It’s an idea that’s been explored elsewhere, of course, but this was my take on it: a story set in the tail end and aftermath of a brutal civil war, where some people rally around faith while others question any kind of god who might allow such carnage.
Like that fantasy novel about the death of fantasy and belief. I’m not intending to slavishly reread every word I’ve ever written, but there are some interesting concepts back there. What would it be like to re-read some of them? Would I find that it all came rushing back and it’d be something akin to that umpteenth editing pass where you’re sick of the words you’ve written and don’t believe anyone might find them even vaguely interesting? Or might that distance actually allow me to read the books with fresh eyes? I’ve written a lot of fiction over the years, and now I’m very far-removed from actually writing those early books. But I genre-hopped and never quite settled – and probably had a far more interesting career as a result.Īnyway, this is a rather long-winded introduction to an idea that occurred to me recently. Hell, if I’d even stuck a little more closely to a single genre groove my career would have been very different. No regrets, but my career would have been very different. If I’d chosen to follow up that first novel with a direct sequel, a top US publisher was willing to publish me at the top of their list, but I held to my artistic principles and followed my muse.
I followed this with a horror novel that never sold, and then a high-SF duology, and then a fantasy novel about the death of fantasy (and therefore one that didn’t feature a lot of actual fantasy), and then a contemporary crime novel. Taking my own career as an example, I started out a little over thirty years ago with a gritty, anguished post-cyberpunk thriller. That’s good advice for anyone wanting to write their best work, but not necessarily good career guidance. One of the most often-repeated pieces of advice to writers is that you should write the book you would want to read, rather than chasing some idea of what readers might be looking for.
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