Thread: I've Been Thinking...

I have been wondering, and then trying to find a place to pose this quandary. With all of this vampires/werewolves/wizard supernatural hype and now everyone wants to write their own Twilight, or HP, or Anita Blake type of stuff, I have been finding, on a different writing site, a lot of bad stuff. I am going to be honest. A lot of the stuff is the same and I am frustrated that I can't really find any thing remotely original at times. I know I need to rate and review pieces to receive the same for my pieces, but what do you say about the same slop that you see a lot of people write? Even if the idea is somewhat original, but it takes place in the same generic high school with those same angsty flat teenage characters. I realize what makes something really shine at times are the characters. I am really big on a character making or breaking the story, because if you don't give a crap about the characters then what is the point of reading?

I have to admit, when I was younger I tried to write quite a bit of supernatural themed stories and I admit, two pieces that I actually finished, were complete rip offs. I ripped off the characters, and the plot to an extent. So I know how the perpetrator's mind works! But now that I know better, and now that I am seeing all of the same mistakes running amok, I get paranoid about my own writing. Will it be perceived as hackneyed? I am currently trying to work on a story which involves vampires and the current heroine is a vampire herself, but the world consists of many different mythological beings. I am worried if it will be perceived as just another vampire story or just another supernatural story. So I asked myself, if I took out all supernatural elements and replaced them with something believable, like making all werewolves be people connected to the mafia to account for their solidarity and loyalty, or the wizard turns into a genius engineer who can design anything. If I made the switch from the supernatural world to the real world, would all of those characters still be interesting? There is a certain mystic about supernatural creatures and characters just because they are those things, but then I think people forget to make them into a full character thinking calling them something makes up for it.

Think about it. Take Edward Cullen, from Twilight, if he was not a vampire, who would he be? Would he even be a real person? What are his faults? Someone can say he loves too much, but that fault that makes him endearing as a vampire would make him a creepy stalker kid as a human. If a vampire wasn't madly in love with Bella, would she be interesting to read about? But I guess that is the intrigue of it as well, turning the mundane into magical possibilities with something extra added into the mix. But flat just doesn't cut it for me. Even HP had real characters, if they didn't have magic they would probably still have the same personalities, issues, faults and redeeming qualities. And these full characters in this magical world, allows the world they inhabit come alive to entertain the reader.

It is like going into a dark with with a weak flashlight. You can't see much of what is around you and you might miss a lot of things, but if you have a really bright flashlight it can become a whole different room and you can see and experience more. That is what I think of the supernatural genre, I really enjoy the supernatural, but sometimes I just can't find some characters to bring it alive enough for me to enjoy it.

I am babbling I know but I just wanted to throw that out there.

Good points! I don't think 'flat' should cut it for everyone. One problem I see a lot of young or inexperienced writers have is making vampires, or werewolves or witches because they seem to believe being a vampire, were or witch is exciting and intriguing enough to carry the character. Since the realm of their life experiences is limited, angst-ridden high school kid may be the scope of their emotional reach.

I write fantasy and paranormal fiction too, and recognize that being a vampire is not what makes a character. They have to have all the same flaws, goals, dreams and history as a mortal character, unless they are the archaic Nosferatu type. Then they can just jump, grab and suck.

One problem I see a lot of young or inexperienced writers have is...

How often youth is paired with inexperience. Misaligned more often than not.

Malvo4, your dilemma is not out of the ordinary for many writers trying to stand out in their particular genre. My only advice is to use your individual insight and put it into character development. You're already going strong with analogy: "It is like going into a dark with with a weak flashlight." Your imagination of scene, of environment and interaction, can quickly fill in the rest. Let the plot go where it will as your characters discover it. (You'll need to put in some direction, of course, because you are telling a story after all). If you worry too much about how original your story is from everyone else's, about trying to stand out, about how you're ever going to get someone to publish your book - and then market it! - you'll never write it. (These things do eventually come into play...because we can't have a world full of twilight - the sun will never rise, then - but I would suggest writing for yourself, first).

That is a good point about the teenagers. They don't know much else and something so different is exciting all on its own. But I think if they are really interesting in writing, taking away the most exciting superficial aspect of the character and rethinking them might just help develop some skills.

I think any kind of vampire story would be hard to do effectively. I wouldn't be brave enough to try it. My writing goes toward a different kind of horror, but were I to try a new tactic, I doubt I would tackle the vampire genre.

Originally Posted by Fox80

I think any kind of vampire story would be hard to do effectively. I wouldn't be brave enough to try it. My writing goes toward a different kind of horror, but were I to try a new tactic, I doubt I would tackle the vampire genre.

Well it isn't really about the vampire genre, it is about how things are carried out. And the typical pit falls some people make in those gimmicky genres. Characters or lack thereof tend to the most prominent and defining failings.

An interesting post. Even though it contains questions it reads more like a statement.
As to, how to review un-original ‘slop’. If it appears the piece has not been worked on, just thrown together and dumped on the forum, ignore it. If they haven’t spend time on it neither should you.

If it has signs of editing, and care has been taken in presenting it – but is still 'slop'. Be prepared to spend time on it however bad it is. It goes without saying, try and be honest and constructive. Even though you may have to give up after the first couple of paragraphs, post it anyway.The author, hopefully, will have something to think about and can take it or leave it.

Originally Posted by malvo4

I am currently trying to work on a story which involves vampires and the current heroine is a vampire herself, but the world consists of many different mythological beings. I am worried if it will be perceived as just another vampire story or just another supernatural story.

I would say it was a very real concern. In London's largest bookstore the Fantasy section is smaller than the Graphic Novel section. Knowing the popularity of the novels you mention, I conclude, great volumes (oh dear!) have been sold of very few titles.

My guess would be publishers’ consider the well has run dry and no original or tangential* developments of the genre have caught they’re eye.

But then again, by identifying the potential problem, you have a better chance of solving it than those who haven’t. But then what do I know, I wouldn’t buy a book about vampires if it bit me in the neck. Good luck with it.

*Wouldn’t it be just huggable if the noun of tangential was tangenitalia?

Haha, I am somewhat regretting that I mentioned that I am taking my on stab at an already throughly tenderized genre that also resembles swiss cheese. But I really do think that my story is complete slob, haha. I know I am taking a very different approach and if I take cliches they won't be as noticeable since I am looking towards a completely different culture soo rich in mythology.

But I guess the forum was more of a vent of the OTHER stuff I have to review in my genre so that I can get reviewed myself. I have applied that rule to my story and I am contemplating on completely turning the novel into something not sci-fi to see if it makes it even better.

My goal in writing is to go for more literature, I know it is ambitious, but writing in this familiar genre is a kind of security blanket. It helps me be bold enough to really play with the drama of it all and to write so far outside of my experiences. Like I have never been married or will ever want kids, but being able to take the liberties of writing about someone possibly turning into a giant fish helps me ease into writing about a woman who gets divorced and is suddenly a single mother. If I wrote about that stuff, alone I would feel super self conscious and be fearful that I didn't get it right or I made a gross misinterpretation and I would be called out about my limited world view.

Hmm, that is something to think about. Writing in the supernatural genre can be a crutch at times, for me at least. And I think some, even though they love it rely on the supernatural elements far to heavily.