Unless you've been living under a rock, you'll have noticed the dark/dystopian trend in books--dystopian in YA and dark in everything else.
I don't read dark or dystopian.
I don't like crying while reading, though the occasional death will turn on the waterworks (Dumbledore, Hedwig in HP). I don't want to imagine someone else's ideal of the post-Apocalyptic world. I don't like the language to be too dark or too graphic. I don't like it when everyone dies at the end of the book.
I read to escape. I like running away into fantasy land and experiencing the trials and tribulations of a character while knowing there will be a happy ending when the story is over.
I don't think I'm a Pollyanna, but I do seem to be in the minority here. I guess people read these dark stories to 'feel' again. All I know is virtually every agent and editor out there is requesting dark/dystopian. So if you've written something along those lines, then QUERY NOW!
For the rest of us who are like me, well, keep writing what you love. Trends are cyclic. They always have been. Remember the movies that were produced in the 1990's? (yes, I know I'm dating myself, but stick to the topic, okay?) The movies produced were dark, dreary and a large percentage of them, involved rain.
Then romantic comedy became big.
Cyclic.
So . . . Write on!
I'm with you, Bay-bee! I don't even mind being called Pollyanna. I enjoy reaads that make me feel good. If you're going to depress someone, please, LEAVE ME OUT.
ReplyDeleteYou made me wonder, Margaret, if (speaking figuratively) all this dark and dismal literature is the reason so many people are on anti-depressants these days.
I think I hit my personal turning point when I saw, DAD with Ted Danson (I think, don't quote me on this). The father had cancer and it detailed the character's relationship with each other until the end. I BAWLED. It didn't make me feel good. It didn't make me happy. I HATED IT!
ReplyDeleteI recently bought SPIRITED AWAY by Cindy Miles, pubbed in 2007. It's about a 13th C warrior cursed and murdered, he's a ghost. And the heroine, well, she's an archeologist. Talk about sexual tension!! Wow! And they couldn't even TOUCH each other. I bawled like a baby during the black moment, but it's a romance and I knew it would work out in the end. And boy, it sure did! Awesome read!
Count me in with you two.
ReplyDeleteI read romance because at the end of the book, I close it with a smile.
Do either of you remember the Rice Krispies ad where the mother was reading a romance book and at the end, she closes it with a sigh, throws a little flour on her face (so her family thinks she's been working hard) and serves her easy-to-make treats? That's how I feel at the end of a good book!
Margie! I'm with you! I don't like reading 'dark' and refuse to write it. You've read the kind of thing I write - escapist, humorous, romantically fun, but not 'heavy.' And I'll stick to my guns until the rest of the planet catches up.
ReplyDeleteWe're ahead of the curve, dear.
I remember that commercial, Cyndi! I loved it! I want to have a happy ending, even if it is simply 'for now'.
ReplyDeleteAmen, Jody! I totally agree. :-)
ReplyDeleteI prefer books that make me feel good, though I can read UF that has some lightness. If it's too dark, I feel depressed. It's not a place I want to spend my time.
ReplyDelete*snork* I'm GLAD you can read UF with a lightness to it, Edie! ;-)
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