Cyclical Seasons, Desperate Writers

   Wench Pat checking in:

The golden days of autumn are rather green and brown this year.  Poor trees, after a late spring freeze, they had to put out a second set of leaves, and then they baked in a summer drought. Most of them have given up hope and are sulking by refusing to don their gaudy autumn gowns.  So I’m staring out my office window at drab colors and early twilight and long to follow the geese south for winter.   

In other words—the current WIP stinks like a three-day-dead mackerel, and I need a new idea to make me smile and reach for my reference shelf.  Books are so much more exciting when they’re merely a gleam in my eye. Unfortunately, the current ideas gallivanting wildly through my brain are completely inappropriate, so I have to put a lid on them. That’s an unfortunate side effect of hating the current WIP—my brain wants to run as far as possible from the world I’m working on.

So my thought of the day is to wonder if the current paranormal craze is a result of readers wanting to escape as far from the present as possible.  And then I wonder why we don’t escape to the world of the Wild Wild West or Renaissance Italy or Mayan America instead of leaving reality entirely.  On my daily blog at blogspot, we’ve been wondering if a John Wayne vampire might bring back western historicals. Wishful thinking, I fear, but it does beg the question—What does it take to make a cycle turn?  (I know, wheels, let’s not get smart now!)

Like the seasons, media entertainment—and I mean TV, movies, YouTube, and whatever is out there along with books—follows a cycle.  And I assume those cycles are equally affected by droughts and freezes, or dearths and strikes.  Right now we’re being inundated in paranormal fiction, superheroes on TV and movies, ghost whisperers, and if reality TV isn’t as close to abnormal as it gets, I don’t know what is.  Will a screenwriters’ strike produce a drab autumn next year?  I can see it now—Desperate Housewives have their homes on Wisteria Lane foreclosed and move to Desperation Straits where they sit around in housecoats and drink weak coffee and plot to rob Wal-Mart.  Told you my brain is gallivanting recklessly!

So where do you think the cycle will turn next? What will be the next big book phase— Reality Romance? Will television produce historical fiction? Paranormal westerns?  Anyone with a crystal ball who understands what turns media wheels?  And if you don’t have a crystal ball, what would YOU like to see next on TV or in books?  Touched by Angels meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer?

Comments

[Maggie Robinson]

LOL, Pat, all I know is that by the time I figure it out, there will be something new on the horizon! I really do try to read widely and have attempted all sorts of genres (to my utter shame there is a cat shapeshifter novella in my files which should be buried deep in the kitty litter). But I always come back to historical.

[John Stevens]

No crystal ball but I'll give it a shot, Pat. I think that if the screenwriters remain on strike for more than a few weeks you can expect to see a lot more reality shows next season. I may hate the things but TV Networks love 'em. They're fairly cheap to produce, don't require much writing, don't have any actors holding out for more money when they hit big, and they bring in big ratings. Their biggest problem is they don't tell a compelling story so I expect that in time people will get tired of them, the cycle will move on and they'll fade away for the most part. I hope so at least. I can't stand them myself.

Regarding the cycles, I wouldn't expect a return of the western anytime soon. What made that genre so popular was that when it started the wild west was still ... well ... wild. In real life I mean. It was also, for the masses back east, exotic. For the folks making them, they were cheap (there's that word again) to produce and popular. So they stuck around for a very long time. Will they ever make a real comeback? I don't think they'll ever be as popular as they once were, but I think you'll a few well made movies or miniseries a year. Probably on cable rather than broadcast TV.

The next popular genre in books is much harder to predict as all of you know very well. I don't think that historical fiction is going to be ballooning in popularity anytime soon. That's mainly a reflection of my in-ability to so much as find an agent, let alone a publisher, for my two novels currently in re-write to hopefully make them more salable.

On the other hand, I don't expect the market for SciFi/Fantasy, Mysteries, or Romances of all sub-genres to shrink anytime soon either. I think that Paranormal fiction has about had it, and I expect the market to shrink somewhat in the coming years.

As for what's going to be the next big thing? I have no fricking clue. I expect that comedies will remain King on tv. More than anything, people love to laugh after all. I'd love to see swashbucklers make a big serge in popularity. I had hoped that it would happen a few years ago when Master & Commander, and Pirates of the Carribean first came out. Both because it's what I'm writing, and what I enjoy reading. But, sadly, it didn't happen. Probably because they're expensive to do well, while the studios like things that are cheap (again with that word).

And that's the way I see things ...

This morning at least. ;-)

[John Stevens]

Grrrrr! I hate typos!

