# What Genre/Subject Has been "abused"



## dragonslayer (Sep 7, 2014)

I am looking at Twilight - which always makes me laugh - as that's so anti-typical of vampires it's pathetic. Who ever heard of "sparkly" vampires. 


Anyways, and do move if need be as I was torn between off topic or not, what genre and/or subject do you think has been abused in the recent years. 

What is a "dead horse" in a way.


Vampires
Zombies
Aliens
etc. 
etc. 


I'm curious.


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## escorial (Sep 7, 2014)

i get the jist of the thread but if anything is done good it will have it's day maybe


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## popsprocket (Sep 7, 2014)

YA dystopia.


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## Miles-Kirk (Sep 7, 2014)

Dystopian and urban fiction seem to be everywhere these days.


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## Apple Ice (Sep 7, 2014)

Writing is a supply and demand industry to a large extent and so I don't feel the need to get snobby towards anything. They're just popular, not abused. I don't personally write anything like that but I don't judge others for doing so. As far as i'm aware the sparkling vampire thing is completely original to Twilight. So she took an idea which could be said has been done to death e.g. vampires and werewolves, and made it her own. You criticize her for not using them traditionally yet I have a suspicion if she had done it traditionally she would still be equally criticized for not being original in any sense. Seems like some can't win either way, which is why I think just write whatever old shite you want (even if that happens to be the mainstream) and don't care about what other's think.

I'm not having a go, btw, just my general opinion on the matter


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## voltigeur (Sep 7, 2014)

I hope I don't come across as critical because this is an observation rather than a bias. 

I have been blown away by how many people are writng something somthing fantasy. Young adult fantasy, Historical fantasy, Urban fantasy etc. When I meet with
these groups 9 out of 10 writers are doing fantasy. (Many times I am the 10.) I was at one meeting a guy claimed to be doing histoical fictions (Yay i thought.) Medevel with a wizard. 

Just amazed that such a majority of writers are doing much the same thing.


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## stevesh (Sep 7, 2014)

voltigeur said:


> I hope I don't come across as critical because this is an observation rather than a bias.
> 
> I have been blown away by how many people are writng something somthing fantasy. Young adult fantasy, Historical fantasy, Urban fantasy etc. When I meet with
> these groups 9 out of 10 writers are doing fantasy. (Many times I am the 10.) I was at one meeting a guy claimed to be doing histoical fictions (Yay i thought.) Medevel with a wizard.
> ...



Oh, yeah. I made a similar comment on another writing forum and was hooted down for it, but it sure seems to be true to me. I don't read in that genre and can't understand its appeal, but there's no question it's the most popular choice among writers I come into contact with.


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## Plasticweld (Sep 7, 2014)

stevesh said:


> Oh, yeah. I made a similar comment on another writing forum and was hooted down for it, but it sure seems to be true to me. I don't read in that genre and can't understand its appeal, but there's no question it's the most popular choice among writers I come into contact with.




I hear ya!   Talk with any group of writers and they will all tell me that you don't have to know anything to be a good writer " life experience"  you just need a good imagination. 

Of coarse in that group I am shouted down, while I like fiction, the power of the written word comes from someone who actually did something and can share about the ups and downs, the mistakes and the lessons learned.  The dead horse seems to be non-fiction and those willing to pursue it.

If I cant write non-fiction I try for humor, which seems to be the other area writers struggle with.


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## TKent (Sep 7, 2014)

Okay, so take everything I say with a grain of salt since this 52 year old love Twilight for the love story portion  (I honestly was not thinking about writing at the time - so that was just my take on it from the emotional impact of a YA vamp romance  

For me personally, I've loved vamp stories since Interview with a Vampire way back when. And loved the Sookie Stackhouse books. And Twilight.  But for different reasons. Twilight/Sookie Stackhouse I liked the love story aspects and Charlene Harris' writing flowed nicely as well. Interview with the Vampire - wow, I just went crazy over that book initially. But with Sookie & Interview with a vampire, there was a point after a handful of books where they got just plain silly for me. Literally when the 'fantasy' is too far out there to be believable, then I have to say forget it. I felt with both of them they must have had an obligation with the publisher to do a certain number of books in the series or something and were just trying to get done in the end.  

