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Genres that "don't get no respect."
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I have often said some stories the writer chooses and some stories choose the writer. I did not want to write Lola Dances. The idea came to me of what it must have been like for a little,effeminate guy in the old mining camps, and I thought it was a great idea, but not my book to write, since I know next to nothing about cross dressing. But the book wouldn't go away. So I had to write a book in a historical setting, one I wasn't very familiar with, about someone into a kind of behavior unknown to me, who gets used and abused, and a genre (trannie) that definitely gets no respect, and make it romantic and erotic to boot. Talk about juggling a lot of balls (yes, the characters do too); but I'm glad now I did. It's a personal favorite, the kind of book I like to read. And I suppose that's the key - write what you like to read. Happily, I'm a very eclectic reader.Victor
FANTASY IS A GREAT GENRE BUT IT DOESN'T GET ALOT OF RESPECT. THERE IS A SCIENCE GEEK STIGMA ATTACHED TO THE GENRE OR READ BY EMOS. I HAVE FOUND MAY FANTASY STORIES WRITTEN BY DAVID EDDINGS OR TRACY HICKMAN AND MARGARET WEISS TO BE QUITE AMUSING AND ENTERTAINING.
I think whatever the genre it has to seem real. The more reality, and yes, that includes fantasy, the more you can play with the content. Reality doesn't have to be down to earth gritty, even the reality of the mind and what it can do to the flow of the story. Most stories have some iota of something that people can relate to.I read so many genres that I've often been surprised by what I have liked in genres I wasn't used to and I can only say that first, they flowed well, and second, they had a way of connecting me.
I read all kinds of books, but the ones that I'm not as comfortable reading in public (during lunch at work, for example) are the romance novels. I think that maybe they have a bad rap because they can sometimes be a bit too formulaic (the cliche of ripping bodices and throbbing members springs to mind). They can sacrifice good characterization and plot in favor of sex scenes on every page. HOWEVER, there are plenty of good romance writers out there who DO have good character development and realistic plots. It's just a matter of finding the good authors...
lol i know what u mean. although bodice rippers do have their uses (looks innocent here) and those who see us reading them think we have no substance.
Interesting, I just wrote a short article for Examiner.com on the issue of genre films and Oscar and whether the misconceptions were changing.I think there is snobbery out there regarding genres, that they are somehow a lesser art forms, that in order to be taken seriously it must be "literary" or "drama".
In my opinion, bad is bad and it isn't the genre that makes a lesser book, it's the way it is written. In fact I've read more boring books that were mainstream fiction than were genre fiction.
I would think that the best way for an author to get respect is to intend to write complementary or general fiction and let the genres pigeon-hole where they may. While I tend to be drawn to horror stories, my first goal is to write a story, period. I don't think: I will write a horror romance novel about deaf people versus hearing people.
I think: Since I have a fantasy of a beautiful girl with a nice body who will come to me and take care of me, and love me for who I am and let me put her in a strange world where those who can't fit in or can't keep up with the strict equilibrilum are put into government run institutions and have them somehow meet...That is more than enough to get me to writing my second novel.
Juliet, that's a pretty good topic and one I have been thinking about on the surface. The examples I could think of is very widespread from Jose Saramago's Blindness, Elizabeth Hand's horrifying classic, Winterlong, and Cormac McCarthy's The Road. They all write complementary fictions and these books somehow fall into the maligned compartment of 'horror'
When Daphne De Maurier wrote her first novel, Rebecca, she gave it to her literary friend Quiller-Couch. He read it and told her if she published it, it would make her rich and famous, and the literary world would never forgive her. He was right on both counts - at least, for some time. Now they teach it as a classic. But at the time it was labeled genre fiction - woman's stuff. Write what you feel like writing. Let the rest of the world catch on.
Victor
I am asked to pigeon-whole--my work --I often choose romantic suspense as there is really no category for light mystery as opposed to mystery suspense. It's still a mystery just not as heavy as a thriller.
