A lament for reading...

[nomorenomore08]

I don't want to complain about it too much, but I tell you, being a wannabe novelist/short-story writer in these times is pretty discouraging. Not so much the bad economy, since that's most likely a temporary (if painful) condition, but the fact that books as a form of leisure/entertainment/personal growth have been so supplanted by other things. Of course there's still quality literature being written, Haven Kimmel's 'Iodine' and Rivka Galchen's 'Atmospheric Disturbances' being two recent examples, but the question is, is anybody reading it?

Will Generation X (the generation of which the two aforementioned writers are a part) be the last to produce, or at least notice, any novels of significance? As a 24-year-old Gen Y'er myself, it's enough to almost make me throw up my hands and go back to bed... :-(

[DarkTirade]

1. I hope not.

I've just gotten myself to start writing again. :scared:

[nomorenomore08]

2. What kind of stuff do/did you write, if you don't mind me asking?

The stuff I write is basically realistic fiction (or "literary fiction," though I kind of roll my eyes at that phrase), but with a Kafka/David Lynch kind of surreal twist to it.

To give you an idea, I just self-published a "serious" work of fiction about a serial killer - hey, if Brett Easton Ellis can do it, why can't I? :P

[DarkTirade]

4. I started out just doing the geeky stuff I was interested in, I.E., sci-fi/fantasy, ect.

But I've branched out a bit. I'm about to submit my first (and so far only) play to a contest. It's a fairly simple one-act play, only two characters. Starts out with a fairly simple conflict, which opens it up to the real conflict, one person confronting the other about his problems, then ends with a nice little twist ending. :P

I'll probably still go mainly for the geeky stuff, just because that's what I know. But if I can't write realistic and engrossing plots and characters in a 'normal' setting, there's no way I can do it by putting them in a slightly more interesting setting.

[nomorenomore08]

5. I agree. Wild fantasy worlds and cool technology are no substitute for good writing.

:thumbsup:

[DarkTirade]

8. Actually my main problem wasn't so much the writing, but the STORYTELLING.

I came up with interesting characters, interesting universes, and my writing itself was pretty good... but my ability to weave an interesting story just kept falling flat on its face.

Part of that, I think, was too much Hollywood influence (and my own personal immaturity. I did start writing when I was fairly young. :P) When you know the 'good guys' will win and everything will be happy, it's hard to have good conflict. You just end up with a bunch of Mary-Sue type characters that prance around from one end of the plotline to the other. Now I tend to let the stories develop organically along with the characters as they go through the plot (or deviate from it as they would naturally do if it's appropriate.) rather than say, "Here's the beginning, here's the middle, here's the end, now I'll link them all together by following the characters through."

[nomorenomore08]

9. Yeah, that's (somewhat) my problem as well. Which is why my stories aren't highly plot-driven.

I think it was Aristotle, way back when, who said that writers tend to master diction and character before plot. So I guess storytelling is a skill that comes with age and experience, if at all... :shrug:

[DarkTirade]

11. Well, I don't know if I'm typical, but he was certainly right in my case.

:)

[blueraven95]

3. not a chance.

people have been predicting the end of the literary world since printing presses started, practically. Don't worry, great works will come out of this generation, next generation, and so on.

[kentauros]

6. If writing is your primary source of income, then just keep writing no matter what.

I write because I love to make up stuff and make it into a story. Granted, most of it has been fanfic so far (or near to it) but there is such a thing as a "sanctioned" writer. I wouldn't mind being one of those :)

If you want to read the fluff I've written (I really don't read much anymore; used to be scifi/sci-fantasy) here are two:
http://www.fictionpress.com/s/2602184/1/Djinnified
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4359698/1/Genie_of_the_Lamp


The most aggravating thing that happens for me is to tell friends and online fandom about my works and getting only crickets in response

I don't know if I'll ever publish. I'd like to, just depends on what I end up writing that's worth publishing...

Have you considered writing for comics or cartoons?

[nomorenomore08]

7. Well, at the moment I have no source of income.

Rather I'm being supported by my (comfortable, but not wealthy) parents. They're convinced I'm going to be a success, which is part of the reason for their leniency, but I'm not so optimistic myself.

Maybe things will look up a bit in '09... :shrug:

[kentauros]

10. I have a friend who's lucky enough to pursue his writing career

with his parents helping him out monetarily, so he can focus on writing. Take advantage of that generosity while you can. Join a local writers' group, too, if you haven't already :)

I saw this in the Writing Group the other day and thought it was so telling about literature today:

A Reader's Manifesto

Thus, if you do "experimental" forms of writing, you are more likely to get noticed, by the looks of it.

[nomorenomore08]

13. Yeah, if it wasn't for the current recession, I'd probably have some kind of job already.

Which would take time away from writing, sure, but I could still probably have done as much writing as I have (averages out to just over half a page a day since graduating in June 2007) even while employed. Gotta get over that twentysomething slacker phase... *sigh*

[trof]

12. I do read, but...

I recently realized that I do (did) most of it online.
So I'm once again a regular customer at our library.
And reading books is much more satisfying to me that reading online.

[nomorenomore08]

14. Sure it's more satisfying, which I think is why the "E-book" never really took off.

People want something in their hands, made from real paper and stuff, that's actually a tangible object.

[DarkTirade]

15. Sometimes something good can collect fans online and that'll be enough to get it published though,

there are a couple of books I read online that I'd love to get a hard copy of. John Dies at the End was a WEIRD one, but a page-turner. Figuratively speaking, of course, since I was reading on a screen. :P Also one that's recently been put back up online after being in print for a while that I just reread is http://cheeseburgerbrown.com/publications/Simon_of_Space/chapters.html">Simon of Space.