annoying is i have had a break from writing because i haven't really had the time at uni and i wanted to get back to it. i do read other books every now and then but i must admit i find it hard to get interested in a book for many genres which is why i read a heavy amount for one type as it is easy to get submerged in the books for me.
