At Conestoga, I had the pleasure of curling up in a comfy chair in the bar to chat with Jeaniene Frost & Rachel Vincent. One of the fun parts of the weekend was pre & post panel chatter. The three of us had an Urban Fantasy panel there with new FFF member Steve Wedel AND a "Crossing the ROmantic Divide" panel with FFF member Shanna Swendson and the very articulate Laurell K Hamilton.
The end result of this is that J & I thought we'd take our panel chat to the comm. It was what we started out doing, but of late, topics have been less regularly posted. So, here's the deal . . .
Step 1:
You reply to this post with questions, topics, or areas of interest that you have. These can range as wide as "is 'urban' only bigger cities" (one of the panel questions) to "how does one research agents" (also asked) to "what's the best/worst part of the writing." They can be writer-centric, lore-centric, fan-centric (b/c we're all fans as well as writers), et al
Step 2:
The mods will post new topics over the next few weeks/months (depending on how many topics you raise & when chatter lessens on a topic) and ask the comm members to reply as they can. You, too, will be invited/encouraged to reply to those threads b/c well, that's how conversation works.
Step 3:
We address whatever minutia of this plan we've overlooked as we go forward ;)
So, ask away. . .
Melissa Marr
The end result of this is that J & I thought we'd take our panel chat to the comm. It was what we started out doing, but of late, topics have been less regularly posted. So, here's the deal . . .
Step 1:
You reply to this post with questions, topics, or areas of interest that you have. These can range as wide as "is 'urban' only bigger cities" (one of the panel questions) to "how does one research agents" (also asked) to "what's the best/worst part of the writing." They can be writer-centric, lore-centric, fan-centric (b/c we're all fans as well as writers), et al
- All topics are fair game
- You can post anon if you're shy
- You don't need to post anon
- If you're REALLY shy or want to direct a question to specific authors, you can email me (melissa AT melissa-marr.com)
Step 2:
The mods will post new topics over the next few weeks/months (depending on how many topics you raise & when chatter lessens on a topic) and ask the comm members to reply as they can. You, too, will be invited/encouraged to reply to those threads b/c well, that's how conversation works.
Step 3:
We address whatever minutia of this plan we've overlooked as we go forward ;)
So, ask away. . .
Melissa Marr
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Comments
Sort of the difference between Faux Action Girl and Real Action Girl. A good recent is the female chef in the movie Ratatouille, who comes on as full of attitude (and willingness to throw knives about) to start, but who then pretty much steps back and lets the heroes do everything.
I'd love to see a discussion of this issue as it relates to urban fantasy, which seems often to have both sorts of characters.
(I was asked what I'm doing with it by a local writer -- some help he was...)
1. For those of you meeting fans/readers, do you find urban fantasy attracting more men or women? Is it MC driven?
2. I shaved off the goatee. Does it make me look younger? Nose bigger? Face smaller? You had a goatee?
Okay, maybe not that last one. I'll cogitate for more.
So, my question: Do you think this is a subgenre that may grow in popularity?
Also, if people would like to recommend some YA para-romances they've enjoyed, I'd love to create a list. The ones I've read: Wicked Lovely, Twilight, and almost anything by L.J. Smith (whatever happened to her, anyway?), Blue Bloods (though this one just barely qualifies to me...I'm not sure there's a strong enough romance, but maybe in book 2?)
Anon
P.S. I'm submitting anonymously because I have this great and terrible fear that something in this post will make me look ignorant. Like, foot stuffed so far down my mouth ignorant. :-)
Did you have an awesome query letter? Did you know somebody who knew somebody? What suggestions do you have for new writer's trying to find an agent?
Sandy
There is a potential problem of all these books starting to sound the same and blend into one another. But if you ignore these conventions, will UF fans buy your book anyway? You can change one or two aspects–male narrator for example, or a protag with a solid relationship, but if you go too far afield, will your book crash and burn?
It’s easy to say if your book is good enough it won’t matter, but that’s begging the question–like the advice to “just write better.” So, is UF starting to become genre-bound?
In most writing that you've done, do you/does the business tend to prefer things to be character-driven or plot-driven? Of course one can argue that all good works are character-driven and have strong plot, but I mean this more seriously--like the difference between Gormenghast and Harry Potter.
Expanding on an earlier posted question, what's your view on antiheroes--and in particular, antiheroes that aren't especially likeable? I'm thinking specifically on characters with faults of such a nature that they can never entirely be overcome. For example, a charming and emotionally-challenged sociopath may be more likeable, but even if he starts a romantic relationship during the course of the work, he's never going to get over certain inabilities to love. Is there room for characters like this?
Last question--where do you draw the line with allusions, ranging from the pop culture reference (like wearing the t-shirt of a certain band in an urban fantasy) to the true literary allusion? Sometimes with an allusion, going so far as to explain what the allusion is to is a waste of time, but how can you ever be sure a reader is going to get it?
Has your editor ever asked you to change something big in your book? Do you feel it made it better or worse?
Or did you put down your foot?
I might have more questions, but these are some:
What seems to be the difference between urban fantasy and paranormal romance?
What would change in an urban fantasy novel if it was about a police officer rather than a detective? How about a spy? Or some other mystery concept?
What degree of fantasy is necessary for an urban fantasy to stay one, and not become a mainstream novel?
Writing query letters(and hooks)is something that I'd really like advice on. I've done a lot of research on how to do it, but I'd like to hear from the authors here what you suggest. Thank you and this is an awesome idea!
What, to you, defines UF? Yes we have werewolves, vampires, faeries of all sorts, magic, etc etc etc, but is that ALL it defines? Would a magical world in your backyard be fantasy, or because it's set in an urban environment become UF? As someone said in an earlier comment UF on its way to becoming its own genre of fiction, but what parameters would/should we assign to it as a definition?
Are there any editors with anthologies in the Y/A Urban Fantasy genre that are open to shorts by unknown authors at this time?
If so, could you post links to the submission guidlines for us?
Is there anything that's just too strange to make a good protagonist? We're seeing some pretty interesting variation in species...half-elves, shamans, faeries, succubi and other demons, vampires, were-creatures of all sorts. How far from human can you step away before believability fails? What makes an unusual species character work as a protagonist?
What are other opinions on psuedonyms? Anecdotes? Pros and cons?
Thanks,
Tessa Gratton