Image: OldPixels.com via flickr
A friend sent me this article in today’s New York Times*:
Recession Fuels Readers’ Escapist Urges
Essentially, Motoko Rich’s article focuses on the success of the romance genre in the bookworld in the midst of the current economic realities. While other genres have seen stagnation or a decrease in the numbers of books being moved, romance has seen bigger numbers. The conclusion is that readers, amidst all the doom & gloom, want their books to have a happy ending. Apparently, the sci-fi and fantasy genres are also experiencing an upsurge. People want to escape.
So, I wonder, should I be changing genres & working on a romance or fantasy novel if I ever want to make a living as a writer? My WIP in progress is anything but a pick me up. The fact that one of my writing group members compared it to Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar ought to give you an idea of how it’s playing out. I am 100% in the literary fiction category. And, while I hope that there is a sense of peace at the end of my story, it’s probably not going to be the happy escape readers often want.
In all seriousness, I’m not seriously changing genres. I’m sticking with this project. It is what I want to write. If it finds readers down the road, great. If not, whatever. Besides, I have no interest in romance, sci-fi, or fantasy genres. Chick lit is about as far as I stray from the literacy fiction genre. Although, given the fact that 3 of my writing group members are writing fantasy, maybe I should be thinking about turning my WIP into a sci-fi/fantasy version of Sylvia Plath. What do you think?
(Don’t worry, I’m still fulfilling my “no news” experiment. I wasn’t reading the NYT. Someone else sent the article to me. And anyways, I think anything book or literature related doesn’t count as news. For me, the news I’m trying to avoid is all the depressing stuff about the economy, the war, & politcs in general. Yes, I kind of like burying my head in the sand.)
This is me writing 
April 8, 2009 at 11:25 pm
Alison,
I ran across your blog while searching for (read: “seeking unsolicited encouragement from…”) other writers. I recently started my own and have put up a few posts and excerpts, and wanted to see how others with the ‘passion’ are getting along in the craft. I like the idea of the news blackout, especially in the current environment. Night after night of bad news–I truly believe that it eventually becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy. When enough people believe that things are going to be worse than the day before, it becomes the ‘truth’. Sometimes the solution is to turn it all off and read (or better yet–write) a good book. If one needs to escape, I can think of no better way.
I noticed also that ‘Creative Visualization’ was among your recently read books. We have two copies from many years back–I think it’s an excellent read.
Have a great one, and I look forward to reading more of your posts.
Peace,
Nicolas Ambrose
April 9, 2009 at 6:28 am
Thanks for checking out my blog. I must admit, I’m truly enjoying the news blackout. I agree, the negativity does become a self-fulfilling prophesy and it does start to affect one’s creativity.