But I ended up reading so many vamp love stories after Twilight/Sookie that were really crap, even for me, that my stomach flutters in a bad way even thinking about reading them.  But if someone who I trusted said, read this, it is a great story and great writing, I'd be back on the band wagon for sure. So for me personally, it isn't that I'm over that genre as much as I'm over weeding through crap to find a good one.

I did watch the #writeoncon twitter pitch events a few weeks ago, and the agents were pretty quick to dismiss dystopian, paranormal, and fantasy unless it had a HUGE twist and/or unique attribute, and they'd say specifically that it had been done to death, etc.  But the ones with unique twists were still generating interest with the agents and you've got to think that they felt there was a market for it if done well and unique enough.

I am still reading vamp novels now like The Strain series and The Passage  Putting those vamps back into perspective!





Plasticweld said:


> I hear ya!   Talk with any group of writers and they will all tell me that you don't have to know anything to be a good writer " life experience"  you just need a good imagination.
> 
> Of coarse in that group I am shouted down, while I like fiction, the power of the written word comes from someone who actually did something and can share about the ups and downs, the mistakes and the lessons learned.  The dead horse seems to be non-fiction and those willing to pursue it.
> 
> If I cant write non-fiction I try for humor, which seems to be the other area writers struggle with.


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## TKent (Sep 7, 2014)

For those of us who read it as a YA love story, the sparkly things worked great. I don't want my vamp boyfriend sizzling if I take him to a picnic in the park. LOL   And keep in mind it was a YA love story. Not an adult vampire story. It worked GREAT for the target audience!



> As far as i'm aware the sparkling vampire thing is completely original to Twilight.


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## Plasticweld (Sep 7, 2014)

TKent, you are officially a vampire addict, if you take the word vampire out of your last post, substitute it with either the word "drink" or "alcohol"  it would make for a great testimony at a AA meeting.


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## dragonslayer (Sep 7, 2014)

:highly_amused:

 Twilight *wasn't* a vampire book. It was a soppy romance with "vampires". Good for a laugh and that was about it. 

I get that it was different - and in being different it was rather, no point in hiding behind the bush, sort of pathetic. I mean, it basically ... if you have the ability to "read between the lines" says that physical abuse in a relationship is fine cause the abuse "loves" the abused. 

A better writer may have been capable of salvaging it but I wasn't able to get past chapter 1 of the first book. 


 As for "abuse"... when there's a dime a dozen books of the same scale Divergence type (yawn) then it's a "dead horse" because unless something is mind blowing no one's going to pass anymore than 5 seconds of thought to a book of the same field by an unknown writer obviously.


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## Jeko (Sep 7, 2014)

> Just amazed that such a majority of writers are doing much the same thing.



Fantasy is one of the broadest terms in writing; I wouldn't say that anyone is doing the same thing is someone else just because they choose not to go for absolute realism, which is the only way to avoid fantasy.

Personally, I think genre-writing has been abused in general. A lot of authors seem to be only writing square pegs to go in square holes; many of them aren't stretching themselves by thinking 'maybe my next story doesn't have to contain a supernatural, super-hot boyfriend'. Maybe it sells, but it doesn't lead to their later novels showing any kind of development.


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## Elvenswordsman (Sep 7, 2014)

I think traditional vampires was abused, and Stephanie Meyer decided she'd try and reinvent. Clearly failed, because sparkly is hardly scary, but she tried. Now traditional is relevant, and it's been a pleasure reading the fallout from her fail.

The most abused genre is erotic (you can only bang the same way so many times), and the most abused subject is romantic loss.


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## TKent (Sep 7, 2014)

Plasticweld, if you only knew how true this statement is. I am no stranger to a 12 step meeting but I'll leave it at that   And the fact that I read the first 9 sookie stackhouse books over a 5 day vacation does NOT make me an addict.  I could have stopped ANY TIME!  

