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A Change In Reading Habits
A topic on the FM boards got me thinking about all those Epic Fantasy novels I used to read.
I don't read them anymore.
There was a time, from the point I was about fourteen to when I was twenty, when I exclusively read Epic Fantasy. Well, pretty much. There was always the odd science fiction book thrown in here and there, my obsessive stint with Anne Rice's angst, and the British horror books that were so gory my mom insisted I read them after I turned eighteen. But all in all, I read Epic Fantasy.
I guess the question is--why? I loved that I could become so engrossed with this whole other made up world, that I'd learn about other cultures (even if they were made up), culture clashes, and problems when people with power would use it for good or ill. I was always less enthused about the epic war battles. Sure, I knew that Epics usually focus on wars that sweep through the entire world, but that usually seemed less interesting to me then the interaction of people (or other fantasy races). I guess there's always been a little bit of anthropologist in me. Actually, when I'd finsh an Epic trilogy, or with the longer series not have enough money to buy the next ones, I'd feel reluctant to jump into a new world. I'd just have to expend as much energy as I did before to familiarize myself with all of its new peculiarities.
My first novel was an Epic Fantasy.
During the time that I wrote my first book, I stopped reading Epics. As a lit major I had too much to read for my classes. On top of that, I read somewhere that you shouldn't read in the genre that you're currently writing, so you don't steal too many ideas. (Yeah, it sounds a little weird but I did it anyway). On top of the top of that, the series I'd been reading started to...decline.
I think I started to fall out of love with them partly because some of them wouldn't freakin' end. Kind of like those shows that go on beyond their prime, where the major actors have left and have been replaced with characters everyone hates. Sort of like that.
I think I also developed a bit of reading ADHD. I lost patience trying to figure things out until it picked up around page 80. For a while, I actually cringed every time I picked up a big fat Fantasy. I'd always put it back on the shelf.
But how did I come to fall out of love with a subgenre? How did my reading tastes change? Does this happen a lot?
I read lots of Urban Fantasy and Space Opera now, but I'm wondering if I should retry my hand at reading an old favorite. I'm already pretty sure that I don't have what it takes to write one...or maybe it was just the problems involved in writing a first novel (even if it was a bad knockoff of my favorite trilogy, and no, it's not The Lord of the Rings).
That makes me wonder how I came up with my 2YN, which is a sort of mystery/paranormal/cyperpunk-esque mish-mash. I only hope it's not so much of a mish-mash that no one wants it.
Of course, I have to finish the rewrites, and then edits, then line edits, then more edits...first.
I don't read them anymore.
There was a time, from the point I was about fourteen to when I was twenty, when I exclusively read Epic Fantasy. Well, pretty much. There was always the odd science fiction book thrown in here and there, my obsessive stint with Anne Rice's angst, and the British horror books that were so gory my mom insisted I read them after I turned eighteen. But all in all, I read Epic Fantasy.
I guess the question is--why? I loved that I could become so engrossed with this whole other made up world, that I'd learn about other cultures (even if they were made up), culture clashes, and problems when people with power would use it for good or ill. I was always less enthused about the epic war battles. Sure, I knew that Epics usually focus on wars that sweep through the entire world, but that usually seemed less interesting to me then the interaction of people (or other fantasy races). I guess there's always been a little bit of anthropologist in me. Actually, when I'd finsh an Epic trilogy, or with the longer series not have enough money to buy the next ones, I'd feel reluctant to jump into a new world. I'd just have to expend as much energy as I did before to familiarize myself with all of its new peculiarities.
My first novel was an Epic Fantasy.
During the time that I wrote my first book, I stopped reading Epics. As a lit major I had too much to read for my classes. On top of that, I read somewhere that you shouldn't read in the genre that you're currently writing, so you don't steal too many ideas. (Yeah, it sounds a little weird but I did it anyway). On top of the top of that, the series I'd been reading started to...decline.
I think I started to fall out of love with them partly because some of them wouldn't freakin' end. Kind of like those shows that go on beyond their prime, where the major actors have left and have been replaced with characters everyone hates. Sort of like that.
I think I also developed a bit of reading ADHD. I lost patience trying to figure things out until it picked up around page 80. For a while, I actually cringed every time I picked up a big fat Fantasy. I'd always put it back on the shelf.
But how did I come to fall out of love with a subgenre? How did my reading tastes change? Does this happen a lot?
I read lots of Urban Fantasy and Space Opera now, but I'm wondering if I should retry my hand at reading an old favorite. I'm already pretty sure that I don't have what it takes to write one...or maybe it was just the problems involved in writing a first novel (even if it was a bad knockoff of my favorite trilogy, and no, it's not The Lord of the Rings).
That makes me wonder how I came up with my 2YN, which is a sort of mystery/paranormal/cyperpunk-esque mish-mash. I only hope it's not so much of a mish-mash that no one wants it.
Of course, I have to finish the rewrites, and then edits, then line edits, then more edits...first.