Last week my first burning question for the year ahead was: Where Are We in the Romantasy Hype Cycle? The New York Times headline “Rebecca Yarros’s ‘Onyx Storm’ Is the Fastest-Selling Adult Novel in 20 Years” provides a pretty definitive answer.
I loved this! My lament regarding the increase in escapist literature is not necessarily the genre, but the actual quality of writing. I have tried reading a few top bestsellers, just to see what's commercially viable and what's getting made into TV shows and movies, and it's really disheartening to see an eighth grade writing level in some of these. Not to be a snob, but I read Emily Henry's "Beach Read" over the summer and I was shocked by the amount of repetition of "He laughed," or "She smiled to herself" every other sentence. It's just bad writing! I don't care if you write about fairies going at it in the forest with elves, just please follow the basic tenets of good writing we all learned in 9th-10th grade.
Well thought out piece! This issue has been growing in the back of my mind ever since Fourth Wing went viral.
With the general societal shift to a 'consume more' mindset, plus the need for escapism to cope with today's world, it's no surprise that books like Onyx Storm are flying off the shelves. Last week I saw a post titled 'Is literary fiction dead?' and wanted to cry.
I loved this! My lament regarding the increase in escapist literature is not necessarily the genre, but the actual quality of writing. I have tried reading a few top bestsellers, just to see what's commercially viable and what's getting made into TV shows and movies, and it's really disheartening to see an eighth grade writing level in some of these. Not to be a snob, but I read Emily Henry's "Beach Read" over the summer and I was shocked by the amount of repetition of "He laughed," or "She smiled to herself" every other sentence. It's just bad writing! I don't care if you write about fairies going at it in the forest with elves, just please follow the basic tenets of good writing we all learned in 9th-10th grade.
I tell writers to think of “literary” and “commercial” as a spectrum of broad appeal. I really loved this deep dive on that idea here!
Well thought out piece! This issue has been growing in the back of my mind ever since Fourth Wing went viral.
With the general societal shift to a 'consume more' mindset, plus the need for escapism to cope with today's world, it's no surprise that books like Onyx Storm are flying off the shelves. Last week I saw a post titled 'Is literary fiction dead?' and wanted to cry.
This post was very well done, and I appreciate the Earthsea example quite a bit.