My daughter and I coined the phrase: "Having a Twilight moment." This is because we both (at different times of course) finished book 1 of the Twilight series in the middle of the night, and could not wait until the next day for book 2. (Thank you Wal-mart for staying open 24 hours). So a Twilight moment is a 'temporary' addiction to something that makes you want it so badly, you can't wait another second and will go to any (legal) lengths to get it.

And I have to say THIS SITE is pretty darned addictive right now thanks to the likes of folks like you 




Plasticweld said:


> TKent, you are officially a vampire addict, if you take the word vampire out of your last post, substitute it with either the word "drink" or "alcohol"  it would make for a great testimony at a AA meeting.


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## TKent (Sep 7, 2014)

Elvenswordsman, I completely agree. But in keeping with the general theme of whether something has been abused, it goes back to the fact that something done well will rise above the abuse regardless.  There is an awesome book called Nightowl my M. Pierce. Wow, it makes the genre look so good   So well written and hot and everything else that goes with a good book to me. Anyway, I am not 'saying' I read a lot of erotica.... but... 



Elvenswordsman said:


> The most abused genre is erotic (you can only bang the same way so many times)


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## TKent (Sep 7, 2014)

Exactly!! 



dragonslayer said:


> :highly_amused:
> 
> Twilight *wasn't* a vampire book. It was a soppy romance with "vampires".


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## Kyle R (Sep 7, 2014)

dragonslayer said:


> Twilight *wasn't* a vampire book. It was a soppy romance with "vampires". Good for a laugh and that was about it.
> 
> I get that it was different - and in being different it was rather, no point in hiding behind the bush, sort of pathetic.



Well, millions of readers disagree with you, so, it's a matter of opinion.

Personally, I get annoyed by novel-bashing—especially when it's presented as fact when it's nothing more than personal opinion.

If your argument is that one must do the same thing that's already done (and that being different is "pathetic"), then I argue that you're just advocating that writers act like conformist sheep.

Sorry, but I have to respectfully decline. I like to beat to a different drummer. I strive to twist expectations and turn genre stereotypes on their heads.

Anyone can do what's already been done. That doesn't take creativity. That's not impressive. Doing something different, something unique, something that engages readers and builds a fan-base? That takes _skill_ and _talent_. 

As much as people like to bash Stephenie Meyer, the fact remains that she accomplished what many authors dream about. 

So she made vampires sparkly and affectionate, and she gave them supernatural powers. _Gasp_! You mean to tell me she actually did something _different_? How awful of her! What she _should_ have done is copy every other author and do the exact same thing. Yes. What she _should_ have done is write something unremarkable, something that blends in with all the other books in her genre, something that's forgotten in a week.

Instead, she wrote something that shattered sales records and created hordes of fans who couldn't wait to read her next books.

Clearly, she has a lot to learn. Maybe if she spent more time trying to be _generic_, she could have avoided the catastrophic success she achieved. :cower:


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## dale (Sep 7, 2014)

i'd say a person could form the opinion that all genres have been "abused". of course, people's definition of exactly what "abuse" is has also been fairly abused.


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## TKent (Sep 7, 2014)

Plasticweld I just realized that the next book on my reading list is Book of Life by Deborah Harkness. It is book 3 in a trilogy that I really really liked. It is a witch book and a vamp book (but really a great love story between a vamp and a witch). Maybe, just maybe, I have a problem. Admitting it is the first step 



> Originally Posted by *Plasticweld*
> 
> 
> _TKent, you are officially a vampire addict, if you take the word vampire out of your last post, substitute it with either the word "drink" or "alcohol" it would make for a great testimony at a AA meeting._


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## Plasticweld (Sep 7, 2014)

TKent said:


> Plasticweld I just realized that the next book on my reading list is Book of Life by Deborah Harkness. It is book 3 in a trilogy that I really really liked. It is a witch book and a vamp book (but really a great love story between a vamp and a witch). Maybe, just maybe, I have a problem. Admitting it is the first step



I know you are weak and thought I would help by printing up the 6 steps needed for you to break your addiction.  I am also here for you, if in your hour of weakness you feel like you might succumb... Every good 12 step program always stresses how important a buddy or sponsor is.




