Can't believe no one's commented yet! Im gonna use that as an excuse to write a lot...
So I know nothing about what's happening in the world of books really, but I sporadically read blog posts from Chuck Wendig and I loved reading his book Gentle Writing Advice, and he has posted about how the publishing genre of the moment seems to be "romantasy." Apparently. He then reminded people that writing to the hot trend of the moment was risky because in trad publishing by the time your manuscript sees print it's at least a year later and the trend may have passed already, quite apart from things like, how people's best work tends to be driven by their own quirks of the heart, not by aiming ruthlessly to demographic targets.
I googled romantasy and found a few trend articles on the subject, all of which seemed to mention books about romance and fantasy, but a lot was either "young adult" or largely in genres that could also be called "high school" or maybe "fantasy characters go to high stakes sword college." I can't have been the only one to wonder about this because a suggested search prompt was "romantasy for adults." I wonder if the trend in sexy romance for shape shifters qualifies?
The only romantasy book I felt moved to read was one I saw recommended on Instagram (by someone who dyes knitting yarn to match her fave books.) The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy, by Megan Bannen. And I enjoyed it immensely. Described by blurbs as a "romance that's also like Howl's Moving Castle" or "a charming mix of whimsy and the macabre" it also features characters who are not only adults of at least thirty, but have recognizable jobs. One is an undertaker and one is essentially a park ranger. And it skewers the supposed romance of the immortality fantasy, having a character be afraid he's immortal, with all the pain that would bring with it, to the point where he starts to be afraid to live at all. There is also a lot of philosophy about death.
All of this has me wondering, why are so many of us still obsessed with high school, or university, or young love? And why do we still write so many books where the protagonist is royal, or a wizard, or a swordsperson? Why are we always wanting those particular forms of escape, or reliving? I like how YA has been an area where authors could write genre work without being ghettoised, and I guess people can understand books about people younger than themselves more than books about people older than themselves maybe, but I'm wondering, is this just our society's obsession with youth mixing with a general up trend in fantasy? I'm tired of high school romance, but is there a large number of adults who loved high school and went on to such pedestrian lives that they choose to read about it forever after, even with dragons? Why do so many trends centre around young people, either as consumers or characters?
And are people a bit too nostalgic for a feudal past? It has been noticed that some people vote in democracies while spouting slogans and philosophy that belong to an autocratic past, like the Trump supporter heard shouting "Defend the king!" Surely someone can write a fantasy democracy with plenty of political intrigue, potentially more than an absolute monarchy could offer?
I think you need to get this into a newsletter of your own, it's great!
The pull of YA-oriented stories to adults is interesting to me. When I was young, there wasn't a lot of YA-specific books around. There's was children's literature and then adult books, so by the time I was 13-14 I was reading a variety of books that were definitely not intended for someone my age, but I loved it! I was far more interested in what was happening beyond the bounds of my experience than I was reading stories about young people even a few years older than me.
That combined with fantasy and romance elements maybe does suggest that there's some desire for escape. Is it nostalgia? Is it a wish for a world in which problems can be dispatched with magic? Lots to chew on!
I may yet start blogging... the more I thought about it, the more there was. Thinking about just one angle, I wonder if the intensity of emotion that comes with adolescence combined with the discovery of some experiences for the first time makes it fertile emotional ground. Coupled with some readers' desire for both escape and thrills, a general wish for an emotionally engaging experience, plus the sense of possibility and potential for self definition that comes with youth... I certainly would like to have the door of possibility open as wide now as it was 20 years ago, but with the self knowledge that came with that time, which is of course cheating.
Oh my God ok I'm now really embarrassed by how long that is. Im still not used to writing on this phone and on Substack. Sorry. I guess im wondering, are all entertainments driven by the youth market? Even book publishing?
Can't believe no one's commented yet! Im gonna use that as an excuse to write a lot...
So I know nothing about what's happening in the world of books really, but I sporadically read blog posts from Chuck Wendig and I loved reading his book Gentle Writing Advice, and he has posted about how the publishing genre of the moment seems to be "romantasy." Apparently. He then reminded people that writing to the hot trend of the moment was risky because in trad publishing by the time your manuscript sees print it's at least a year later and the trend may have passed already, quite apart from things like, how people's best work tends to be driven by their own quirks of the heart, not by aiming ruthlessly to demographic targets.
I googled romantasy and found a few trend articles on the subject, all of which seemed to mention books about romance and fantasy, but a lot was either "young adult" or largely in genres that could also be called "high school" or maybe "fantasy characters go to high stakes sword college." I can't have been the only one to wonder about this because a suggested search prompt was "romantasy for adults." I wonder if the trend in sexy romance for shape shifters qualifies?
The only romantasy book I felt moved to read was one I saw recommended on Instagram (by someone who dyes knitting yarn to match her fave books.) The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy, by Megan Bannen. And I enjoyed it immensely. Described by blurbs as a "romance that's also like Howl's Moving Castle" or "a charming mix of whimsy and the macabre" it also features characters who are not only adults of at least thirty, but have recognizable jobs. One is an undertaker and one is essentially a park ranger. And it skewers the supposed romance of the immortality fantasy, having a character be afraid he's immortal, with all the pain that would bring with it, to the point where he starts to be afraid to live at all. There is also a lot of philosophy about death.
All of this has me wondering, why are so many of us still obsessed with high school, or university, or young love? And why do we still write so many books where the protagonist is royal, or a wizard, or a swordsperson? Why are we always wanting those particular forms of escape, or reliving? I like how YA has been an area where authors could write genre work without being ghettoised, and I guess people can understand books about people younger than themselves more than books about people older than themselves maybe, but I'm wondering, is this just our society's obsession with youth mixing with a general up trend in fantasy? I'm tired of high school romance, but is there a large number of adults who loved high school and went on to such pedestrian lives that they choose to read about it forever after, even with dragons? Why do so many trends centre around young people, either as consumers or characters?
And are people a bit too nostalgic for a feudal past? It has been noticed that some people vote in democracies while spouting slogans and philosophy that belong to an autocratic past, like the Trump supporter heard shouting "Defend the king!" Surely someone can write a fantasy democracy with plenty of political intrigue, potentially more than an absolute monarchy could offer?
I think you need to get this into a newsletter of your own, it's great!
The pull of YA-oriented stories to adults is interesting to me. When I was young, there wasn't a lot of YA-specific books around. There's was children's literature and then adult books, so by the time I was 13-14 I was reading a variety of books that were definitely not intended for someone my age, but I loved it! I was far more interested in what was happening beyond the bounds of my experience than I was reading stories about young people even a few years older than me.
That combined with fantasy and romance elements maybe does suggest that there's some desire for escape. Is it nostalgia? Is it a wish for a world in which problems can be dispatched with magic? Lots to chew on!
I may yet start blogging... the more I thought about it, the more there was. Thinking about just one angle, I wonder if the intensity of emotion that comes with adolescence combined with the discovery of some experiences for the first time makes it fertile emotional ground. Coupled with some readers' desire for both escape and thrills, a general wish for an emotionally engaging experience, plus the sense of possibility and potential for self definition that comes with youth... I certainly would like to have the door of possibility open as wide now as it was 20 years ago, but with the self knowledge that came with that time, which is of course cheating.
Oh my God ok I'm now really embarrassed by how long that is. Im still not used to writing on this phone and on Substack. Sorry. I guess im wondering, are all entertainments driven by the youth market? Even book publishing?