Thought for the Day If you write genre fiction, you follow the ...

[Paul Whybrow]

If you write genre fiction, you follow the rules, and you have to follow them because readers expect that.

Yann Martel

 

[Pamela Jo]

Or not. The rules arent that old. It's not like Greek Theatre.

 

[Aethalope]

Does Yann Martel write genre fiction?

 

[Sedayne]

Does Yann Martel write genre fiction?

Never read him, but you don't normally win the Booker for genre fiction. I've a feeling he is commenting on something he isn't very familiar with.

 

[Pamela Jo]

Does Yann Martel write genre fiction?

If Debbie Downer, holier-than-thou, post shitting is a genre. The Booker and too many other literary prizes have more to do with a golden ticket than merit.

 

[E G Logan]

I've a feeling he is commenting on something he isn't very familiar with.

I think so, too, but he might be right. Mostly.

 

[Pamela Jo]

I think so, too, but he might be right. Mostly.

Then how did Romantasy become the new hottest thing? It broke all the rules. Talk to any agent and they are looking for stories that break the rules. Ie combine genres and create something new. The only rule really is make your readers happy and those readers are the ones willing to pay to read your stuff. Booker prize people dont have to worry about that. They are writing for those who chose the prize.
The irony is that those who write things like Dune, LOTR, Great Expectations suddenly become "literature" when they sell enough. S King now is taught in Ivy League English departments. King, Dickens, etc are read when last years' Booker winner is forgotten.