tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5985500887917221259.post1133543837906002231..comments2024-03-01T00:24:46.061-08:00Comments on A Bloody Good Read:<br>Where writers and readers of historical thrillers talk shop: Confessions of a Genre WriterSam Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03059524216536846003noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5985500887917221259.post-72037953823120215202012-01-03T08:56:12.200-08:002012-01-03T08:56:12.200-08:00I love this post. It's inspirational and encha...I love this post. It's inspirational and enchanting. I sometimes feel like my horror novel is something to blush about, but then I remember - Stephen King, my writing idol, started out as only a horror writer. He deals a lot with this topic in his memoir, On Writing - if you haven't read it, I can't recommend it highly enough. <br /><br />I wish you all the best with your debut!Leahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07909811517213604525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5985500887917221259.post-38487255089213933082012-01-03T08:16:01.192-08:002012-01-03T08:16:01.192-08:00Your post made me tear up at the end, Nancy. Even ...Your post made me tear up at the end, Nancy. Even aside from the perennial Genre Versus issue you address so astutely--I am just so happy for your success. Your cover is beautiful.<br /><br />I have addressed this question in workshops and posts myself, and find it funny. First of all, I know that my personal trajectory was to begin writing my own story in multiple versions and call it fiction. It was only when I really began making up characters "from scratch" instead of pale, adulterated versions of myself or people I knew, that I truly came into my own writer's voice--and coincidentally began writing saleable fiction.<br /><br />But also, I don't understand how the genre critics fail to recognize that many of today's so-called classics began life as genre novels. Edgar Allen Poe is a thriller writer, or a horror one. CRIME AND PUNISHMENT is a suspense novel. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD a legal thriller. And the list goes on. The societal and human elements these books also address exist in today's examples of the best crime fiction as well.<br /><br />A current, real life instance of this transformation from genre to literary as it is taking place: Stephen King used to be dismissed as a hack; today the NYT reviews his work.<br /><br />Anyway...This is a great topic--thank you for sharing your personal connection to it. And the best of luck with your debut--congrats!jenny milchmanhttp://suspenseyourdisbelief.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5985500887917221259.post-4247577931623118702011-12-21T06:49:42.384-08:002011-12-21T06:49:42.384-08:00Seems to be a subject on many people's minds l...Seems to be a subject on many people's minds lately: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2011/dec/19/genre-literature?utm_source=streamsend&utm_medium=email&utm_content=15300869&utm_campaign=Novel%20Contest%20+%20How%20to%20Plot%20+%20Gifts%20for%20WritersEmmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07359244161652343457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5985500887917221259.post-69774864456677344422011-12-19T22:00:32.934-08:002011-12-19T22:00:32.934-08:00A great story- your own story, I mean. Strange tha...A great story- your own story, I mean. Strange that T couldn't see that you were all about your genre. I see that as a stunted viewpoint, that he did not know you, that he could not see very far beyond what he himself would write. Should you write what he knows, or write what you love? How well would you have done if you were restricted to writing contemporary? If I could not write histfic-mystery, I would not write. Nothing else interests me.Debra Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03256313302199653185noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5985500887917221259.post-64017712496747156412011-12-19T08:01:38.899-08:002011-12-19T08:01:38.899-08:00Thank you. I went to a Mystery Writers of America ...Thank you. I went to a Mystery Writers of America dinner a few months ago at which Walter Mosley was the guest of honor. "He said 'The literary writers hate us because our books people actually want to read."Nancy Bilyeauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03081147714919653976noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5985500887917221259.post-61517874519266537922011-12-19T07:53:21.142-08:002011-12-19T07:53:21.142-08:00Isn't that a wonderful feeling though? When yo...Isn't that a wonderful feeling though? When you can hold up the proverbial finger to all those people who patronized you? And what has "T" done lately? Hmmmm? I bet not much. <br /><br />I love genre books, I love all kinds of well written books. All that matters is that the thing is well written and takes the reader away from his/her own life. Guess why literary novels don't sell much, even if they're well written? They tend to be depressing because, yes, especially lately, they focus on 'what you know' in the 'modern world'. In other words, they're about getting old, getting betrayed, getting sick, losing a child... Kill me now... Not that I don't appreciate a good literary novel of course (Jennifer Egan is always a good bet), but novels often exist to provide escape and genre novels are the best kind of escape.Emmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07359244161652343457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5985500887917221259.post-854108968986352752011-12-19T07:50:33.965-08:002011-12-19T07:50:33.965-08:00It astonishes me that any writing instructor would...It astonishes me that any writing instructor would be so foolish as to think a mere note would get Nancy to abandon her novel. I'm not sure an act of Congress could have shifted her away from it. Her passion for the manuscript was obvious, and she had the talent to bring that passion to the page. I can't think of any material that <i>would</i> be 'closer' to her personally. I'm so glad she had the good sense to ignore her writing instructor.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5985500887917221259.post-30329649980388142582011-12-19T05:59:36.328-08:002011-12-19T05:59:36.328-08:00Inspiring post for aspiring authors, Nancy! As a l...Inspiring post for aspiring authors, Nancy! As a lover of well written historical fiction and a good mystery, I'm so glad you followed your own way and persisted. The results speak for themselves!Kristinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18266962352694219263noreply@blogger.com