We admitted we were powerless over *Vampires*—that our lives had become unmanageable.
Came understand that there is a greater power, *this does not mean witches* could restore us to sanity.
Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care to *good quality books, preferably non-fiction. *
Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of our *book shelves, ridding of all cheap Vampire/Romance books*
Admitted to the *forum and to ourselves*, the exact nature of our wrongs.
Were entirely ready to have those *with good reading tastes remove all these cheap dime store books from our presence.*
*


Hope this helps....Bob*


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## Schrody (Sep 7, 2014)

Ha! I wanted to say vampires! I guess I'm too late


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## Sam (Sep 7, 2014)

Kyle R said:


> Well, millions of readers disagree with you, so, it's a matter of opinion.
> 
> Personally, I get annoyed by novel-bashing—especially when it's presented as fact when it's nothing more than personal opinion.



At that rate, you must really hate Amazon. Or any site where one can leave a review based on personal taste. 

God forbid someone dislikes something.


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## TKent (Sep 7, 2014)

Oh Plasticweld, you have me falling out of my rolling office chair laughing. This is soooo funny! (Husband is watching homeland in the den next to me and wanting to know what it is I'm writing that is sooo funny.) 



> I know you are weak and thought I would help by printing up the 6 steps needed for you to break your addiction. I am also here for you, if in your hour of weakness you feel like you might succumb... Every good 12 step program always stresses how important a buddy or sponsor is.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## Morkonan (Sep 7, 2014)

dragonslayer said:


> I am looking at Twilight - which always makes me laugh - as that's so anti-typical of vampires it's pathetic. Who ever heard of "sparkly" vampires.
> 
> 
> Anyways, and do move if need be as I was torn between off topic or not, what genre and/or subject do you think has been abused in the recent years.



Vampires
Zombies
Steampunk Wannabes
The entire "Adolescent Supernatural Romance" genre... Yes, there is a separate shelf for that in Barnes and Nobles.
Badly Formed Dystopic Societies
_"I'ma Teen and me and my angst know more about the real world than any adult!"_
"Hammers Slammers" ripoffs. (ie: Military Science Fiction)




> What is a "dead horse" in a way.



Everything.

But, since everything has already been written anyway, what are you so worried about? 



> I'm curious.



The one thing that hasn't been abused is "good writing." Good writing is never abused, no matter what its about. Mores the pity... Too bad good writing isn't as ubiquitous as other sorts. But, if you write well then nothing you write will be considered an "abuse" of any already abused choice of plot venues. There is *always* room for a _good_ vampire, zombie, steampunk, adolescent romance, dystopic, angsty military science fiction story...


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## Bishop (Sep 8, 2014)

You know... I'm really sick of that "Non-Fiction" genre. So many freaking books, you know? Memoirs, biographies, historical texts, maps and atlases, journalism, referential texts, language books, how-to guides, technical manuals... I mean really, it's been done to death, you know?

If you're having trouble picking up on the joke, it's that genres are really just a classification of where things go on the shelf, or of an intended style. It's all been done, once and again, and the only way to rise above any of it is to do what you want to do well enough that they want to read it.


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## T.S.Bowman (Sep 8, 2014)

May I suggest that Sci Fi in general has been abused? LOL

Kidding, Bishop. Kidding.

I am currently in the middle of abusing the Fantasy genre quite a bit so...yeah.


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## Bishop (Sep 8, 2014)

T.S.Bowman said:


> May I suggest that Sci Fi in general has been abused? LOL



That's like saying:

"You know this air stuff that we keep breathing?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm really sick of it. It's a little played out, dude, been abused to death."


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## Terry D (Sep 8, 2014)

As an author of a very traditional vampire novel, I'd like to thank everyone for keeping the genre at the forefront of this thread :eagerness: As for abused topics? Self-Help books. Self-Help abuse must stop (not to be confused with Self-Abuse help books, which, I believe was covered above under erotica...).


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## Bishop (Sep 8, 2014)

Terry D said:


> As an author of a very traditional vampire novel, I'd like to thank everyone for keeping the genre at the forefront of this thread :eagerness: As for abused topics? Self-Help books. Self-Help abuse must stop (not to be confused with Self-Abuse help books, which, I believe was covered above under erotica...).



