I also include Sci-fi and horror. Nothing against them. I read a lot of these genres and I am even writing a children's fantasy adventure story, BUT there seems to be only fantasy, horror, sci-fi posted in the novel review section and I'm getting a bit bored with it. I'd like to see more variety and voices. Yes I've seen other sections. I'm talking about the Novel section here. I am half way through a comedy/crime caper and setting down the details for another story. I guess it's just a plain old fiction. Anybody else doing different styles of novels?
I do not write Fantasy and I do not get SIFI. I don't watch neither because I do not understand what they are on about. I prefer children stories because they come easily to me. I am a great believer that there is a child in all of us waiting to come out at any age regardless. I like humour wit and cheerful writing. I call it light writing as oppose to dark.
You'll find that most people will write Fantasy because it's somewhat easier than writing in the real world. Most of practically grow up with it to some degree, with magic based tv shows and such when you're a kid. It's a familiar source, but it's almost outdated now and it inundates everything. In fact, the only fantasy I've consistently liked over the years has been David Gemmell's stuff (a lot of which is suggested as being set on Earth in a time far from now), and The Dark Tower, which is also heavily implied to be set on Earth far in the future, and it also brings real Earth heavily into the story, which I like. That's not to mention the inundation of urban fantasy/supernatural stories thanks to the influence of popular fiction like Twilight and Harry Potter. It's a fact that when anything is popular, people will attempt to emulate it. Fantasy is especially prevalent in it because it's an escape from reality. Why do you keep calling it "SIFI"? That's not what it is. It's Sci-Fi, short for Science Fiction. Hell, the OP spelled it "Sci-fi" and you read it, so why do you keep getting it wrong?
I don't write fantasy or sci-fi - do have a lot of notes for a horror story, though But my preferred genre(s) for both writing and reading is thriller/spy/action/adventure. Tried a romance once and dang if it didn't turn into a thriller anyway...
I don't write fantasy in the common sense. I hate grand fantasy epics. In fact, I don't know if I could say I write in any particular genre. Mostly what is called General Fiction and non-fiction. It's not Literary Fiction; I don't have the sheer level of pretentiousness to say I'm a literary writer.
To me, writing fantasy is difficult as you have to literally construct a completely different world with a completely different race and somehow figure out how to describe all that without loosing your reader's interests. At least settings IRL is easier. I could say, "'K, people, we're in 1550s London!" and everyone would just put on their Elizabethan Era thinking caps and continue.
That last bit, as well as the fact that a high amount of writers in their teens are socially awkward (I know this from experience with a very, very large amount of socially awkward people at my school and in writing communities here in Brisbane - to say the least, thank god for you normal people) and find it easier to write about fantastical issues in order to escape from the idea of real life. It's the same reason people get addicted to MMOs and Bejewelled. It's an outlet of escape. There are people who write genuinely good fantasy, but it's rare. Most of it's just fantasy for fantasy's sake. Fantasy is unique in its ability to seem original but make amazing commentary on different things. Look at Harry Potter, for example. If you look at the history of the world, Grindelwald (and, by association, Dumbledore) is analogous to Hitler (suppression of muggles (SOME MUGGLES ARE JEWISH, IT'S A CONSPIRACY!)), and Voldemort is the more modern, terrorist threat or something like that. If you look at Eragon, it's just some kid who is Just That Special, and there's nothing spectacular about the storyline except for the sheer amount of food references in descriptions. That's when you're trying to write good, thoughtful fantasy. The majority of people DON'T write good, thoughtful fantasy. Respect to you if you actually put work into it. EDIT (again): That's not to mention that there are a whole load of people who'll point out flaws in your logic when you write period pieces, which means you actually have to research the era through Wikipedia valid sources.
Personally, I wouldn't mind writing fantasy; it's just that I think it's been overdone and...well...what's the point? I'll just be shoving yet another fantasy story in an already over-bloated genre. But in regards with history? Oh yeah! Nothing throws away the reader more than getting your facts wrong such as putting in a street that doesn't exist yet, getting someone's age wrong or, heavens forbid! Writing into your story a person who had either been dead long before the story began or someone who hasn't even been born yet.
Present! *raises hand* I'm writing romance/drama/chick-lit-stories. never even touched a fantasy novel. the closest I've come to any of the categories you mentioned is ... Dean Koontz, hihi. for the rest I usually read the same kind of literature that I write, with a few exceptions. BUT I don't post in the review-section because I don't write my stories in english.
only most 'young' people!... i think you'll find that most mature writers [age or intellect-wise] will write a wide range of genres...
I used to, but haven't for years, hadn't read a fantasy book for around 12 yrs til the George R.R Martin and HBO tag-team dragged me back kicking and screaming. Like a lot of writers I then moved on to writing Lovecraft-esque horror, I look back at this stage and laugh. Then again, I was at Uni, I had a soul patch beard, times were simpler, and a lot of those stories got me good grades, so I can't complain - except for that stupid beard! arghhhh Now I mostly write contemporary, I'm currently working on a British gangster short story which should be up in 2-3 weeks.
