Reposted from New Kids on the Writer's Block:
I’m a paranormal writer. Not because it’s the hot ticket right now, but because I have a dark, ghoulish side that revels in the supernatural and fantastical. Lately, I’ve heard the buzz that paranormal is a saturated market, that it’s a fad, and that it won’t last in today’s changing market.
Hmmmm. That’s something to consider, but I’m not worried. Why? Because if paranormal is truly a fad, it’s a very loooong running fad.
Last weekend I attended a paranormal workshop sponsored by the Central Florida RWA chapter. In attendance was NYT Best Selling Author, Heather Graham, and upcoming author Susan Blexrud.
One thing that I took to heart is that paranormal is not a new genre. Susan pointed out that the forerunners of paranormal fiction include Charles Dickens, Herman Melville, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edgar Allen Poe, Mary Shelley, and Virginia Woolf.
Whoa! That means paranormals aren’t the new kids on the block after all. They have substance. They have staying power. They influence us more than most give credit.
Yesterday I read a blog article at The Hot Word Blog that talks about a newly discovered fish species called “dracula minnow.” It’s only 1.7 centimeters in length and has fangs. And, the Danionella dracula is known to stab other fish. Geez, even scientists are getting into the paranormal, naming their discoveries after Bram Stoker’s infamous character.
Television shows such as Ghost Hunters, The Vampires Diaries, True Blood, and Merlin pull in large audiences each week ~a testament to the voracious fascination our society has with things that go bump in the night.
And authors such as JK Rowling and Stephanie Meyer have sparked the next generation of paranormal enthusiasts, leaving me to believe that the naysayers spouting the demise of the paranormal in the world of fiction are mistaken.
I’m happy about that.
Werewolves and vampires and dragons, hurray! It seems they’re here to stay. And faeries and ghosts and gargoyles galore. Who knows what else is in store!
Are you a paranormal fan? Or not-so-much? Have any paranormal stories inspired you?
I’d love to hear your thoughts.
~kristal lee
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Paranormal...Here to Stay or Gone with the Mist?
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8 comments:
like to read paranormal on and off - I write scifi myself, and have to confess that the current trend for vampires led me to emphasize the role of two vampiric characters in my story that had only a minor part originally!
October 14, 2010 6:50 AM
Despite some naysayers vampires are here to stay and a force to be reckoned with. If your vampire characters add depth to your story, go for the gusto with them.
October 14, 2010 8:07 AM
I love paranormals. And I think they're here to stay. I think whether or not vampires will be a fad for the long-run is debatable, but you can't resist a good vampire story. Or at least, I can't.
And as much as I hate Twilight, and as much as it totally bugs me that there's a "bandwagon" now for paranormal stories, I will continue to write them becuase I'm pretty sure there will always be people out there who want to read them! I've been reading them since I was a kid, and I'm sure there will always be kids who grow up reading them.
October 14, 2010 10:03 AM
I love paranormal. I've found several series that I enjoy that deal with covens and witches.
October 14, 2010 4:53 PM
Reposted from Facebook:
Here to stay for sure!
As a preteen, I raced home from school to watch Barnabas Collins. Okay I'm showing my age here, but the point is that things paranormal intrigue our dark side. Those of us who grew up with Dark Shadows or Buffy or Twilight are going to keep the market busy for years.
And Kristal, I'm jealous you got to meet Heather. :)
Oh yes. Seductive Barnabas Collins. I remember him fondly and revisited him recently during a DARK SHADOWS marathon.
Heather was great! She told personal ghost stories of the haunts she's visited. I've just finished her reading her upcoming book NIGHT OF THE VAMPIRES for a review I'll be posting before its release date.
That's cool, Kristal. I'll look for the review.
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