Wednesday, December 15, 2010

To Follow or Not to Follow, That's the Question

The trend of vampire novels has saturated the market, and readers turn to some place else for something different, or refreshing. From what I read, what will be the next trend is the near future and the post-apocalyptic fiction, such as The Road. It does reflect today's mood--uncertainty everywhere we turn. Not a fan of this grim outlook on our world and our civilization, I myself won't follow the trend for two more reasons:

1) I have found my unique niche as a writer.

2) I am not a fast writer. I tend to take time to work on my writing and along the way enjoy the process to my heart's content.

I think writers who like to jump on the band wagon, nothing is wrong about that, are fast writers who churn out 50,000 words in one month because the trend comes and goes like waves of the sea, only fast writers can ride with them.

Here comes the question, a famous Hamlet's line in different wording: To follow or not to follow, that's the question. If you like the concept of near future and post apocalyptic stories and are a fast writer, hey, what the heck, give it a try. You might end up getting a nice deal with a large publishing house. Well, you may argue: I hate to follow the trend, I prefer to write what I want to write. Certainly, I agree with you 100%. And you may even argue that you want to create a trend. I, too, agree with you on that. I believe there's nothing unachievable under the sun. If we, human beings, can send men to the moon; we writer, too, can reach the moon. It's a matter of luck, timing, and hard work. Whatever the choice you make, it's your own decision, and no one else's business.

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