|
|
Joined: 2/28/2011
Posts: 6
|
What do you not want to see any of - setting, monster, theme? Are zombies and vampires passe? Is steampunk out the door? Is the covert operative betrayed by his government trite? What are you tired of seeing and writing?
|
|
Joined: 3/11/2011
Posts: 6
|
Dystopian anything, zombies, fantastical creatures that sparkle.
The horror community is beyond beat down with these cliches. NO MORE ZOMBIES, PLEASE!
|
|
Joined: 3/13/2011
Posts: 412
|
People are finally doing new things with zombies, which I like. I am done with romantic vampires. NO MORE! vampires as evil undead blood sucking abominations, being hunted down and killed with severe danger to the party doing so while killing them, vampires who spend a week seducing the maiden, and then, on a moolight evening, alone with her in her bedchambers, instead of baring his soul, RIPS HER THROAT OUT! thats a vampire for you!
|
|
Joined: 3/14/2011
Posts: 15
|
Oh God,please- no more Vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters- arrrgggg!
|
|
Joined: 3/13/2011
Posts: 8
|
Please, no more "and he woke up and it was all a dream" endings. A dream has no stakes, and nothing is risked. I always felt it was a cowards way out. Granted, you don't see it often in published works, but slush tries to hold on to it still. Commit to a story, tell it like it's real.
Inception is an exception to this. You knew you were dreaming, and it had a large amount of risk for the characters.
|
|
Joined: 3/12/2011
Posts: 376
|
@Gaaneden - YA anything sold as an adult novel. That's especially bad in Horror or Thrillers, since an important part of both is the Nightmare Fuel, and the Nightmare Fuel in YA is, to me, serious weaksauce. OK, I'm betraying the amount of my entertainment time I spend online with the word choices in that last sentence, but I stand by my statement.
Interestingly, I've seen the reverse happen as well. Adult novels with 'YA' on the cover because of the subject matter is considered childish, or even because the characters are children. Some of them have had *serious* Nightmare Fuel involved, but apparently it went over the head of the YA readers, or at least it went over the head of the publisher who stuck YA on the cover.
@Alexander - Actually, "Of Course I Try" by Seleste deLaney was an interesting variation on that. It paints vampires as parasites rather than predators. Meaning that they feed on living things, and killing their hosts is contraindicated.
It's a little more subtle than 'rip her throat out', but the idea of 'addicts her to him, because to him, she's *FOOD*' is still satisfying to me, especially when the her in question is showing all the *other* signs and problems of an addict.
|
|
Joined: 3/16/2011
Posts: 2
|
I am the same with many here. Please no more vampires, werewolves and shapeshifters. I have had enough for a life time.
|
|
Joined: 2/27/2011
Posts: 353
|
I'm going to move this thread, as it is in the wrong place.
|
|
Joined: 3/13/2011
Posts: 412
|
robrom, i will have to look that up, I like that!
|
|
Joined: 3/10/2011
Posts: 5
|
Alexander,
All I have to say is: tvtropes.org 
Make sure your browser does tabs 
|
|
Joined: 3/30/2011
Posts: 9
|
Vampires. I am so sick of vampires...
@Robert Dean...I disagree about the zombies though lol
|
|
Joined: 3/12/2011
Posts: 376
|
@Kari - that was a cruel, cruel thing to do if he's actually got, y'know, a job and life
@Alexander - Don't go! It's a trap that will eat all your time and attention!
|
|
Joined: 3/30/2011
Posts: 10
|
Have fun at TvTropes! We'll probably see you in a few years when you stick your head back up again! XD
Confession time: I was horribly sick of vampires and werewolves. Not just apathetic, we're talking virulent dislike. (My apologies to the die hard fans!)
So I started writing a sort of parody and that's where Hannelore came from (the book I have posted here). I put everything I was heartily sick of into it:
Vampires
Werewolves
Suddenly being young/thin/perfect. (I saw this come up quite a few times in a short span and it really irked me.)
Dream boyfriends. Literally dreams.
Somehow when I threw everything I was sick of together, it conspired against me and became something I have enjoyed the heck out of writing. Now I am not sure I can post about being sick of vampires without being struck by lightning or some other agreeably just end.