That and, for real, memoirs. EVERY celebrity ever is making a memoir now.

No, Snookie. No.


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## Kyle R (Sep 8, 2014)

Terry D said:


> As an author of a very traditional vampire novel, I'd like to thank everyone for keeping the genre at the forefront of this thread :eagerness: As for abused topics? Self-Help books. Self-Help abuse must stop (not to be confused with Self-Abuse help books, which, I believe was covered above under erotica...).



How about self-help books for vampires?


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## Bishop (Sep 8, 2014)

Kyle R said:


> How about self-help books for vampires?



_Your Teeth And You..._ By Vladimir The Red

_Shaving With No Mirror_ By Dracula the Dracular

_Be Bullied No More!: Living With Sparkles_ By Edward Cullhim

_Biting Through Turtlenecks: Surviving the Winter Cold and Dealing with Bundled Up Prey_ By The Iceman Cameth

_The Vegan Vampire: How to Live off of Plant Blood (with a focus on the *Dracaena Cinnabari* tree)_ By Moon Coffin


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## Deleted member 56686 (Sep 8, 2014)

Bishop said:


> _Your Teeth And You..._ By Vladimir The Red
> 
> _Shaving With No Mirror_ By Dracula the Dracular
> 
> ...



How to Beat Your Blood Addiction by Abraham Van Helsing.


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## tabasco5 (Sep 8, 2014)

I'm not sure of a genre that hasn't been abused.  Well, maybe Westerns...


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## T.S.Bowman (Sep 8, 2014)

tabasco5 said:


> I'm not sure of a genre that hasn't been abused.  Well, maybe Westerns...



Really? Zane Gray pretty much abused that genre all by himself.


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## theoddone (Sep 8, 2014)

It seems with writing that everything has a season. If one writer does something well and successful, others pick up on it. Harry Potter was about a magical school and it really worked and sold very well. After that, I noticed people spinning vampire schools and things like that... Twilight was very successful and now, you see an abundance of vampire love novels for teenagers. I would agree, too, that young adult dystopian future novels are becoming huge - hunger games, maze runner, divergent, etc... Pretty soon, something new will become popular.

Unless you self publish, you have to keep up with what's popular because publishers only want what they think will sell...


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## Fivetide (Sep 8, 2014)

Personally I think vampires and the zombies have been overdone, but then again I love the genre. Also the crime scene investigator, there must be 10 times more fictional investigators than actually exist in the world lol


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## TKent (Sep 8, 2014)

Same thing in the movie business--the mock buster. They here of a movie that is being made that is probably going to be a big hit, and two or three lower quality/cost versions are made and released at the same time to ride the wave.



theoddone said:


> It seems with writing that everything has a season. If one writer does something well and successful, others pick up on it. Harry Potter was about a magical school and it really worked and sold very well. After that, I noticed people spinning vampire schools and things like that... Twilight was very successful and now, you see an abundance of vampire love novels for teenagers. I would agree, too, that young adult dystopian future novels are becoming huge - hunger games, maze runner, divergent, etc... Pretty soon, something new will become popular.
> 
> Unless you self publish, you have to keep up with what's popular because publishers only want what they think will sell...


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## TKent (Sep 8, 2014)

Hmm...if your vampire novel is anything as intense as Chase.  Honestly between your book and Arco's I'm locking my doors at night these days (or rather these nights). And I say that as a compliment 



Terry D said:


> As an author of a very traditional vampire novel, I'd like to thank everyone for keeping the genre at the forefront of this thread :eagerness: As for abused topics? Self-Help books. Self-Help abuse must stop (not to be confused with Self-Abuse help books, which, I believe was covered above under erotica...).


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## tabasco5 (Sep 9, 2014)

T.S.Bowman said:


> Really? Zane Gray pretty much abused that genre all by himself.



No, the Western genre is impossible to abuse.  It can't be done.


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## LeeC (Sep 9, 2014)

tabasco5 said:


> No, the Western genre is impossible to abuse.  It can't be done.