[kay]

If only there was someone out there who could make sense of all the comings and goings of different genres. Why was there what seemed to be an upsurge of romance novels in the 70, 80, 90's? That's not to say they didn't have romance novels before then, they were just different and not all them had happy endings. I remember in the 70's when romance novels started growing. I always consider the 70's a time of unrest, so, its always seemed interesting to me that this was the time of the beginning of modern romance novels with the required happy ending. I always thought that the interest in the westerns was more the interest in portraying Indians as romantic and it just so happened that in movies the Indian was no longer the bad guy (remember Little Big Man?) Then along came "New Age" and paranormal novels started appearing. I think eventually they will glut the market and become less popular. I love history; that's why I love historical books. I love to be transported back to an age that I learned about in school only this time I have my happy ending. I'm hoping the resurge of interest in Jane Austen and the Tudors will rekindle interest in the historical books (all time periods.)

What's in the future? Who knows, but it's probably already here.

[Edith]

If I knew what readers wanted most right now, I'd be writing this from my charming villa in Tuscany. Hell, if I knew what I wanted to read now, I'd be happy as a clam.

And yes, escapism is always best when the times are those we want to escape from.

But I think, she said, creeping out on a long limb, what people are going to want soon are happy, happy endings. The type that bring tears to your eyes and make every day Christmas Eve because miracles are possible if you believe hard enough.

I don't mean sappy slapstick or puerile plays on Old Santa sorta stuff. I mean real happy tears and and a sense of wonder as in MIRACLE ON 34th STREET and Jimmy Stewart and WIZARD OF OZ and ...
Gosh. I think I mean my childhood.
Roll out the Uncle Wiggley and don't stint on the Albert Payson Terhune!

[Patricia Rice]

Ah, what lovely provocative posts to gear up my morning! Reality shows...blech! They're so totally staged that I can't abide them. Give me a good story any day. Surprise endings are fine, but I want REAL reality, not pouting for the cameras.

My thinking on the romance revolution was that it was some kind of reaction to the sexual revolution of the 70s. We wanted to know it was okay to have sex outside of wedlock and that it would turn out happily ever after.

And I think John may have a point on the wild west--NYC still thinks anything west of the Hudson is a hinterland. But they now know California is out there, so it's not quite as primitive as before. Which makes it more costly.

Intriguing idea about the cost of production--we may be heading for shorter books as a result. Ponder on that for a while. Combine it with Edith's suggestion---wow. Short, meaningful, emotionally powerful... I like it. I still want my thick historicals though.

[Elaine McCarthy]

I'm thinking that if you want to know what the future holds in the way of media content, look at what the kids are watching now. Already we have one cartoon show where the main characters are a milkshake named "Shake," a package of french fries named "Frylock" and a meatball named "Meatwad," and another with a character that is a talking piece of excrement. Where do you go after that? I'm expecting TV shows based on computer games, lots of raunchy humor, and stuff so far out I probably won't understand it AT ALL. Interactive TV, anyone? Lowest common denominator...? Though it's hard to see how the denominator could go any lower than it already has. Maybe there will be TV shows ABOUT kids playing computer games.

What I would LIKE to see would be romances about married couples who are having troubles and who WORK IT OUT. I've already written six short plays with that theme, so I am READY.

Maybe the producers of TV and movies will start getting idea from blogs; that could be interesting. Or maybe they will comb through foreign TV shows for ideas or even for things to import; I could go for that. I think our only hope (soapbox alert!) is for a LOT of people to get interested in how the rest of the world lives, thinks and plays.

Whatever the future brings, the one thing I'm sure of is that it's going to astonish me.

[Susan/DC]

I think part of the appeal of paranormals is that they represent the superhero who can overcome all the bad guys and keep us safe, just as Superman and his ilk did in the 1930s, another scary period of history. The 21st C spin on this is that the heroes are less unambiguously good themselves -- is that vampire your True Love or is he himself part of the dark forces that threaten us? And the heroes are not so sure they even want to be heroes, cas ontemporary culture's doubt and cynicism and irony slip into our heroes' world view.

As for Albert Payson Terhune, I adored his books when young -- "Lad, a Dog", "Love Me, Love My Dog", et al. They were reprinted a few years ago, and a reviewer pointed out that the stories are full of anti-Semitism and racism, but when I was 8 all I got from the books were cracking good yarns and the conviction that collies are the best dogs on Earth.

[KeiraSoleore]

Urban fantasy and Manga is getting bigger everyday and I suspect it hasn't even come close to topping out yet. So I expect to see many more comic-book-style romance novels; many of them with continuing characters. Think of Phantom or Flash Gordon.

