Word Count: 8311
Was reading comments on Talking with Winds.
'Too generic, if you want to sell it you are going to have to insert something unique.'
I could make fairly major changes to Cantata and all it took was a bit of thinking to see what would fit. But they were changes because the story was obviously broken, and I knew it was in trouble while I was writing it, and I hardly had to change anything in the first half to fix it, either. Trying to come up with a change to make to “fix” a story that isn't inherently broken sounds… less doable.
Besides, for me the delight of Racciman's World has always been the “generic done right” aspect of it. There is a *reason* why there are elves and humans and dwarves and etc. There's even a reason why they all speak the same language. Samanth's talent isn't supposed to reveal animals that, because the linguistic barrier has been breached, now sound just like humans — but animals whose communications are realistically limited to actual animal communications. I can't do “generic done right” without also being generic.
So maybe Song of Asolde will never be published. Or maybe it will only be published after I've made a name for myself with other books. I dunno, but at the moment I'm very dubious that I will be able to add in some gimick to make it more publishable without, for me, ruining what is the point of the whole thing.
Next question. Is Eyes sufficiently “un-generic” to get published?
Once again, I'm playing with standard genre conventions… although in a different genre.
I *like* reading typical stuff done well, I don't, as a reader demand something usual or unique in every book. I read *regencies* for heaven's sake, where I go… “Oh look, another wife won in a card game plot,” or “oh look, another gentlewoman forced into business plot” and so forth. It's the details and the quality of the writing and so forth that make the book worth reading, not some new “gimick”. I mean, gimicks are cool when you meet them and they work, but I get tired of the “gimick of the month club”. And you, know, I think there's a bit of a scarcity of straight forward gimickless adventure coming out. Whenever I think I've found one I seem to discover that it's been gimicked with some new form of ickyness. “S&M sex, hey, that ought to sell… child abuse — that's a good twist.” Gack! It makes me think maybe I'd rather buy another Burroughs than risk anything new.
At least Cantata doesn't strike anyone as being generic.
But I would rather not find myself writing *only* Cantata type stories. I like more variety than that.