Writing to Trends and death knells… #writing #trends

Recently I took part in a very interesting discussion with some fellow writers: the topic of writing to trends.

Ok, don’t flinch, you know what I’m talking about. They’re out there, authors who manage to pump out their stories based upon the hottest genre of the moment. Somehow, they’re like trend ninjas–able to sneak aboard the trendy bullet train speeding through the latest hot vista of genres.

I’ve manage to catch a glimpse of some of them because they are the quietest, sneakiest bastards out there.  I think they own crystal balls specifically tuned into what readers are hungry for. Part of me wonders where one can get one of those suckers.

Is that a green eyed monster breathing over my shoulder?

Nope.

Here’s why:

The worlds and characters in my head have been there a loooonnnnngggg time. I began writing my first Urban Fantasy before Urban Fantasy was even a genre. Of course my crafting skills were crap and needed much honing before Shadow’s Edge manage to snag the attention of a publisher, but I knew what kind of stories I wanted to write. And even now, when I know a metric crap ton of the writing world more than I did when I first started writing, I’m still enraptured with Urban Fantasy and lately, Paranormal Suspense.  Yep, I weave romance into both, but my main story arcs are UF and PNS.

Yet, even I am sometimes tempted to attempt the writing to trend.  Maybe it’s because you hear all sorts of things out in the writing universe. And the overriding topic of conversations tends to center around sales and dying genres. Lately it’s been the grim pronouncements, “Paranormal/Urban Fantasy is dead.”

pffftttthhh… “I blow my nose at you.” (Yep, I’m quoting Monty Python)

Romance has been dying for decades, yet it’s still the hottest genre out there. Of course, it’s taken a sharp curve because romance has stepped it up and allowed readers a more “up close and personal” view of the sexual escapades of the story, treading into erotic arenas.

But, it ain’t dying folks.

And neither is UF or Paranormal.

Now this may upset a few, and I’m going to apologize ahead of time, because that’s not my intention.

Like many readers, I enjoy a good erotica story. And my Knight has made the comment, “If it’s selling, why not give it a shot?”

Because–see above–I’m a UF/PNS kind of gal. I could go out and write an erotic story (yep, I could) but I won’t. Yes, my scenes are pretty intense, but erotica, that’s not my writing cup o’ tea. My hat’s off to those that do (Kallypso Masters, Jennifer Lyon, Cherise Sinclair) and do it well. It’s not an easy style to do justice to.

But I won’t write erotica. I can’t write to trends (yes, I can hear you now–“it’s not a trend!”)–to what’s selling the best. I have to stay true to what my creative mind wants to indulge in.  If those stories resonant with readers–all the better, if they don’t, they don’t.

See, that’s the beauty of being a writer. Your audience is vast. They don’t read just one genre, they go out and try a bit here, try a bit there, maybe stay a little longer at the table with this story type, and hoard this type over here.

As a reader, I’ve found I’ll cross genre lines if the story and characters become real in my mind. If a writer has done their job well, they’ve hooked me. If not, well, I’ll browse the buffet line for other options.

So writing to trends, or chasing the perfect genre wave, it’s not for me. I’m the snail baby, I’m leaving my glittery trail behind me one book at a time. Because at some point in this journey, I’m going to cross enough paths to have my own following.

And it won’t be the genre that makes them stick, it’s the writing.

Readers/writers–chime in, do you think writing to the hottest trend works and why? Or why did you/didn’t you choose that path?