What I wish: more historicals with history and romance, not simply you-know-what. I don't necessarily mean a 700-page doorstopper, but even with 300-350 pages it's possible to include far more historical flavor and depth, with an eye towards accuracy, and have the hero and heroine involved in far more of a romance with dialogue and gestures and memories--nuances--rather than simply a slam-bim-bam-I-love-you.

[Susan Wilbanks]

"I think part of the appeal of paranormals is that they represent the superhero who can overcome all the bad guys and keep us safe, just as Superman and his ilk did in the 1930s, another scary period of history."

I agree with this. My theory is that so far this has been a dark decade that has driven readers to two types of escapism--the very light romp (of whatever era or genre) and the paranormal, which can be very dark, but with the threats safely supernatural and therefore at a remove from the things we fear in real life.

Me, I feel a little out of step, because my own response was a little different--e.g. the fact that my nephew served in Iraq as a National Guard officer made me want to write about war, and with a fair amount of grit and realism. I just wrote about the Peninsular War so I could write about the lives of soldiers without having to deal with present-day politics--my own or my potential readers! But the book didn't sell, though of course I don't know if being out of step with current reader tastes is why or not. I've finally reached the point where I'm just writing the kind of stories I love to read and hoping that eventually an editor will feel the same, because trying to analyze the market was making me depressed and a little crazy.

As far as what I'd love to see next? Variety! I like to mix up my reading WRT genre, setting, and tone, so the more varied the choices on the market, the happier I am. I do like adventures with high stakes, ordinary people called upon to find abilities they never suspected they had and do extraordinary things...except when I'm more in the mood for a goofy romp or quiet realism. But love of adventure is my default setting.

And count me as another one looking for historical fiction that's rich in history--not at the expense of the story but as one of the powers that drives the story and gives it richness and depth.

[Kaley Nick]

Hi, Patricia--
This is veering off topic, but I was chuckling at your post. I, too, had one of those autumn-blahs days yesterday, and ended up spending a great deal of the day my sofa, curled up with nothing other than "Mystic Guardian."

So thank for the wonderful escape from a dreary November afternoon! I've got 60 pages left, so I think I'll be retiring a little early tonight to finish it.

Is it all right to ask here if Lissandra will have her own book down the line? Oops--or maybe something happens to her in the last few chapters. Don't tell me! I just thought she was a good candidate for having her world turned upside down in a story of her own. In any case, looking forward to the next installment.

[Devon Matthews]

Oh, Pat. Poor John Wayne is probably spinning in his grave. :o)

I don't pretend to understand what's going on in the entertainment industry right now, especially the publishing end of it. There are genres floating around out there that I'm not even familiar with. I mean, when it comes to romance, what is urban fantasy if not a parnormal romance in a contemporary setting? I'm easily confused these days. And bumfuzzled, completely. I'm not even writing because I can't figure out what TO write.

What's worse (for me) is, I'm no longer entertained. Not by the current movies, tv shows, or even most of the books being published. As a result, I've taken a step back to things I used to do to entertain myself. Arts and crafts type things. At least this gives me some feeling of satisfaction, rather than a sense of wasted time. And, hey, that very tedious quilt I began more than ten years ago is nearly finished. ;o)

I agree that Westerns will continue at the current trickle, but they WON'T be making a big comeback. I hate to break it to the small community of my Western Romance writing pals, but it ain't happenin', gals. After seeing the new "3:10 to Yuma," I'm sure of it. Those script writers really made a mess of things.

[Pat rice]

My hope is that when the cycle hits the absolute bottom of the garbage can, it will spin upward again and become more challenging, but I write romance because somewhere under this shielf of cynicism is a hopeless optimist.

And I think there will always be books about Good winning over Evil, and justice prevailing, so in that sense, I buy into paranormals. (Glad you're enjoying Guardian, Kaley, and yes, Lis gets her own book. I'm in the process of turning her world upside down as we speak)

As to detailed historicals, I think we're seeing what the market will bear now in the Philippa Gregory type books--the types our two wenchly Susans write. In romance...not so much. I'm thinking romance has reached its peak and we now need to find another format to play with it. I like mixed media and crossing genres, but right now, no one has figured out to market it. So unless I can combine Manga illustrations with historical details and romantic relationships.... "G"

Devon, I totally sympathize. Maybe while you're quilting, your mind will be absorbing everything else out there, and it will come up with new genre we're all looking for! I know it's possible to sell "westerns" to Dorcester, but I suspect they're only buying known names. So there's still a small market, but not so much what publishing demands these days.

