For a long time most of my writing was fairly nihilistic and it has only been recently that I have tried to be at least a little more upbeat with my writing. Since then I have had a lot more trouble with writing in general and wasn't sure if I should just go back to what came more easily to me. Also I was wondering in what ways having a nihilistic style might effect the marketability of my work.
Nihilism can be off-putting for sure. People don't want to be depressed any more than is necessary lol...Unless it's a book of tremendous writing ability not many people would persevere through it
There's a market for everything. I don't see a good reason to try to make your work more upbeat. Go with what you're comfortable writing. Besides, there have been many books with nihilistic themes that have brought the writer success.
Sometimes it's good to venture beyond your comfort zone because it helps you grow as a writer. Other times, it's just best to stick to what you are best at and nail it well. I suggest mixing it up a bit. Maybe do a few short stories or something where you try to be more "upbeat." Personally, I love Nihilism and I don't find it depressing, just honest.
Isn't Kafka considered nihilistic? I certainly enjoyed his works. So nothing wrong with writing nihilistic, though I don't think you should get stuck in a rut either. Personally, every time I feel myself getting too comfortable in a genre, I try something different to help me grow as an author. I think the only genre I just couldn't master is sci-fi. Probably because of my complete lack of interest in it. Nihilism can be quite depressing and requires thinking, and for that reason I don’t think a lot of people enjoy it. I as well have to be in a certain mood to enjoy it. Though a lot of my darker fantasy works have traces of nihilism in them.
Hi, Nihilism comes in a range of flavours. At the more mild end of the spectrum it would be simply the denial of things like absolute moral values, and morality being reletavist. At the extreme end it can be the complete denial of everything, i.e. there is no such thing as existence etc, and the embracing of nothingness. My thought would be that the further you head towards the extreme end of the spectrum, the fewer people are going find your books accessible. But why do you write? Do you write for yourself, and maybe to put your thoughts out there with similar like minded people? If so, write whatever you feel is true for you. Or alternatively do you you write to sell? In which case you should probably look to maintaining a more middle of the road theme. Cheers, Greg.
Agreed with Mackers. Your writing style will be a much bigger factor in determining who reads your work if it's particularly nihilist.