I write erotic romance. Once upon a time romance writers were seriously snubbed by all. Now they have begun to be recognized. Unfortunately, erotic romance doesn't seem to fall in the same level or respect - it is snubbed even by some romance writers. Let's admit it. In romance, there is sex. Since the level of sensuality in many books is increasing, I hope to see lots of crossover and perhaps a little grudging admiration for those of us that write a HEA story - with the added sex - a Sexy Happy Ever After!
some people have only sex in writing to live by --which is a shame but there it is. |Hubby hates when i write what he calls smut. thats just to bad if he wants to live in the 50s
Chick-lit always is getting the critical shaft. I LOVE Sophie Kinsella and I've been told by literature snobs that commercial fiction does not count as "real reading."If we continue to discriminate against certain kinds of writing, then we will continue to have less and less readers in the world. More people in the younger generation already say, "I'll wait to see the movie," but only a teeny-tiny fraction of all books are made into films.
As far as I'm concerned, when it comes to writing in general and fiction in specific, there are really only 3 basic genres: 1) well-written-so-you-recommend-it, 2) not-so-well-written-but-still-readable-and-enjoyable and 3) badly-written-to-the-point-you-can-barely-finish-it. These are horizontal genres - they cut across all the vertical genres out there.
I think the snobbery, while always present, is diminishing, maybe more in the UK than here in the US. When a Booker prize winning novelist like John Banville writes thrillers (under a pen name) and highly respected writers (and Booker nominees) Julian Barnes writes detective novels (also under a pen name) and Sarah Waters writes a thriller-horror, and well-reviewed writer Kate Atkinson writes literary detective stories, there is more of an acceptance for the "less serious" genre writing.
The great British novelist Graham Greene wrote thrillers, which he called entertainments, and no one thought less of him for writing them, so perhaps there's a more established tradition across the pond. Dickens always viewed his work as entertainment.
I'll match Raymond Chandler against any "serious" writer and Marlowe will always kick butt. And Stephen King is the greatest narrative genius since Dickens.
If the snobs ignore their work, it's their loss.
I am one of those people who read according to what I am in the mood for. I am not huge on reading the classics or critical acclaimed-i could be considered a reverse snob
I always remember the day when my Harvard Law School graduate and MIT PhD brother told me to read a book called Watership Down. Up to that point, he'd recommended Henry James, John Barth, etc. So, imagine my total shock when I found out that Watership Down was about a family of wild rabbits! We definitely pigeonhole other people according to their literary tastes. That's one great fantasy novel, by the way. Right up there with Tolkein.
Interracial romance and most books written by minorities or with minority characters. Especially blacks. I don't blame the readers. I think readers support these genres. It's the publishers that do not have a clue of how to handle anything minority-based. Just ask any black novelist (clearing throat),especially a black romance novelist, and they will tell you they get no respect no matter how good the writing is. Hence the changing color tones of black characters on the covers of books, pubs not accepting many minorties who write in genres other than things pertaining to their race, and that dreaded segregated African-American/black book section which most of us hate!!!!! And well, you get the picture.
Hopefully one day, pubs and bookstores will get a clue. I love to read Interracial romances or any books with racially diverse couples and characters. I also write stories with interracial relationships and diverse characters. For IR books, the main choice are only ebooks because these are mostly the only pubs printing these types of books. It's sad because there is a huge market for IR books. The hard thing about being a minority writer is that your work is often judged by who you are instead of what you've written by a lot of pubs who just don't "get it". If they took time to research, they'd realize most readers don't care who writes a book or the color of their skin. But it's not a perfect world unfortunately.
Best Wishes!
http://www.stacy-deanne.net
Lilly wrote: "I write erotic romance. Once upon a time romance writers were seriously snubbed by all. Now they have begun to be recognized. Unfortunately, erotic romance doesn't seem to fall in the same level or..."Lilly,
You make a really good point. Erotic romance gets a bum rap and doesn't get much respect. It is snubbed by some romance writers. I've seem it myself on some discussion boards. It's unfortunate really, because I read many genres and only in the past year have I started reading erotic romance novels. I have friends that can't believe that I read them and some I've even converted to reading them.
There are some really great erotic romance novels and authors out there. I think all authors should get credit for their work. If it's a well written book does it really matter what genre it is? I understand everyone has an interest in a certain type of book but it's unfair to judge those that like reading or writing erotica because they think it's dirty. This is the word that keeps popping up by many.
the great first amendment attorney, Stanley Fleishman, likead to say there are no dirty books, only dirty minds.Victor
The reason erotica writers get dissed is because romance writers diss them too. Romance writers complain about their work not being taken seriously but they turn around and diss erotica romance writers. I write mysteries and thrillers with romantic elements, but not straight romance. And just being in the industry I see how the erotica writers are treated, like dirt. I mean even if their books are shipped to bookstores, do you know a lot of bookstores will turn the books down? So they have a hard time getting on shelves and that's why a lot of them write under e-pubs. I have friends who write romance, then I have friends who write erotica. I know romance writers say that "erotica is tearing up the genre". They say they don't want erotica lumped in with their own work but I don't think it is. Anyone who reads these genres knows the difference. I don't think erotica could harm the entire romance genre.
