tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post7026655333806277114..comments2023-11-03T05:49:10.841-04:00Comments on Storytelling Rules: Paranormal BeefMaureen McGowanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00494408580378817045noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-38479023647614273552009-04-20T19:11:00.000-04:002009-04-20T19:11:00.000-04:00But lots of paranormal authors are making lists an...But lots of paranormal authors are making lists and doing quite all right - Gena Showalter was all over the news this last week with Harlequin. I think we've just hit that point when editors are tired of the same old same old, just like readers.<br /><br />the reinventing the wheel thing -- I feel like I've read three books in a row (actually I didn't finish them I picked them up) and it's the same wheel, same demons meet vampires, meet slayers meet WHATEVER - but the rules are different. I want a new world. I really loved the premise of Larissa Ione's Demonica books -- and underworld Demon hospital, and the way she handles the world building really really worked for me. Not a bunch of explaining, just there we are with vegan demons.Molly O'Keefehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15171236688541657736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-28993736328407526132009-04-20T17:43:00.000-04:002009-04-20T17:43:00.000-04:00Yes, to "stand out" each plot has to be more and m...Yes, to "stand out" each plot has to be more and more unbelievable. It's so not for me. I've read a couple of "ghost" type paranormals but I'm so not into vampires and other creatures. I can't wait for this trend to die down. But now it's sweeping the young adult world. Okay, I admit it - one version of my young adult ms has some slight paranormal elements but not creatures. Everybody's human. :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-78208360226090257262009-04-20T17:26:00.000-04:002009-04-20T17:26:00.000-04:00Actually I with Marcy in the fact that the title m...Actually I with Marcy in the fact that the title made me hungry.<br /><br />I've been craving beef all day, I wonder how paranormal beef tastes? I'm thinking teriyaki. LOL!Amy Ruttanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02212879406999128140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-10007226850085873272009-04-20T16:36:00.000-04:002009-04-20T16:36:00.000-04:00Marcy
Vampire shapeshifting cows. The next big th...Marcy<br /><br />Vampire shapeshifting cows. The next big thing. Trust me.Maureen McGowanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00494408580378817045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-26187222104672608652009-04-20T16:09:00.000-04:002009-04-20T16:09:00.000-04:00OMG...when I read the title of this post I thought...OMG...when I read the title of this post I thought "Hmm, I wonder what paranormal beef is. Strange cows?"<br /><br />Excuse me while I have my 'duh' moment.<br /><br />MarcyMarcyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12503232778367844297noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-40305729842566452852009-04-20T15:47:00.000-04:002009-04-20T15:47:00.000-04:00Great post. I just sent out a different proposal t...Great post. I just sent out a different proposal to my agent to get her opinion on the next "American" Romance that I want to do. <br /><br />There is a little paranormal element. A little intrigue element. And as I re-read the synopsis I got worried. Is it BIG enough? Is it pushing the boundaries enough? Oh my gosh it's too simple of a love story...<br /><br />And I realize I'm hooked on the idea that unless you're turning everything on its head it's not going to sell. <br /><br />So it will be interesting what she says - but I think I'm going to continue to write it with that in mind. <br /><br />It's not about the paranormal, not about the suspense, not about the hot sex. It's just about the couple. The couple and how, when and why the fall in love.<br /><br />Thanks for the reminder DWT.<br /><br />StephStephanie Doylenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-4605636849314054632009-04-20T14:21:00.000-04:002009-04-20T14:21:00.000-04:00I think this is a great insight, Molly.
To stand ...I think this is a great insight, Molly.<br /><br />To stand out on a crowded shelf, or even get onto that shelf, new paranormals have to be different, they have to reinvent the wheel to a certain extent.<br /><br />But that "different" stuff is better kept to the external plot and the world building. Keeping the romance about the romance is smart.Maureen McGowanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00494408580378817045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-58484894779687556052009-04-20T13:24:00.000-04:002009-04-20T13:24:00.000-04:00I think half the problem (to me anyway) is that au...I think half the problem (to me anyway) is that authors seem to feel they have to re-invent the wheel. The books have to be more complex, more cross-over, more detailed, more everything, and they're forgetting what they need, at the core, is a solid romance.<br /><br />Don't get me wrong...I love a book that will surprise me along the way, but I read romances because I love the development of the relationship most of all. So I'd rather have a simplified plot peopled by complex characters trying to make it right between them than an intricate world with characters I suddenly realize I don't care about, or can't figure out what they need from each other.<br /><br />And any story with a dues ex machina/'then the magic happens' ending gets tossed in my garbage can...Anya Richardshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17069313171230622091noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-10909019061571436032009-04-20T13:14:00.000-04:002009-04-20T13:14:00.000-04:00Other than Lover Avenged which I have right now, y...Other than Lover Avenged which I have right now, yeah I'm not really reading a whole lot of anything.<br /><br />But I think the market is so flooded with paranormal. What I want is more historicals set outside of England and Scotland and that's not just because I have one set there. LOL!<br /><br />It's just I'm tired of reading regencies and historicals set in England. Also tired of vampires, demons etc. <br /><br />There are a few paranormals I read from authors I know and trust won't skunk me in the end with weird surprises.<br /><br />Okay backing away, it appears my crankiness is coming through on comments. LOL.Amy Ruttanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02212879406999128140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-48371517355690397682009-04-20T12:32:00.000-04:002009-04-20T12:32:00.000-04:00The excitement with the paranormals was the lots o...The excitement with the paranormals was the lots of stuff happening, sexy alpha heroes, kick ass heroines and they felt different from the romances I'd read in the past, faster paced, tense, exciting, but lately they are all starting to blend into one and I can tell what will happen and when.. <br />The same way I'd been feeling about historicals a few years back.. <br /><br />Yep, definitely on a paranormal break... just to cleanse my palate.. <br />Am looking for a great contemp..Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-57787221845979994662009-04-20T09:56:00.000-04:002009-04-20T09:56:00.000-04:00Ohhh... I wish you had been at Saturday's meeting....Ohhh... I wish you had been at Saturday's meeting. A bunch of us in the back row were talking about how surprises shouldn't really be surprises in romance. How a very careful reader should see the surprises coming.<br /><br />That was my big improvement in Invisible, my second novel, over Breach Of Trust, my first. In Breach Of Trust, new things were introduced all through the novel. On the other hand, there was nothing in the last few chapters of Invisible that hadn't been woven in long before. Readers did an 'of course' but were still surprised.<br /><br />A 'then magic happens' solution is, in my opinion, lazy writing.Kimber Chinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13658012405712901099noreply@blogger.com