Au contraire, tabasco5. It's so abused, it's ludicrous, and has been since its inception. Such is the subjective human perspective of what entertains us


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## tabasco5 (Sep 9, 2014)

LeeC said:


> Au contraire, tabasco5. It's so abused, it's ludicrous, and has been since its inception. Such is the subjective human perspective of what entertains us



It seems you have received erroneous information regarding this.  Not only is it impossible to abuse the Western, it simply cannot be done. 





^^ Case in point, point in case.


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## Deleted member 56686 (Sep 9, 2014)

How about a vampire western equipped with zombies?


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## tabasco5 (Sep 9, 2014)

mrmustard615 said:


> How about a vampire western equipped with zombies?



That's pushing it...

Just make sure the vampires are dressed in black garb and ride black horses and you'll be okay.  Or the opposite if they are the good guys - white-ish garb and white horses.


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## T.S.Bowman (Sep 9, 2014)

tabasco5 said:


> It seems you have received erroneous information regarding this.  Not only is it impossible to abuse the Western, it simply cannot be done.
> 
> 
> View attachment 6418
> ...



I would counter this statement with the creation of Cowboys vs. Aliens.

If THAT wasn't a clear cut case of Abuse of the Western Genre then I don't know what is.


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## Tettsuo (Sep 9, 2014)

If you're talking sheer volume, then Romance by 100s miles!


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## tabasco5 (Sep 9, 2014)

T.S.Bowman said:


> I would counter this statement with the creation of Cowboys vs. Aliens.
> 
> If THAT wasn't a clear cut case of Abuse of the Western Genre then I don't know what is.



Hmm yes, I see your point.  We shall exclude Cowboys and Aliens from the Western genre to keep the bloodline pure.


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## T.S.Bowman (Sep 9, 2014)

tabasco5 said:


> Hmm yes, I see your point.  We shall exclude Cowboys and Aliens from the Western genre to keep the bloodline pure.



Then I shall also, since Cowboys vs Aliens is being removed from the equation, will now put forth the movie Wyatt Earp as my next example.


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## voltigeur (Sep 9, 2014)

> Unless you self publish, you have to keep up with what's popular because publishers only want what they think will sell...



This simply isn't true. You can't chase the market. I could never ever write a magic based story. I can't do fantasy I am too left brained. Every genere has a market and good writing will sell. You have to write what you will stick with. Chasing the market is the absolute wrong approach. 

Maybe that is why there is so much fantasy. Everyone trying to write the next Harry Potter series.


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## TKent (Sep 9, 2014)

Or is that romance by 100s of kisses, PDAs, and...you know... 



Tettsuo said:


> If you're talking sheer volume, then Romance by 100s miles!


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## Pidgeon84 (Sep 10, 2014)

I would say there isn't a genre that hasn't been abused. I mean, centuries upon centuries. Things are going to get a little repetitive. You just have to find a way to make the little details your own.


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## Kyle R (Sep 10, 2014)

voltigeur said:


> Every genere has a market and good writing will sell. You have to write what you will stick with. Chasing the market is the absolute wrong approach.



I agree completely.



			
				voltigeur said:
			
		

> Maybe that is why there is so much fantasy. Everyone trying to write the next Harry Potter series.



I believe it's more like writers have _always_ been writing _Harry Potter_-like series—but agents didn't think they could sell them because publishers weren't seeking them.

Then, when Rowling's series became a hit, suddenly publishers were eager to buy anything similar. Agents went out snatching up all the wizardly manuscripts they could find before the wave ended.

Writers generally seem to write to their own individual tastes. It's really the agents/publishers who are the ones chasing trends, and they are the ones that flood the market with stories with similar appeal.

And with good reason, too! Once readers finish a popular book, they're usually eager to find other books like it. 

But yes, successfully chasing the trend, as a writer, is an uphill battle. Usually by the time a trend is obvious, publishers have already noticed a decline in reader interest, and are already looking for the next big thing. 

Better to be the one who _starts_ the next big craze, instead of the one chasing it. :encouragement:


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## Morkonan (Sep 10, 2014)

By the time you catch up to the trend, it's gone... 

