Lots of authors struggle with balancing the stories they want to write with the trends of the present book market. Today, writer Paige Crawley shares some thoughts about writing the stories you want to write when you also want to make them marketable:
In 2015, my first stab at NaNoWriMo, I was determined to write a really trendy YA novel. I leaned into the conventions, perfected the sudden end-of-chapter reveals. I created a Threat (with a capital T), wrote a tragic backstory, and then created a character who was both a misunderstood outsider and the only person who could save the world. On December 1st, I felt pretty satisfied with the result. I’d written of friendship and tragedy and beating impossible odds. It fit the epochal fashion to a T (also capitalized). Nearly three years later, I look back and shudder.
The epitomic problem with writing is that it always takes too long, while the problem with trends is that they never last long enough. This is especially true in fiction, and even more so YA. Because it’s is the big seller these days, the fad currently sweeping the genre becomes the Thing. The Thing is hot and bestselling, so we assume it will become the new standard. And just like that, the newest trope is born and swaths of writers try to catch up, some succeeding while most cannot type fast enough.
