Recently I’ve been reading series that I read 25 or so years ago, just touch-feel of space opera, and heroic daring-do, and it ends well.
I find I’m not alone. Apparently what’s doing really well is ludic fiction, meaning fiction that is fun and amuses people.
Look, none of us got out of the lockdowns unscathed and seeing the entire country — the entire world — go insane, left us all a little maimed. And this is not a political blog, so I won’t go into the details, but the fact that the economy reeks on ice throughout most of the world isn’t helping anyone. Nor are various other, profoundly unsettling pieces of nonsense by the same geniuses who brought us the lockdowns.
So… Well, as during the great depression, people want things that are easy to read, and which show the good guy winning. This is often impossible or very difficult in the real world. Particularly now. But we can enjoy vicarious victories, and get the strength for another day.
In fact, from my cursory investigation, what seems to be selling really well is the same stuff that sold well in pulp days.
But then how do you reconcile this with this podcast which I agree with, btw?
TLDL: the way not to be threatened by AI, and in fact the way to make the most money is to write non generic.
Genre sells better than anything else, and genre that hits all the points that make readers of the genre happy sells best. So, wouldn’t generic, no frills genre be the path to bestsellerdom right now? And wouldn’t that be under threat of AI?
Well, no.
As someone who is chain reading these things? No.
Yes, you should be perfectly positioned in the genre — which is why it’s best to write in a genre you’re a raving fan of — and you should serve your readers a perfect plate of reader cookies. BUT to make a book memorable — again, I’m going back to read series I read, and remember, from 25 years ago — you need to put you in.
You need to put in the things that really make a book fun for you. Now this might mean you have exquisite world building, or that your characters are people you really would like to hang out with. Or–
But you need to let YOU come through in the book. This doesn’t mean preaching or even explaining your political philosophy — though your characters might explain their political philosophy, and sometimes that might even be yours — and it definitely doesn’t mean you should bore the heck out of the readers, so you need to be aware of that.
But you should be able to put in, in an amusing and/or interesting fashion, whatever makes you excited, makes your pulse pound, makes you want to get up in the morning and write this book.
Whether that’s putting in redheads and cats (hey, the man sold his obsessions to all of us) or radically free societies (shuddup) or whatever it is.
Don’t force yourself to write worlds and characters that bore you. You’ll only bore the readers.
Make your books interesting. Fill them with the things that make you as a reader happy. Make it a good ride.
And let the good guys win.
Chances are your readers will find you.
Mad Genius Club 
27 responses to “Play!”
Unless I am sadly mistaken you should be “almost done, just a tad bit left” on an entire handful of books. Should I be hovering over my spam filter, or what?
And yes I know life happened and the bird of paradise crapped all over your day to day so called routine, but I’m paying your furry minions case lots of tuna to inspire you and keep momma plugging away so don’t make me threaten them to shave their butts as incentive.
No. This year has been…. yeah. So, next….
Steve and Sharon Miller are making book (ahem) doing this. I just reread *Salvage Rights,* and it does exactly what you’re suggesting, while offering redemption to some very appealing characters. (See Tolly Jones for an example – kind, gentle, friendly and able to kill on a dime and without remorse if the situation demands it and to protect his friends).
Eh. These are writers that knowing their beliefs I can’t read their stuff, but I’ll take your word for it.
AI would have a bit of trouble trying for Dave’s sense of humor and pulling it off (Or Sarah’s, or . . .)
After playing some more with Sudowrite, which is hyped as the most writer-oriented of the LLMs and has third parties writing extensions for it, I feel confident in saying that the LLMs don’t get characterization at all. I could see them being helpful at the outlining stages, and their semi-competence at describing scenery is going to be a dreadful temptation to people like me who tend to struggle with that.
Er…. remember scenery should only be described as it advances characterization, mood or plot. DO NOT FALL DOWN THAT TRAP OTHERWISE.
This is very true. It’s just an area where I tend to err on the side of “unstaged playscript” in my own writing, so that’s why I can see the temptation. Describing people, on the other hand…that part I have overdone from time to time.
Then there’s brilliant people like Mary Stewart who somehow manage to use the scenery to build suspense. I’m just awestruck.
well, of course. That’s part of it. Advancing the mood and the plot. I try. Lord, I try.
Your writing is extremely immersive.
My books aren’t funny at all. Now weird….
I find humor often.
erm, that might be said weirdness (~_^)
How about “gleeful”?
digression– oh, no; WordPressi has a new text entry thing, again.
And is putting the reply box at the end of the thread. After clicking the link a dozen or so times…
Well, please DO NOT strive to be funny! One episode of coffee all over the place in the first page of the <i>Daring Finds</i> is enough!
(I’ve learned better since that one. NOTHING liquid anywhere near.)
Twenty-five years ago is…..ummm….1999? My brain hurts. Make it stop. I can’t be this old, I just graduated from high school like…(mumble, mumble)
Yeah. Me too.
I graduated BCE, in the Before Carter Era. ~:D
Space 1999 used to be a TV show on right about then. Martin Landau and Barbara Bain.
I remember Space 1999 from my childhood. I tried watching a few episodes on the tube of yous but it didn’t hold my attention very well.
It’s painful, innit? Special effects are way better now.
I ran across a novelization of the first few episodes of that ahow. It was actually a good story that way!
Rereading Andre Norton. Dang. They’re better than I remember! I really ought to try to write some space opera!
Play and fun. I feel the same way. Once I finish up the sci-fi novel I’m working on, I might return to a series of shorts I’ve written about a depression era penny-ante hapless hood who can’t do anything right.
Yeah, I’ve been reading a lot of fanfiction and Georgette Heyer. I just can’t get into anything heavy.
Dan and I want to write regencies, in the manner of Georgette Heyer.
That will be fun!