Warning: the following entry contains a brief discussion of rape, in terms of it as a plot device.
First off: I have to apologize for not stopping by anyone's blog for the past two weeks. >_< I've been ridiculously busy with preparing to start a book and actually starting said book, along with mandatory overtime from work (which started in the first week of February and only ended last week) which kind of sucked the life out of me because it meant many weeks of taking my work computer home on weekends and thus feeling like I only got one-day weekends for all that time.
In other words, I've been kind of out of it and trying to get too much done, and I've neglected to stop by and see how others are going. Especially now, in April, when a lot of people are posting every day. I apologize for that, and I'll do better.
Anyway. I started writing a book this past Saturday (current word count: 11077), and somehow, that got me thinking: we keep hearing the advice to write what we want to write. But what about what we don't want to write? I think that's worthy of a little discussion.
As I said a few entries ago, I don't want to write dark, hopeless horror. I need endings that aren't grim and dour, and I need whatever the characters are dealing with to be something they can actually fight against. I've seen this sort of darkness done well, but it's not for me.
While we're talking genres, I no longer want to write sword-and-horse fantasy. Classic high fantasy, Tolkienesque stuff, you get the idea. I've noticed over the past few books and plots that my ideas are getting stranger and stranger, and I'm much more likely to play with what having magic and active gods and active dragons and cool stuff like that would actually mean in a world than to say "Go get me precisely one dwarf and one elf, we have a quest to undertake." I'm good with this.
I don't want to write standard boy-meets-girl relationships. They're everywhere, and quite frankly, they bore the hell out of me. :P Okay, I'm exaggerating a little. I don't mind them when they're done well, and I'm used to them popping up in most stories in any given media. And I'm not saying I'd never write one; if I write two people who are clearly interested in each other, I'll go with it. But it just feels like no matter who the cast members are, people expect the lead guy and the lead girl to get together, to the point that it's a subversion when they don't.
I also definitely don't want to write "good girl meets bad boy" relationships. Ye gods, that shows up in so many books I see these days, and it always sounds the same. Is there really that much of an audience for "I know I shouldn't want him but I do anyway"?
On a darker note, I will not write rape. I've read various discussions of rape in fiction, and I'm convinced it's never necessary as a plot device. No matter what a rape is supposed to accomplish in a story, there's always another way to accomplish it. I did once write a scene of attempted rape, and if I went back to that story, I would find another way to make that plot point (which ended in the attempter's death) happen.
Lastly (and much more cheerful), I don't want to write anything that's completely humorless. Because that would be the most dull, boring thing I could ever write. Seriously. Can you imagine an entire book without a single joke in it? Without anyone in it having any reason to laugh? How much of a downer would that be?
So, now I'd like to hear from the rest of y'all. What don't you want to write, or what do you refuse to write? And has any of that sprung from you wanting to write it and learning it wasn't for you?
Suicide is a difficult subject for me. I included it in a story once, and I think it was necessary for the story I was trying to tell, but when I was finished I promised myself I'd never tell a story like that again.
ReplyDeleteI believe it. I didn't mention it because I didn't think of it, but I don't think I'd write suicide either. It would have to be the only possible way to have something in the story happen, and I'd like to think I could find another way.
DeleteHmmm...I usually steer clear of violence and Co. simply because my intended audience tends to hang around upper MG. I'd never write an erotic scene. Just won't go there. I've done light romance, but that already had me giggling (still does when I read it, and it was published-go figure) because I can't take it seriously and keep picturing the scenes in hysterical overkill. Child molestation is one I'd also never go near, and glorified, bloody killing is off my list. Oh, and zombies. For some reason, I've never been able to warm up to them.
ReplyDeleteInteresting - I hadn't thought of how the intended audience would affect this sort of thing, but that makes perfect sense. And I don't want to do sex scenes either, though I would write (and have written) the scenes before and after, because I think a lot of good character moments come from that.
DeleteI don't think there's anything that I'd say I wouldn't write, but it depends on which story we're talking about. I'd never include heavy subjects like rape and suicide in the Cera Chronicles, because those are supposed to be fun and light-hearted. But I touch on the heavy stuff in my series novels—murder, attempted suicide, bipolar disorder, alcoholism, depression, violent anger, rape, torture, Stockholm syndrome, PTSD, cannibalism, sociopathy, gender discrimination, addiction... you name it and one of my characters has probably dealt with it at some point. Perhaps it's naive and childish of me, but I want to believe any of my characters can bounce back, even if it takes a bit of magic to help them through it. They will fight for themselves and for each other and in the end overcome. (I do write the Cera Chronicles precisely for those people who want adventure without the drama, but cannibalism is implied and violence occurs.)
ReplyDelete"Bounce back" might be a bit of a lively term if you're putting them through all that. O_o But I think I understand. Part of what's great about stories is seeing the characters overcome so much.
DeleteI'm not sure what's off limits for me. I'm sure if I said "I'd never write ________," my muse would give an evil laugh and give me precisely that type of story. Surprisingly, though, I thought that I would be writing lots of light, humorous fiction, but I now find myself drawn to stories that involve these really horrible people (I guess villains are a lot more fun to write?).
ReplyDeleteWith the one exception, I don't think these are "will never write" things. More stuff that doesn't interest me or doesn't work with what I write. And I'd love to be able to write the type of villains you're talking about - most if not all of my antagonists fall flat one way or another. >_<
Delete