Perceived elitism and genres.

It is within human nature – the need and desire to feel superior to others. Writing is far from an exception to that. There are many writers who come across in a condescending and arrogant manner, thinking themselves above those around them. Rather than taking the time to learn from said fellows, they lord it over them and give them snide little “good work” comments; when they bother to read something other than their own work.

Age is one of the common reasons given for such an attitude. “I’m older therefore I know better”. Of course age is far from a good marker for the intellect and skill level of someone – there are plenty of writers twice my age who’re incredibly immature and poor writers. This can come across is a straight up attack “Well, you’re only 25, what could you possibly know!?” Or more of a back handed comment “Well, you’re very good for your age”.Personally I fail to see quite what age has to do with much of anything. Of course this must be taken with some good old fashioned common sense – you can’t complain at a 13 year old for having a lower comprehension of the technical side of things. They haven’t learnt that yet. However! If you happen across something written by a 16 year old which blows you away, don’t take away from that by rolling your eyes and becoming snide purely because they’re younger than you! Quit being so damn petty and jealous and congratulate them on a piece well written. Either learn from them or move on.

More often than not those writers who feel the need to treat others in such a manner are in actual fact very poor writers themselves. They live in a little bubble where they’re absolutely fantastic, everyone loves them and they’re the next J.K Rowling or Dan Brown. This in a roundabout way brings us round the perceptions of the genres.

Erotica is a good place to start, as a good friend said “the standard of erotica is very poor – it only does as well as it does due to the horniness of humanity!!” I’m not going to deny I turned away from erotica because I believe it would have put a black mark on my resume when I approach traditional publishers. A lot of people do frown upon erotica and it’s writers (it could be argued with good reason!) however, the same can be said for fantasy as well.

Which brings me onto another little gripe – the obsession with fantasy sub-genres and splitting everything into teeny, tiny, pedantic little groupings. There’s much arrogance and ranking involved in this as well. The epic/high fantasy people look down upon the contemporary fantasy writers because they’re not true to fantasy or some other rubbish.

To be perfectly blunt – when exactly did you last walk into a reputable bookshop and find the shelves split into “Epic fantasy, contemporary fantasy, dark fantasy, urban fantasy, supernatural, steam punk, cyber punk, low fantasy, sword and sorcery, magical realism” and the list goes on!! It’s completely absurd! At exactly what point did the love of writing and the dream of becoming published decend into this?

I have no doubt there’s just as much pathetic, pedantic nit-picking within the other genres. People can’t help themselves it seems – they get so wrapped up in boxes, labels and putting themselves above those around them they completely lose track of the actual point. As same friend from above also said “who cares what the genres say? They only help them put it in the wrong place”. They’re just more labels. Should we not be writing our stories as we see them then let the publishers stick the labels on them for marketing purposes?

It would seem many people think it’s far more fulfilling belittling and playing one up manship with others. So with the rant ended I will bid you a good luck with that. I’ll be off writing my novel, my masterpiece – Red Spiral.

 

 

Who do you write for…?

I’ve been on a break from for a while now – for a time there I seriously wanted to quit. I just didn’t want to write ever again; I’d lost any and all pleasure I gained from it. After plenty of friends telling me I absolutely, under no circumstances can quit writing I reluctantly started poking at the idea again.

This week just gone has been a mix of fantastic and thoroughly bleh! The weather has been glorious with clear blue skies and temperatures between 75 – 90F! I don’t think I’ve ever known such a fantastic April! On top of that, I got my first horse! The logical and sensible choice would have been a nice ‘been there done everything’ schoolmaster. Instead, Ziggy is (we think) a 2 year old wild colt (stallion). On the bleh side of things – I contracted a chest infection which resulted in me not sleeping all week due to coughing. I then got heatstroke while sat on the beach Friday and my hayfever was ridiculous Saturday!

However, I am coming round to the title and point of this post! A friend actually kind of hit it on the head for me about 10 days ago. He told me to stop worrying and just write for me! I had been pushing myself to try and write various things effectively for other people that I’d lost the love of writing for myself.

I don’t think I’m the first and I’m certainly not the last writer to fall into that trap. Particularly when we start pushing to try and get published. Once you’re published and you’re being paid – there’s a lot more pressure and you have to write for your audience rather than just for your own pleasure. You can’t forget that if you don’t enjoy it, neither will your readers. The simple fact remains you have to write for yourself first and foremost – if you really love that story/poem the chances are you’ll put more of yourself into it thus producing a much better product.

Now personally – I’ve got a few stories on the go in the back of my mind. I did a collab on a poem with Tommy which was a lot of fun. Although my erotica looks as though it’s going to be picked up by the publisher I’m quite chilled. I’m enjoying taking time for me, pottering about and recovering from these stupid illnesses!

Yes, when you’re published you’re turning writing into a job but remember to keep it fun and write for yourself! The moment you start loosing that is when it’ll all go wrong and you’ll crash. Keep switching things around, try something new, do something frivolous and purely for yourself. Also, take a break! You’re still human not a machine, you cannot push through and demand too much of yourself – it’ll only bite you on the ass!

While you’re at it, remember to help out your fellow writers. A few helpful and honest reviews go a long way, taking the time to beta read for someone or even play around with a fun collaboration. Give a newbie a shoulder to cry on and help them learn from your mistakes – we’re all in this together and that support network is so important. If nothing else, and you really are icy of heart – think of it as networking rather than offering help!

Remember to write for yourself, enjoy it, and keep it fresh. The rest will follow from there.