I haven't read much of it either. Mostly just excerpts and reviews of why it's bad, and I agreed with nearly all of the points because they were well-argued. I've also read summaries written by fans, though, so I'm not entirely bigoted. It's just... yeah. Not good. I don't really like using real life locations for stuff, though. I usually just use nondescript places or somewhere made up. My current story is set in a small town called Havoc, which is probably in England. The name is mostly a plot device because it sounds cool. In fact, a large majority of stuff I've written happens entirely in indoor settings, so location doesn't usually matter. It's an apartment or a café or whatever. I don't like writing outdoor settings too often because there's too much to keep track of and I like to just focus on what keeps the story going, which is the characters. I also hate walking scenes outdoors, which is a major reason I hate reading fantasy. Fantasy films in particular are annoying with this. Look at the Lord of the Rings, with the cliché/classic (depending on how weak you'd be as a filmmaker) helicopter shot over characters walking across vast distances.
Oh god. Me too. When I first join this forum I was in the middle of my own Lovecraft phase and, honestly, I was amazingly single minded.
I still read his writing, I love the OTT descriptions, the ideas of unfathomable cosmic horrors and his archaic, wordy style. It does happen to the best of us Lemex, but I am happy to have put the phase well and truly behind me! I did a degree in English lit and Creative writing about 3 years back and by the second year I was a full blown Lovecraft imitator! Back in those, let's say, more mentally "stimulating" times I thought I was the only one who had caught onto this new and wonderful trend. I should really go back and apologise to the poor lecturers or were probably reading Lovecraft clone after Lovecraft clone throughout their marking!
I write fantasy, but I love making it as difficult as possible for myself by putting it in the real world and mixing them with a lot of historical events. I once had to read two LARGE books on Inca culture just to make sure I didn't get anything wrong on the three pages in my story that was about it. I also take inspiration in actual folklore from all over the world and have several books on the subject that I read often. However, I write a lot of different genres. A bit of romance and comedy usually, and some coming-of-age-YA stories and a lot of historical novels.
Bonus points if you learn some of your history by watching that awesome cartoon Horrible Histories (which was based on a set of books). Also bonus points if you included that really dangerous ballgame in your Inca story.
I like writing mystery/crime stories. I've been kind of reluctant to post anything in the review section because I don't have that much time to review other people's work in response. But if you are interested in reviewing something different I have finished the first chapter of my story and might post it on that forum then.
I write realistic (some might say boring) fantasy, meaning fantasy without any magic. I have fictional worlds and/or races, governments, cultures, and all the rest. However, I specifically exclude magic because I think it's often used as a deus ex-style plot device. I prefer to write very deep characters in lands with political strife and some form of sectism, sexism, racism, or all three. My characters are diverse, dynamic, and have well-thought out goals and personalities. I do my best to avoid mary-sue type characters. I've written several books, and never tried to publish any of them- they were all terrible. But I'm working on one right now which is shaping up to be the best of the bunch. Btw, I definitely agree with the people who say that fantasy is an escape.
I write historical fiction, and I agree there are a lot of unpublished (and unpublishable) fantasy writers out there, mainly because writing fantasy is not subject to the same constraints and restrictions as historical fiction. You can still have mediaeval knights and princesses and tournaments and quests, but no one is going to get on your case for getting your facts wrong. Just change one letter in the names and you've got instant carte blanche to do pretty much whatever you like. Some of these work (Guy Gavriel Kay is an example of a good mediaeval fantasy writers) but for a lot of inexperienced writers it's just an excuse to be lazy...
I write science fiction, or somewhat ordinary fiction with the occasional sci-fi element to it. I also write alternative-history fiction; stories set on a version of Earth that didn't turn out like the real Earth. Sometimes I write historical fiction set in exotic locations, blatantly imitating some of my favorite writers, like Joseph Conrad and Rudyard Kipling. In short, I write nearly anything except stories about the here-and-now. I don't much like the world as it is (especially America as it is), so I don't write about it. But I don't write "high fantasy". You'll never find elves, orcs, wizards, trolls, vampires, werewolves, angels, demons, or magic of any kind in any of my work. I also don't write long series of novels. If you ever catch me writing "Book Six of the Chronicles of Shamgoth" or "Volume Ten of the Saga of the Wizards of Aelfrig" or some such thing, please shoot me. I'll leave that to the teenagers who write for other teenagers.
I was about to post that I don't write fantasy, but then it occurred to me that I do. The first short story I published (in a high school publication) was about a man exploring Heaven; I proceeded to write about a fifth of a (really bad) novel based on that concept, so that's definitely fantasy. I'm currently theoretically working on a novel narrated by a ghost, but the ghost functions almost exclusively as a framing device, so I wouldn't really call it fantasy as such.
I used to say I don't write Romance novels, can't read them, don't write them. Period. Then I was re-reading something and realized I had, indeed, written a Romance novel. That is to say, although it started out somewhere else, the romance was a primary factor in the storyline. Same goes with fantasy. I write/have written in a number of genres. I don't deliberately set out to write X type of story. Some things develop out of the story as it progresses. And, yes, there are times when what develops totally sucks and it must be excised from the story but those are rare. So, yes, I do, indeed, write fantasy, though, not the high fantasy most people think of when they hear the term. I also write Romance, Thrillers, Police/Cops&Robbers, Family Saga, Historical, ad infinitum. I, too, get bored with a steady diet of anything, you see.