I say, if you're sick of something, see what happens if you try your hand at writing it. It might just surprise you. (Or at the least, help you work out a little stress/aggression!)
|
|
Joined: 3/13/2011
Posts: 412
|
ahh, well, I've been a contributor at tropes since.. ohh god, i wanna say 2003. Haven't been by in a while, people started getting all wiki political with it.
|
|
|
|
I have no qualms with a properly written Vampire/werewolf story. The problem with mainstream stories on shelves today is that they are poorly written and the stories themselves are lack-lustre. The vampire in traditional lore is a fascinating beast, as is the werewolf. The trick is paying enough attention to the origins of these creatures before jumping headlong into a plot that could otherwise be written with regular human characters.
|
|
Joined: 4/26/2011
Posts: 77
|
Vampires, werewolves, zombies, etc. have become cliches. It takes an extraordinary writer to take an over-used idea and make a good story out of it. If the writer is a lesser being, he would be advised to find fresher material.
|
|
Joined: 5/8/2011
Posts: 30
|
I'm tired of seeing people talk about vampires and zombies in a forum called Thriller.
|
|
Joined: 3/13/2011
Posts: 412
|
Trailer, blame Michael Jackson. OOOOAAAAAHHHH!
|
|
Joined: 11/17/2011
Posts: 21
|
I have this great idea for a thriller, about this vampire girl who has sex with a werewolf, and...oh, darn. Already done. LOL!
There is nothing wrong with vampire thrillers. To this day, Salem's Lot scares the bejeesus out of me. The problem is that idiotic article on CNet that said some girl in Minneapolis is making millions on Kindle selling her vampire love books. Sigh!
But in a tough economy => people buy fewer books => publishers sell fewer books => so they tend toward established authors with a proven track record. Hard for us newbies, no matter how talented our friends tell us we are!!!
But what choice do I have. I am a writer. So if what it takes to sell a book is to write vampire lust...do you mind if I bite your neck????
|
|
Joined: 2/9/2012
Posts: 427
|
Fun discussion! Bumping this up.
|
|
Joined: 10/14/2012
Posts: 229
|
Despite myself, I still like a good monster flick, be it Vamps or whatever. Robert R McCammon or Brian Lumley style.....uber good!
Lovesick teenage; not so much...... Karate vamps.... fetch my bucket.To be honest, I'm more tired of fast fast fast books. Instant gratification does not give great satisfaction, in my mind..... No, I haven't delved into discussing erotica (as well as horror) on a Thriller thread. I mean the Swain formula of writing that seems to be obligatory.
First scene, perceived danger; include nothing that is not relevant to the immediate following paragraph; always 'he said', never anything more descriptive least it make the reader stop to think...... aargh.
I want to think about what characters are doing and why..... otherwise why not just watch a soap instead?
Cool thread, cheers
Mike
|
|
Joined: 4/4/2012
Posts: 17
|
Of course, as I'm writing what can pretty much be classified as a vampire romance novel, I felt it necessary to respond to this thread. I don't think there is any topic or segment of writing that is passe. I think what is important is that the characters are original, the story is original, and the events are moving. I've been reading vampire romance for the last five years and have yet to get sick of it. Of course I've read some absolute crap too, but that goes with any genre.
If a work is well written and original in story it transcends stale stereotypes, whether it focuses on a witch or a fairy or a vampire or a werewolf. I just read 'Warm Bodies' by Isaac Marion, and the author has taken a well used premise (zombies), and made it something poignant and fresh. I don't think it matters which premise a book begins with. I believe an author's viability depends on the their ability to create a new and compelling journey.
|
|
Joined: 3/13/2011
Posts: 412
|
If a work is well written and original in story it transcends stale stereotypes,
true. but so much of it seems to just tread and retread old paths. Sturgeon's law, and Spider's Corollary.
|
|
|
|
There's a reason zombies have lasted for decades. You'd think that with the flesh falling off their crumbling bones, they should have realistically decayed eons ago. I love zombies. I always will. They are nostalgic and remind me of times gone by when horror stories and movies relied on...er, okay, I guess zombies and gore go hand in hand, but it is classic flesh eating.
I do think that the zombies should receive regularly scheduled maintenance and makeovers in order to stay fresh.
(I will point out that I am biased. Walking Dead is my favorite TV show.)
As far as vampires--no more sparkles please--I think they are also a classic staple of the horror genre, and I suppose now the romance genre. The poor vampire used to be scary. Now he's a sparkling pansy. Point is, he will yet again evolve into something new and fascinating, and I think this is possible with many of these types of iconic and cliched figures of literature and film.
As far as what I want no more of, I would say fairies as tiny little fluttering people that are all nicey nice and giggly. I have a fairy story. They are arrogant bastards. Some look like humans with superiority complexes, or midget farmers, or drink too much and need AA. They really are appalled at these books with glitter and cute little winged people prancing around on the cover. I do love my glittery fairy stories of the past, but I think it is time to de-wing them.
|
|
|
|
@Michee: I agree with you. The key word for our vampires, zombies, witches, and such is "innovation". There is nothing wrong with taking the same old idea, throwing it into a tornado along with a nuclear power plant until it explodes into a great, new idea.
|
|
|
|