Thanks, Ivy! Always looking for new reads. I’ve been reading outside my writing genre quite a bit — it’s like I can’t process other place-based narrative or too much literary fiction at the same time…So, fantasy has been a great place for me to hang out. Plus, I learn a lot about world building, which matters so much place-based writing as well as in fantasy.
I completely understand that. That is exactly the reason it took me so long to finally finish Arden's Winter of the Witch. I am also genre blending, mixing together history, myth, and legend into one tale. When I'm reading Arden, I find it difficult to get lost in her story because I keep comparing the writing to my own. Sometimes that's great and sometimes I get a real bad case of imposter syndrome. Once you're finished with your current WIP, it will be interesting to see how you feel about other takes on place-based narratives. You will have to keep me posted.
Will do! That comparison thing is what kills me -- it sure does brings up some imposter syndrome for me, too, because I can go into a spiral of, "Well, they're actually a rancher/horse trainer/etc., etc., so they're more authentic" or "It's already been done."
Thanks for an excellent question! I would not agree with that writer if they were one of my book coaching clients. I'd try and get the best-selling book in their genre into their hands ASAP. I'd read it too, and then we would talk about why its so popular with its genre readers. (Caveat: I coach writers who want to sell their books and make a living, so I encourage them to figure out the sweet spot between writing what they love and finding an audience that wants to pay for that). I'm not going to lie and say it's always pleasant. When I first read Uprooted by Naomi Novik, I thought, well the best book is already out there. What else can I possibly add to the world? But that was just my imposter syndrome. Eventually I got to a place where I could read a book in my genre and pull out my favorite elements to examine. Then I put my own spin on it. Not reading in your genre is sorta like saying I want to cook Thai food, but I don't eat Thai food. How can you make it really tasty if you don't know what the flavor profiles are in the first place? It makes the work of being a Thai chef really hard if you don't know what the other local Thai restaurants are serving.
That's how I've felt too, but I've read a lot of big authors don't read in the genre they're currently writing like Rebecca Yarros and some others I can't remember off the top of my head.
I haven't heard that, but I do know Yarros has a lot of experience in romance first, and the Fourth Wing was her first romantasy. Maybe that is why there are some instances where the worldbuilidng in the first two volumes doesn't feel as fleshed out as it could have been. Fantasy heavy readers noticed the it didn't feel like an entire continent worth of worldbuilding that in a lot of those early reviews. I still LOVE Fourth Wing, don't get me wrong. Its a fantastic series, but I also feel like she tried fixing some of those worldbuilding issues in Onyx Storm. Those reviewers were like, oh dang, where was the foreshadowing for all these islands and gods/goddesses? I'd argue Onyx Storm is the best of the lot so far because now she is more immersed in the romantasy genre and its expectations. But at the end of the day, maybe my advice isn't for everyone! But I share it here since I feel it worked for me personally.
That is so interesting!! I read a lot of fantasy (including romantasy) and I also thought Onyx Storm was by far the best of the series so far but I have seen so many other people saying they thought it was the worst, maybe the people who didn't love it as much are coming from more of a romance background
Thanks, Ivy! Always looking for new reads. I’ve been reading outside my writing genre quite a bit — it’s like I can’t process other place-based narrative or too much literary fiction at the same time…So, fantasy has been a great place for me to hang out. Plus, I learn a lot about world building, which matters so much place-based writing as well as in fantasy.
I completely understand that. That is exactly the reason it took me so long to finally finish Arden's Winter of the Witch. I am also genre blending, mixing together history, myth, and legend into one tale. When I'm reading Arden, I find it difficult to get lost in her story because I keep comparing the writing to my own. Sometimes that's great and sometimes I get a real bad case of imposter syndrome. Once you're finished with your current WIP, it will be interesting to see how you feel about other takes on place-based narratives. You will have to keep me posted.
Will do! That comparison thing is what kills me -- it sure does brings up some imposter syndrome for me, too, because I can go into a spiral of, "Well, they're actually a rancher/horse trainer/etc., etc., so they're more authentic" or "It's already been done."
What do you think about people who say they never read books in the genre of book that they're writing at that time? Do you agree?
Thanks for an excellent question! I would not agree with that writer if they were one of my book coaching clients. I'd try and get the best-selling book in their genre into their hands ASAP. I'd read it too, and then we would talk about why its so popular with its genre readers. (Caveat: I coach writers who want to sell their books and make a living, so I encourage them to figure out the sweet spot between writing what they love and finding an audience that wants to pay for that). I'm not going to lie and say it's always pleasant. When I first read Uprooted by Naomi Novik, I thought, well the best book is already out there. What else can I possibly add to the world? But that was just my imposter syndrome. Eventually I got to a place where I could read a book in my genre and pull out my favorite elements to examine. Then I put my own spin on it. Not reading in your genre is sorta like saying I want to cook Thai food, but I don't eat Thai food. How can you make it really tasty if you don't know what the flavor profiles are in the first place? It makes the work of being a Thai chef really hard if you don't know what the other local Thai restaurants are serving.
That's how I've felt too, but I've read a lot of big authors don't read in the genre they're currently writing like Rebecca Yarros and some others I can't remember off the top of my head.
I haven't heard that, but I do know Yarros has a lot of experience in romance first, and the Fourth Wing was her first romantasy. Maybe that is why there are some instances where the worldbuilidng in the first two volumes doesn't feel as fleshed out as it could have been. Fantasy heavy readers noticed the it didn't feel like an entire continent worth of worldbuilding that in a lot of those early reviews. I still LOVE Fourth Wing, don't get me wrong. Its a fantastic series, but I also feel like she tried fixing some of those worldbuilding issues in Onyx Storm. Those reviewers were like, oh dang, where was the foreshadowing for all these islands and gods/goddesses? I'd argue Onyx Storm is the best of the lot so far because now she is more immersed in the romantasy genre and its expectations. But at the end of the day, maybe my advice isn't for everyone! But I share it here since I feel it worked for me personally.
That is so interesting!! I read a lot of fantasy (including romantasy) and I also thought Onyx Storm was by far the best of the series so far but I have seen so many other people saying they thought it was the worst, maybe the people who didn't love it as much are coming from more of a romance background