I didn't get any writing done last night, but I wrote during lunch. At the moment, I'm in Jordan's POV. He's a fun character to write.
Thinking about writing always leads me towards my caveat: What works for me might not work for you. And since I'm speaking at the Maumee Valley Writers Conference this year (like, in two weeks!) I thought I'd talk a bit about writing this morning.
At heart, I am most comfortable with the urban fantasy genre. I've tried other genres--from erotica to mystery to straight fantasy and even romance, but urban fantasy is what I keep coming back to each and every time. There's just something about creating a world not unlike this one and breathing a bit of magic into every day life that appeals to me.
It's not a narrow genre, by all means. You can do a lot with urban fantasy--and I chose that description as the broad header of a lot of subgenres--and it surprises me sometimes that I haven't grown bored with it yet.
In truth, I would find it very difficult to write a story without any paranormal or magical happenings. Perhaps I will try that for NaNoWriMo this year. :)
I think fantasy--urban fantasy, especially--is a very important genre. Unlike the other fantasy genres (and for this post I am lumping certain dark fantasy books in with urban fantasy) the setting is in this world, or a reasonable facsimile thereof. In my mind and definition, urban fantasy can include some books that have been marketed as horror, mainstream, and romance.
Something set in this world means you can incorporate anything from the real world and use familiar objects to populate the world you've imagined. So members of the Wild Hunt can have library cards and Merlin's son can be addicted to pop. (Soft drinks, for those of you not in the Ohio Valley.) That makes the reader feel all the more familiar with your setting, and perhaps--and this is the important part in my mind--might help them find a bit of real magic in their lives or the lives around them.
After all, is it such a stretch to encompass a steady belief in ghosts to include fairies? ;)
And urban fantasy doesn't necessarily have to include 'urban' settings. My Beth-Hill stories are set in rural areas (I still have trouble pronouncing the word 'rural', btw) and I considered them urban fantasies.
I tend to see the urban fantasy genre as an umbrella. Underneath that umbrella are a mix of paranormal subgenres, some horror subgenres, some romance subgenres, some fantasy subgenres, and a handful of girl (or boy) is transported to another world to save it sub genres. (I did write a book in that subgenre once, but I probably won't do it ever again.) There are more, I'm sure.
But I could spend all day talking about different subgenres and where they fit. In truth, the story matters much more than what genre you're writing in.
There are many people (other writers) out there who will disagree with me, but the most important part of writing any book is not worldbuilding or outlining or research. All those pieces are important, but what a lot of writers forget is that the reader reads the book for the characters.
They don't pick up the latest Jane Smith to find out what the elves use to moisturize their skin. They pick up the latest Jane Smith to find out how Kajenka the half-blood (who, in the last installation of the series had been betrothed to a barbarian by her father, who faced getting his kingdom overrun by barbarians if he didn't give them his daughter's hand in marriage) gets out of her latest predicatment with her sanity and sense of humor intact.
Or somesuch. To be frank, if your characters suck, nothing will save your book from being trunked. (Yes, even if it's published. And yes, there are sucky books published all the time. Most of those people have a track record in publishing, however, and I guess the editors believe their fans will read anything.)
This is why I'm having trouble with Ella in Nightshades, btw. I can't get a fix on her character, even after writing a 100k book in her POV. (I would classify Nightshades as a dark urban fantasy, btw.) This is the real reason why I haven't done anything with NS since I finished it and got comments back from my readers.
But anyway, before I get too far off track or Blogger dies on me, I'm going to end this post and continue in another one later on today. Hopefully I've given someone some food for thought, and I welcome comments/criticisms.
Now, off to clean the dining room.
Thinking about writing always leads me towards my caveat: What works for me might not work for you. And since I'm speaking at the Maumee Valley Writers Conference this year (like, in two weeks!) I thought I'd talk a bit about writing this morning.
At heart, I am most comfortable with the urban fantasy genre. I've tried other genres--from erotica to mystery to straight fantasy and even romance, but urban fantasy is what I keep coming back to each and every time. There's just something about creating a world not unlike this one and breathing a bit of magic into every day life that appeals to me.
It's not a narrow genre, by all means. You can do a lot with urban fantasy--and I chose that description as the broad header of a lot of subgenres--and it surprises me sometimes that I haven't grown bored with it yet.
In truth, I would find it very difficult to write a story without any paranormal or magical happenings. Perhaps I will try that for NaNoWriMo this year. :)
I think fantasy--urban fantasy, especially--is a very important genre. Unlike the other fantasy genres (and for this post I am lumping certain dark fantasy books in with urban fantasy) the setting is in this world, or a reasonable facsimile thereof. In my mind and definition, urban fantasy can include some books that have been marketed as horror, mainstream, and romance.
Something set in this world means you can incorporate anything from the real world and use familiar objects to populate the world you've imagined. So members of the Wild Hunt can have library cards and Merlin's son can be addicted to pop. (Soft drinks, for those of you not in the Ohio Valley.) That makes the reader feel all the more familiar with your setting, and perhaps--and this is the important part in my mind--might help them find a bit of real magic in their lives or the lives around them.
After all, is it such a stretch to encompass a steady belief in ghosts to include fairies? ;)
And urban fantasy doesn't necessarily have to include 'urban' settings. My Beth-Hill stories are set in rural areas (I still have trouble pronouncing the word 'rural', btw) and I considered them urban fantasies.
I tend to see the urban fantasy genre as an umbrella. Underneath that umbrella are a mix of paranormal subgenres, some horror subgenres, some romance subgenres, some fantasy subgenres, and a handful of girl (or boy) is transported to another world to save it sub genres. (I did write a book in that subgenre once, but I probably won't do it ever again.) There are more, I'm sure.
But I could spend all day talking about different subgenres and where they fit. In truth, the story matters much more than what genre you're writing in.
There are many people (other writers) out there who will disagree with me, but the most important part of writing any book is not worldbuilding or outlining or research. All those pieces are important, but what a lot of writers forget is that the reader reads the book for the characters.
They don't pick up the latest Jane Smith to find out what the elves use to moisturize their skin. They pick up the latest Jane Smith to find out how Kajenka the half-blood (who, in the last installation of the series had been betrothed to a barbarian by her father, who faced getting his kingdom overrun by barbarians if he didn't give them his daughter's hand in marriage) gets out of her latest predicatment with her sanity and sense of humor intact.
Or somesuch. To be frank, if your characters suck, nothing will save your book from being trunked. (Yes, even if it's published. And yes, there are sucky books published all the time. Most of those people have a track record in publishing, however, and I guess the editors believe their fans will read anything.)
This is why I'm having trouble with Ella in Nightshades, btw. I can't get a fix on her character, even after writing a 100k book in her POV. (I would classify Nightshades as a dark urban fantasy, btw.) This is the real reason why I haven't done anything with NS since I finished it and got comments back from my readers.
But anyway, before I get too far off track or Blogger dies on me, I'm going to end this post and continue in another one later on today. Hopefully I've given someone some food for thought, and I welcome comments/criticisms.
Now, off to clean the dining room.
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