I'm cool with that judgment, I still don't think I have more than a crude stereotypical understanding of the genre, nor will I ever. It's just the only "boy meets girl" story I've ever written where the death of one of them didn't involve deranged giggling from the other
So I googled "throwing salt" (to ward off @Tenderiser and other assorted demons) and found this: Not sure if that's gonna work. Bedtime
Can we be done with the what is and what isn't Romance conversation now? I think @Laurin Kelly's post thoroughly put the question to bed since those are the words of the publishers themselves (I actually went and checked a couple and Laurin's words are - in fact - direct quotes). Horror and Comedy The emotions that are meant to be invoked are not easy to pull off. Historical Because I just don't care about adhering to the all the precise details. So what if Philippa Gregory made George Boleyn a lovely little pillow biter. I don't see the universe ripping apart at the seams. No, no. Time continues to move in the same direction; matter still behaves as we expect it to.
Why? Honest question, no snark. Sometimes knowing the difficulties of others can illuminate hidden difficulties in ourselves.
Yep! It will. I think a lot of us who write historically-set novels do love history, though. So it's not a chore to do the research. What is frustrating is not being able to find the facts I need. I've cut out a few settings and plot points because I couldn't find information I needed to make them authentic. Grrrr... when I know that SOMEBODY has what I'm looking for, but I just can't make the connection.
Mm, the amount I can't get right to write outnumbers that which I can write. For starters, Romance, at least, not the interesting kind. Not interesting enough to me, that is, so I suppose I won't know if I'm good at that or not. I do tend to write "love" poems for practice though. Horror would be another one. Its not that I dislike the genre, nah, I actually enjoy a good horror story. Haven't read one in awhile but the last book I enjoyed was some short stories from Koji Suzuki. But....that's beside the point. Horror is just one of those things I can't nail correctly. Might be an atmosphere-emotion thing.
Good point, Wrey. My bad for not expanding on my comment. I am not keen on 'adult' fantasy but I do enjoy fantasy written for children. When I think of adult fantasy I refer to writers creating complex worlds and odd ball characters. I just can't buy into it. Lord of the Rings is a prime example. It did not hold my interest. I love children's fantasy, such as Frozen, Harry Potter, Little Mermaid, Gruffalo etc. because children play through fantasy. *Laughing* I do personify animals and inanimate objects when I write children's fiction or poetry. Is that classed as fantasy? I've never really stopped to consider genre - I just write. As for Sci-Fi... Aliens invading earth, maybe. War of the Worlds and Day of the Triffids are still my favourites. Space travel does not float my boat Actually, Wrey, analyzing the 'why?' has made me consider 'why not?' As my spare time is in short supply I tend gravitate to books written by authors such as Jodi Picoult, Jonh Grisham and Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini to name a few. I've just realised one of my all time favourites, 1984 by George Orwell was probably a sub-genre of science fiction, yes? Your question has certainly made me think! As for writing for adults, I prefer to focus on what I know.
I understand sex, I understand reproduction, but gosh dang it romance eludes me. :/ I just don't "get" romance. You get the warm fuzzies for someone and then what?
I have a difficult time writing romance due to lack of experience. I've had three girlfriends in my lifetime, the last in 2006. None of those were what I'd call a serious relationship. The idea of taking two characters from "hello" to "I do" is daunting, but I'm trying it anyway. Thankfully, I've found a way to ease into it with science fiction.
Comedy and non-fiction. I'm trying to write a screenplay on Harry Bridges right now, and the research is taking up so much of my time. I want to get it as 100% accurate as I can.
I generally only write in thriller/action adventure/crime (which all runs into one really) I occasionally dabble with sci fi / fantasy , but its SF that includes a lot of action adventure so again its all one EOTD (and the books have comedic and romantic elements..... though they don't fit those genres)
Why anyone would write in a genre they're not interested in is beyond me - unless of course it's their profession and they're forced to work to commissions. Given that scenario, I'd probably become suicidal if I were forced to write either romance or fantasy.
Hard SF, because I'll never keep all those details clear in my head and it's overwhelmingly likely that my future will end up hilariously dated anyway, so why not just save the time? That, and I think it was spoiled for me by running into some overzealous folk online. You know those guys, the sort who like to point out how ectually lightsabers or Gundams or whatever are physically impossible and your thrilling space battle should be about computer-run perfectly spherical spacecraft shooting invisible lasers at each other over thousands of kilometers over half a second. Also, ironically enough, some parts of hard SF remind me of fantasy, only with "nanotech" as magic and "strong AI" as gods. Anything set entirely in the mundane modern day, and fan fiction. Both for the same reason--I love worldbuilding, and I'd find it hopelessly constraining if that work had already done for me. I could see myself writing fanfic in a fictional universe big enough (like, say, Star Wars) that I can create my own corner of it without stepping on the toes of the canon characters, though. I'm a straight guy and I read a lot of romances when I was growing up....admittedly, mainly for the dirty bits (the internet didn't exist when I was fifteen). But I still read them occasionally, because though there's a lot of paint-by-numbers dross out there, a good romantic storyline that sells me on the characters still gets me right here. I found this blog helpful in sorting the wheat from the chaff: smartbitchestrashybooks.com
Historical fiction, especially stories with wars going on and things like that. …And please, don't even mention humor. Just… *locks genre in a box and throws it into the deepest part of the Atlantic Ocean* See, I'm more well-versed in the arts of tragedy.
I've been called to jury duty at the High Court in Glasgow at the start of November. That's the court where the worst crimes are tried —murders, etc. I thought ...shit, what a shame I don't write crime fiction! This would be one heck of an opportunity to do personal research. But, sadly, no, I don't write or read crime fiction. What a waste. If anybody wants me to look out for anything in particular, though, just PM me and I'll try to find out for you. Keep in mind this is Scotland, which has laws that are different from England and the rest of the UK.
