Nathan Bransford - The Forums

I just read through the comments so far, and I want to give a word of encouragement to all my fellow fantasy/sci-fi writers out there. Don't let the blank stares or embarrassment get you down. I guess I've been lucky in that, more often than not, when I tell someone what I write, they say "That's awesome!"

And so are you guys.

Do you know how much imagination and tenacity and passion it takes to create an entire world on paper, not to mention races, characters, histories, etc.? You're doing that! It's pretty incredible when you stop to think about it. Plus, I'm a big believer that people love sweeping, uplifting, epic stories...even if they don't always admit it. Look at the success of HP, LOTR or Avatar.

So, the next time someone asks you what you write (whether it's fantasy or not), have confidence in your writing and your imagination, and ignore the naysayers.

Last time someone asked what my "book" is about, about a week or so ago — the question comes up when I say I'm a writer, not when I say I'm an editor, publisher, critic, teacher — they say "book" with a tone of "Oh yeah? Big deal. Everyone's writing a book." I answer, a first contact tableau from a conquered people's personal perspective. A villain of the piece drama according to modern mythology, a misunderstood adversary whose adversaries have the advanatges of technological and numerical superiority.

I think it was LVCabbie who suggested condensing our pitch into 25 words.

HOLY HANNAH. That sounds super hard. But I like a challenge. I'm going to work on that--thanks for the tip!

I run into this problem as well, though for all of you who cited sci-fi or fantasy, just substitute "Middle Grade" for me. The problem I run into is that most non-writer people don't know what MG is. In the local bookstores, the kids section has learning to read picture books and then Harry Potter/Percy Jackson. I like to think I fall somewhere in the middle of those.

Then, if someone asks "Oh, well, what's it about?" I tend to give the two or three high points that suddenly make it sound A LOT like Harry Potter, thus shooting myself in the foot...

I always have a single sentence pitch to spout off if someone asks. Mostly because my dad asks all the time and i got tired of not having something ready.
So now i just say something like "a teen boy rescues an orphaned sea serpent and discovers a way to save his country from war" and that usually does it.