Beings

Hey everyone! Welcome back to Too Many Books to Count! I’m glad you stopped by.

As you (should) know, this month we’re talking all about several legends, myths, and themes that readers just can’t get enough of, that readers already know well enough, that there’s already a plethora of on the market—and that we should never stop writing.

Be sure to check out the previous posts if you’re behind—I’ve really been loving this series. :)

#6: Dinosaurs, Dragons, and other such Monsters

It hasn’t happened very many times in this series, that I’ve talked on a topic I haven’t already written. In fact, I think this is only the second, thus far. I write a lot, I write very diversely, and I love it. But I’ve never written monsters. Ever.

Now, I’m classifying everything in this list as monsters, but as you well know, they’re not all actually monsters. Sometimes they’re good creatures, beings very unlike ones that are alive and well in the real world. But for lack of a better word (because I don’t like to use “creatures” if I don't have to) we’re going to go with monsters. Okay? Okay.

Whether it’s dinosaurs, dragons, griffins, manticores, centaurs, minotaurs, the list goes on, people know what they are, they know what to expect from them, and they can’t get enough of them. Readers love the fantasy genre because it’s filled with beings like these. They love horror genres because it uses monsters like these to push its plot forward. And because the work has already been done, you won’t have to do any convincing for a reader to believe that these monsters exist in your world.

Isn’t it great?!

I’m not sure what it is about these beings, that makes readers love them so much, but I know that it’s true. The only thing I can think of is that they’re strange, that these monsters are so unique and different from what’s alive in the world today that we just really want to know what it would’ve been like to live with them. And so we read about it, because what could be better than that?

The amazing part though, as it has been throughout our series, is that though these things are written and written and written some more, no one ever seems to tire of them. No one picks up a book with a dragon on the cover and thinks “not another dragon.” No. We’re looking for dragons. We’re looking for monsters. We’re looking for things that get our hearts pounding and our imaginations running rampant.

That’s what you should be writing, too. Things that we love, things that you love. The line intersects, you know.

[love]

{Rani Divine}

The end of all things

Hey guys! Welcome back to Too Many Book to Count! I’m glad you stopped by. :)

All month long, we’re talking about themes, legends, and myths that have been popular for eons and will continue to be popular until the end of time—and why I think we can use these things to our advantage, when it comes to our own writing. Thus far in our series we’ve discussed everything from Arthurian Legend to wandering gypsies (if you haven’t been keeping up, make sure you go back and read what we’ve already discussed!), and this week, I have two more really fun topics to discuss with you.

#5: The Apocalypse

All right, sure, this theme hasn’t been insanely popular for that long, but still, it’s one that people have enjoyed reading about, hearing about, talking about, for hundreds and hundreds of years. It’s something that intrigues many people, and something that became huge over the past decade or so.

And I think I know why. The world is complicated, right now. Much as we try to claim that technology simplifies our lives, we all know that’s not really the truth. It makes us reliant upon it, yes, but it doesn’t simplify anything. The coming of the apocalypse means the end of technology as we know it, and a world like that is simply… intriguing, to say the very least.

Thing is, there are so many different versions of the apocalypse that there’s literally an unending stream of paths you could take with this, in your own writing. I’m serious, you could do whatever you wanted, and make it into the apocalypse. You could follow some trendy veins like zombies or plagues, or you could make up something of your own. Maybe people just suddenly started dying, and no one knows why. Wasn’t really an illness, wasn’t really anything. They just started dying, and now there’s hardly anyone left.

Fascinating, right?

Millions of other people think so too. In fact, there are millions and millions of readers who prefer (or solely read) fiction based on the apocalypse. That’s an entire treasure trove of readers in your target market, and they already believe in the thing you’re trying to sell! They believe the apocalypse is coming, or that it could be coming, and they want to know what happens to people when it comes.

You could be the next writer to make a billion dollars of this idea. Yeah, I know, that’s not what I’m here to talk about, but it’s true. With the number of ideas that are out there, just waiting for you to pick them up and use them, the apocalypse will forever remain one of those subject matters that’s safe to work with, no matter what. There’ll always be someone out there who wants to read about it.

Seriously. There will. The hardest part is finding them, but isn’t that always the case?

[love]

{Rani Divine}

Traveller

Hi guys! Welcome back to Too Many Books to Count! I’m glad you stopped by again, for today’s addition to our series.

As you (should) know, this month we’re discussing some popular myths, legends, and themes that everyone knows about and many people love to read—and that, by extension, writers should never stop writing. Thus far in the series we’ve discussed everything from Arthurian Legend to the legend of Atlantis, and we’re nowhere near done. I have a plethora of ideas for you, just wait and see.

#4: Gypsies

For the first time in our series, I’m talking about something I haven’t written already! What?! How is this possible?!

It’s true, I’ve never written a story with gypsies in it. But I also don’t write a lot of stories that take place on Earth, or that would naturally have gypsies within them. You know, most sci-fi doesn’t have gypsies in it (maybe one of us should change that).

Gypsies, for some reason, are an extremely popular theme in fiction. No, actually, I know why. It’s because gypsies are very different from the average person you meet in your everyday life. Gypsies don’t have a real home, necessarily, but travel from place to place on a whim. They go where they want to go and do what they want to do. Sometimes, they practice the occult. Others, they’re masters of the circus arts. Still others, they’re just fun-loving people who didn’t really want to settle down.

Whatever the case, whatever the version, that’s what makes them fascinating to a so-called average reader. The average reader doesn’t live like a gypsy, and so a gypsy is an extremely interesting thing to consider.

And, again, gypsies are something we all know about. Everyone knows what a gypsy is, or has their own idea of what a gypsy should be. Some of us think of the Hunchback of Notre Dame, while others go straight to Phantom of the Opera. Others think of surfers or artists, or groupies of a band.

Thing is, there aren’t as many gypsy stories as there should be. Or maybe there are, and I just haven’t seen them. We should try to fix that, too.

There are so many things writers can do with gypsies, in literally any genre. They fit into every world, because nearly every way of life would naturally have them. Maybe there are entire species’ who live their lives as gypsies. The possibilities are endless! And I sincerely hope that you explore them, publish them, and then send me a link so I can come along for the ride.

Seriously. I need more gypsy stories in my life.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

[love]

{Rani Divine}