Dale Brown
My advice to aspiring writers: write what you love and not what's hot. If you enjoy what you're writing you'll be more likely to finish it, rewrite and improve it, and market it when the time comes.
It's tempting to try to write a novel about vampires, secret societies, or zombies because we see them every day in movies or TV. And it's true that certain themes have a life cycle. But if you don't care about those subjects, you'll run out of steam before the book is finished, or it's more likely that it won't be your best possible work because you have no interest in the subject.
I have been asked many times to write novels about secret societies (and as a Western European history major, that's a subject I enjoy). I have lots of ideas for novels about areas other than near-future war. But I like writing about high-tech military conflicts and geopolitics, so that's what I'll keep doing.
"But, clueless one," you may ask, "how is the military techno-thriller market these days? In fact, wizened one, aren't you just about the only guy out there writing military techno-thrillers these days?"
I may be out of step, unenlightened, or totally oblivious to the market...but I know that if I try to chase the latest literary fad out there, I could be chasing a shadow at best. At worst, if I did a crappy job on yet another zombie story, I'd be accused of trying to copycat the market and falling flat on my face doing so.
My advice: don't try to chase the market unless you have a better spin on something that's already out there and you're really into that subject. Fair warning: your better spin has probably already been done. But if you are really excited about your subject and your story, go for it.
Not saying I don't have a "Fifty Shades of Grey" in me, but for now I'll stick with military techno-thrillers...and in fact, it's kinda cool to see that maybe I am the only one doing them right now. Also, nothing says a military techno-thriller has to be set in the near-future... ;-)
It's tempting to try to write a novel about vampires, secret societies, or zombies because we see them every day in movies or TV. And it's true that certain themes have a life cycle. But if you don't care about those subjects, you'll run out of steam before the book is finished, or it's more likely that it won't be your best possible work because you have no interest in the subject.
I have been asked many times to write novels about secret societies (and as a Western European history major, that's a subject I enjoy). I have lots of ideas for novels about areas other than near-future war. But I like writing about high-tech military conflicts and geopolitics, so that's what I'll keep doing.
"But, clueless one," you may ask, "how is the military techno-thriller market these days? In fact, wizened one, aren't you just about the only guy out there writing military techno-thrillers these days?"
I may be out of step, unenlightened, or totally oblivious to the market...but I know that if I try to chase the latest literary fad out there, I could be chasing a shadow at best. At worst, if I did a crappy job on yet another zombie story, I'd be accused of trying to copycat the market and falling flat on my face doing so.
My advice: don't try to chase the market unless you have a better spin on something that's already out there and you're really into that subject. Fair warning: your better spin has probably already been done. But if you are really excited about your subject and your story, go for it.
Not saying I don't have a "Fifty Shades of Grey" in me, but for now I'll stick with military techno-thrillers...and in fact, it's kinda cool to see that maybe I am the only one doing them right now. Also, nothing says a military techno-thriller has to be set in the near-future... ;-)
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