It's not like baking a cake or anything. If you find out chocolate cakes are all the rage, you can whip one up in an afternoon and still catch the chocolate-cake-luddites who haven't bought one yet. But, a novel? One that a publisher would spend money on? I dunno... While some of them seem like they were cranked out overnight, I can't see those writers doing it. Maybe some of the old pulp-mag greats who had to write in order to eat once a week could do that with enough skill to pass a publisher's desk. So, perhaps, a good writer could manage to crank out something quickly in order to catch a trend. But, it'd be a rare thing, even for them. And, if they're good and have ready access to a willing publisher (names sell), they've got better projects to work on, I bet.

Note: I have seen a few books that, in my opinion, were "trend-chasers", done by authors who's general offerings I'm familiar with. And, I've seen some "me too" books that got picked up just because some publisher owed someone a favor or three. (In my opinion.) I'm also sure that there is likely some contract writing going on, out there, involving trends and the like. But, that's a different sort of thing.


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## ak2190 (Sep 10, 2014)

I'm done with dystopia for now. I don't mind Twilight. It is what it is - which is a romance novel. Vampires are just incidental. It's not a good critique to say it sucks because the vampires aren't scary enough when the whole thing was a love story written for teen girls. The author didn't intend for it to be deep, scary, or even particularly original. It does a good job of fulfilling its mission to create tons of sap and "Awww" in tweenage hearts everywhere.


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## TKent (Sep 10, 2014)

But honestly, if it wasn't a trend, it wouldn't make it to the level of 'genre' would it? Is the abuse that people are writing more books in the genre, or that they are churning out what someone would consider 'crap'? And if 'crap' appeals to a broad audience, is it 'crap'? My love of vampire novels requires a certain level of abuse by authors to fulfill my need. I can generally tell by the first chapter if it is going to be good to me, so I can avoid it, or buy it because it feeds the insatiable need for more vampire. As long as I selectively choose which vamp books to read (as in the ones I will like), then I don't see myself getting tired of vamp books. In the end, if there is a good unique character, a good story, and good writing (my classification of good is pretty broad and ranges from flows nicely with no glaring Spag issues to exquisite prose that I want to read out loud to anyone who will listen), then that is what is going to make me like it. The vamps just happen to be dark and interesting to me.


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## Morkonan (Sep 10, 2014)

TKent said:


> ...The vamps just happen to be dark and interesting to me.



I have a friend like that. He loves vampire books of all types. We often compare reading notes of books we've both read, but I just can't "get into" some of those vamp books. Here's what I dislike about most of them : 

"Look! I'ma vampire! I'm cool! I'm seggzy scary! PHEAR MY POWAR!"

Too many of them rely on "vampire" and don't pay a lot of attention to "story." That's what I dislike. But, give me a good story and I'm happy, no matter the subject. If it's a good story with vamps and teens and romance, I'm in. Uh, well, probably not, but I wouldn't call it "crap", that's for sure. I'm not really calling anything "crap." I'm just remarking on what "crap" happens to look like.


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## TKent (Sep 10, 2014)

LOL



> "Look! I'ma vampire! I'm cool! I'm seggzy scary! PHEAR MY POWAR!"



Agreed:



> Too many of them rely on "vampire" and don't pay a lot of attention to "story." That's what I dislike. But, give me a good story and I'm happy, no matter the subject.



LOL again 




> If it's a good story with vamps and teens and romance, I'm in. Uh, well, probably not


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## Seedy M. (Sep 10, 2014)

Well, let's see. Zombie stories were originally based on voodoo, where certain organic chemicals can destroy the frontal lobes. In other words, they performed a chemical lobotomy. Such things actually exist. They are medical facts. they have nothing to do with a biological mechanism, such as a bacterium.
Next, we have Hollywood expanding it until we have so many zombie movies and comp games and such it could turn your stomach.
The simple fact is, with all the thousands of zombies decimating everything in sight, being shot with your choice of weapons and such, there is a very simple way to get rid of your zombies.
Salt.
Study the so-called "facts" of zombies. A little salt, they are actually dead, not the un-dead.
The danger of vampire bats, despite Count Dracula, is that the bacterial infections they can bring are dangerous.
Da-be-a-du-be-a du-be-a, that's all folks!"


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