[Patricia Rice]

talk about typos. Now even typepad doesn't recognize me!

[maryjoputney]

Elaine, there -are- romances about married couples struggling to work their problems out, but they're called "women's ficion." :) Romance is that agony and the ecstasy of possibilities, while working out the problems in an existing relationship is quite another beast. One with less fantasy.

What comes next? Darned if I know! But I just looked at the top 100 favorites romances of all time at www.allaboutromance.com , and I think that 43% of them were European historicals. (And Our Loretta's LORD OF SCOUNDRELS was the top rated romance for the third time over the last ten years!) So classic romance is still much loved.

As for making John Wayne a vampire--hey, it might be an improvement!

Mary Jo

[Sherrie Holmes]

Edith, do you have any idea how much I love you?!! Uncle Wiggly and Parcheesi forever! When we were kids, board games and cards games and jigsaw puzzles were all the rage.

Pat, I wish I could predict the next fad, but alas, I've always been a silent rebel and expressed my individuality by refusing to follow trends. That's okay if you refuse, as I did, to wear miniskirts until after the fad had passed. It's not okay if you are involved in the entertainment industry where you need to be ahead of the curve.

I think what helped pave the way for the paranormal/fantasy genre is computer games that dealt with elaborate worlds and fantastic characters with magic gifts. Who knows what the next fad will be?

I do, however, see promising signs that rich historicals may be coming back. If they do (please, God!) they have a ready-made audience in we baby boomers who cut our teeth on Kathleen Woodiwiss and Rosemary Rodgers. *g*

[Sherrie Holmes]

"And Our Loretta's LORD OF SCOUNDRELS was the top rated romance for the third time over the last ten years!"

GO, LORETTA!!! That is just totally awesome. And how providential, since this book is hitting the shelves 11/27, and the first of your 2-part interviews here at the WW will be this coming Wednesday!

[Jo Beverley]

And Mary Jo is well represented on the AAR top 100, too!

I agree that the interest in the all-powerful heroes is a reaction to fear. Has anyone looked to see what's really hot outside of the US? IMO the happy vampire is a promise of immortality, appealing in difficult times, and to Boomers approaching what used to be called old age.

I don't think romance novels or historicals are going away at all, but I do think the readership has fragmented. There are those who love sex romps, those who love historical depth, those who love action/adventure, and paranormal, and fantasyland history. This can lead to smaller sales for any one title unless an author can hit a lot of the spots because at the same time there are those who loath sex romps, loath historical detail etc etc

I don't have a clue about what's coming next, but I think we need to be wary of Black Swans. Some books, like Outlander, for example, are big hits but no one gets anywhere by trying to do the same thing.

Temeraire isn't going to lead to a genre of alternate history with dragons, even though a few authors have tried.

Harry Potter's success hasn't been replicated or even washed over onto other writers of YA fantasy.

The ongoing Jane Austen madness didn't save the trad Regency from death and hasn't done anything for Regency set historicals as far as I can see. But there might be a mesh there. I think the appeal of Austen comes from the same point as the appeal of the Regency period in historical romance.

And perhaps we should remember that Austen is quite low-keyed, even though there are often powerful personal dramas and challenges underneath.

Great post, Pat. Very thought-provoking.

[Patricia Rice]

Go Wenches, Go! Yeah, team! "G" It's nice to know there are readers who recognize good books.

LOL, Sherrie! I've always expressed my individualism by being on the cutting edge, which means I get into trouble more often than not. After I was the first to wear mini-skirts to high school, they finally allowed girls to wear pants the following year. "G"

Jo, I hadn't heard the term "black swans," but you're totally right. For a long while, we thought LONESOME DOVE would bring back westerns, but it was one of those things that worked and can't be duplicated.

I'm afraid it's marketing that will turn the trick these days though. One good marketing hook, and they're off and running.

[Jane George]

The trend in romance will likely be a continued blending of genres. Paranormals have mated with just about everything, from Colleen Gleason doing Buffy Austen to Tate Hallaway and others doing paranormal chick-lit, to Cheyenne Macray and others doing urban fantasy. I think that's one of the reasons paranormals have lasted so long. Cross-pollination.

I would like to see more sci-fi romance. As for westerns, I loved Joss Whedon's show, Firefly. Talk about a hybrid!

I think we're on the cusp of a revolution on many levels. Mainstream fiction is going to see more powerful visionary stories on par with Orwell, Vonnegut, Kesey, etc. Visual media stories are also going to become interactive, with the viewer choosing one of several story paths at certain points.

Dang, my ball clouded over...time for bed.