What inspired you to write in your genre?

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AnimaDictio
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Re: What inspired you to write in your genre?

Post by AnimaDictio » October 31st, 2011, 12:06 am

I think for most writers our stories are our stories. They arise naturally out of who we are as people. Genre is a social construct invented by booksellers or librarians or whomever in order to market our stories. I don't work particularly to fit within a genre, though my stories tend to come out as fantasy/sci-fi. My love for speculative, imaginative fiction can probably be traced back to afternoons with my little brothers in the backyard inventing adventures on the fly, which can probably be traced back to Choose Your Own Adventure story books.

writersink
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Re: What inspired you to write in your genre?

Post by writersink » October 31st, 2011, 12:40 pm

I write YA science fiction/ fantasy because when my own world has gotten tough I've always loved escaping into lives that resemble mine in the smallest way possible.
You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you. ~Ray Bradbury

Rachel Ventura
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Joined: September 30th, 2011, 12:29 am

Re: What inspired you to write in your genre?

Post by Rachel Ventura » November 3rd, 2011, 9:20 pm

Hollywood and Must-See TV. :lol: Not that there's anything wrong with that, but correct me if I'm wrong:

I'm a very visual person, and I have the tendency (I guess this might not be a good thing?) to picture my stories as movies, complete with big-name cast. As a result, I have someone in mind when I'm creating the character, and the description, how s/he acts, talks, dresses, etc., tends to coincide with how I envision x, y, and z well-known personality. It could also because I'm one of those of this generation poisoned by TV and movies, but I prefer to say I'm more like Alice in Wonderland who couldn't get into a book that she didn't have "pictures" or some sensory addition to go along with. (Hence the first three letters, I'm sure..."ADD.") ;) Also, I normally gravitate towards more light-hearted stuff, specifically YA, "chick lit," and anything involving humor or cultural items, which tend to be more escapist and pop-culture oriented (and universally appealing) rather than focused on details and back-story. Mine is more character-driven, which I'm not sure if the lighter stuff is identified as -- although one could argue that 'Harry Potter is the main focus of that book rather than the ambience of Hogwarts and the mythical allegory of a "chosen one" picked to combat evil...zzz.

I confess to being one of those who prefers the movie/TV series to the book. With regards to Catcher in the Rye, one of my ultimate favorites, I can immediately picture who might play Caulfield had Salinger ever commissioned a screenplay. I don't know how to "describe" the character otherwise, because let's say this bad-boy rebel Caulfield is Charlie Sheen in my mind. I don't need to describe Charlie Sheen. People know the Wild Thing Warlock by name. I'd tend to stick with someone who has already proven a bit of "staying power" over the years than a newer personality -- "a Justin Bieber haircut" might not mean anything 20 years minutes from now, but "a Beatles mop-top" is forever recognizable. (Not sure of how many people in this century would immediately get "a Flock of Seagulls chop job," though.) :lol:

Is it a bad idea to have a "special someone" in mind (or several that fit the character archetype)? I would say that most of my ideas are character-driven rather than plot-driven (although of course, they're not "stories about nothing" -- someone else already did that before). Like when people go to see a movie because Julia Roberts or George Clooney is in the cast, with maybe secondary regard for what it's about. The cast is what people immediately grab at. But is that not good to have, say, a sweet Georgia gal whose smile everyone adores, or a handsome, 40ish ER doctor with salt-and-pepper hair -- and right away, people know who your character reminds you of? "She was the Julia Roberts of her graduating class" / "the George Clooney of the cardiac wing" / "the Charlie Sheen of his family"? Is that a *ahem* "cop-out" to say (lol, Kristen!) :) "the new recruit, tall, blond, clean-cut and youthful, with a silver-spoon background, he was the NYPD's version of Ricky Schroeder"? :lol:

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