I used to laugh at this attitude from romance writers. They would say people made fun of the genre they wrote in and dismissed it as not being real writing, yet they turn around and say, "erotica is not real writing". So what's wrong with this picture.
The truth is that if people are judging erotica because they think it's all crap, they are wrong and shallow! There are some erotica writers who write full-length stories, they just happen to have explicit sex in them. But there are erotica writers who write straight porn and they are honest about it. People might want to shun that but hey, people can write what they want I feel.
There is crap and bad writing in romance, erotica just like it is in every genre. Just because it's erotic doesn't mean it's crap. I read a little erotica here in there but I choose the ones that are a real story. I don't just like reading sex after sex. If an erotic book is well-written and has a plot, I will read it.
I'd also like to say this in defense of the erotica writers (because I have a lot of writer friends that are erotica writers and they are the nicest people in the world), the reason the romance genre is one of the most popular genres is because of erotica. The average romance novel (other than those from Nora Roberts or some Harlequin Presents titles), do not sell half as well as erotica. So when some romance authors are turning their nose down on erotica writers, they need to thank them. They are the ones who have helped to make romance very popular. So being "lumped in with them" shouldn't feel so bad after all I'd think.
I know of what Lilly speaks and have heard it from many erotica authors about how they are treated. It's bad enough when the industry shuns erotica (yet doesn't mind cashing in the millions that genre makes), but when romance writers do it to erotica writers, that's sad. Writers should support each other and when we don't even within the genres, that says a lot.
Best Wishes!
http://www.stacy-deanne.net
Interracial Historicals.People assume just because history wasn't accepting of interracial relationships there could be no HEA. I say they are wrong. I think there is alot about history historians weren't around to write about unless it was big news or world changing. I think even if some were forced to keep their love secret, they still had relationships and children. Some may have married in the eyes of God if not the law by making the committment to one another.
I had hope when I wrote and published my first book The Lord and the Scorpion, an Elizabethan Romance featuring an English Lord and an African female assassin, the first Interracial Elizabethan romance novel ever written and published featuring a Black female heroine, that I would be opening new doors. Not so. From last I check I still have written the only one, hopefully soon more writers will feel inclined to take my lead. These days there are so many possibilities of getting your works published and unless you are in it for the glory instead of the personal accomplishment, it's beast to stick to what the big publishers want. I just wanted persoal satisfaction seeing women that look like me living the lives I could only dream of. I am fortunate to have a fan base that was looking for the same. It's enough for me.
Stacy-Deanne wrote: "Interracial romance and most books written by minorities or with minority characters. Especially blacks. I don't blame the readers. I think readers support these genres. It's the publishers tha..."
Hi Stacy-Deanne
I can only say that obviously these people do not walk down the street or look out their windows or else they just don't recognize that they are very often looking at interracial couples or the children of interracial couples. All I can say is, Why?
I would think by now it should be obvious that people want to read about people, plain and simple. This goes for any race. No racial designations need be made (unless the author is specifically addressing their book to a specific group whether it be racial, religious, political, work-related, entertainment related, whatever.) It's time for them to own up to the fact that it's people who read the books. They aren't going to be reading them if they can't find them.
This attitude sort of reminds me of an old complaint that newspapers always put the woman's age in an article, even if it's something about an accident, but never the man's. All I can say again is, Why?
Shiree wrote: "Interracial Historicals.People assume just because history wasn't accepting of interracial relationships there could be no HEA. I say they are wrong. I think there is alot about history histo..."
Hi Shiree
Just wanted to say Congratulations, and keep up the great work!
The Pleasures Chest wrote: "Lilly wrote: "I write erotic romance. Once upon a time romance writers were seriously snubbed by all. Now they have begun to be recognized. Unfortunately, erotic romance doesn't seem to fall in the..."Lilly, I'm always looking for a good read. Could you (or anyone else) recommend some well-written erotic romance novels? I'd like to start with the very best written - if anyone has any nominations for the title. Thanks.
Hi, Lucy--Yes, I write romance and read, it, too. I wrote an article for LASR a few weeks ago titled "In Defense of the Romance Nove." It came about one day when I was in the library searching the New Book shelves for something to read. A friend said, "I heard you write romance novels. You really write that stuff?" It made me slightly tongue-tied, so all I could do was say, "Yes, and I read it, too."
Then I went home and wrote my article. Granted, I made fun of it all, not taking anyone's opinion all that seriously--I worry about important things like wars and homeless children--romance? A tidbit of what I wrote: We live in a free society--I can read and write whatever I please, and you can, too. I like stories that end happily--real life is bad enough without my reading about it.The romance genre is the biggest seller of books worldwide, second only to Inspirationals. Ummm, what else?
Please know that very few statements that make me angry, or really very defensive. However, I do defend romance whenever called upon.Celia
Then I went home and wrote my article. Granted, I made fun of it all, not taking anyone's opinion all that seriously--I worry about important things like wars and homeless children--romance? A tidbit of what I wrote: We live in a free society--I can read and write whatever I please, and you can, too. I like stories that end happily--real life is bad enough without my reading about it.The romance genre is the biggest seller of books worldwide, second only to Inspirationals. Ummm, what else?
Please know that very few statements that make me angry, or really very defensive. However, I do defend romance whenever called upon.Celia
"Hi ShireeJust wanted to say Congratulations, and keep up the great work!"
Hello,
Thank you Betty. I have no choice but to write what I beleive in and even if not in my lifetime one day my romances will be the norm. Like you said how could you not see the world is changing, even the President is an intereacial child. So I don't know how much more in the publishers face can it get? Even if they choose to publish an historical interracial romance they stick you in the Multicural section that a lot of Caucasion women don't even venture to and a good book could get looked over by some historical romance readers.
Also I have been with 3 publishers and for some reason it seems like they don't take care about editing when it come to interracial books. There is no way they didn't know that the final edits I sent in was not the correct copy of the manuscript. So that tells me they didn't even spare a proofer on my books.
So there has been a dent put in the market but we have a long way to go and with the ebook industry opening the doors they've kept closed for centuries they are losing business. Because Black readers were buying alot of the historical romances even though none of the women looked like us.
I get the whole "looked down their nose" thing - I write erotic romance, and even worse (gasp) gay romance, so I get the double whammy.I'm with 3 epubs who welcome and embrace diversity - from big beautiful women, to f/f, m/m, menage and interracial stories, and damn proud of them.
Out here in the ether I can write the stories true to my heart - whether the characters are Asian-American, African-American, Native American, disabled, gay, lesbian, transgendered, or straight.
In fact, this month, in honor of Black History month, Loose Id, one of my publishers, has stories each week featuring interracial (all sorts) heroes and heroines. www.loose-id.com
It's just another place where traditional publishing is slow off the mark. However, there are lines, like HQN's Kimini (African-american) that celebrate people of color in romance.
I don't know if typos are necessarily related to the topic, but I find typos in everything (that's why I get so annoyed with myself when I find I've left typos in my comments!) I think anyone that is a "word" person will find them even through final printings. One problem of course is that we see what we expect to see when we reread, even as a proof reader who hasn't read it before. I did a lot of proofing when I was working, and now I just can't stop. ;-)
Lynn, coming from the 'other end' (reader), until I started reviewing, I hadn't read any GL books/novellas and it wasn't so much my own looking down the nose so much as the 'being caught' feeling. Since then, I have found a few authors I have grown fond of in that genre and look for them elsewhere as well.While I have read a couple erotica books, the genre is not a favorite of mine, but that's more from a personal preference than anything else.
Betty, I know that feeling as well. Having been a self-professed grammar junkie even before I went into the proofreading and editing field, I would automatically correct the odd item or two that was missed. :)
Just be sure that when you talk about "erotica" you're placing the label correctly. "Erotic romance" is all about the romance, with graphic sex between committed partners.
"Erotica" is all about the sexual journey of the characters, and has graphic sex.
I don't care for erotica, I get bored at all the sex scenes, one after another, but that's me. I need the romance.
Please forgive my tired brain. I'm at the tail end of having proofread about 16 pages worth of technical material.As soon as I saw your comment, Lynn, I had a lightbulb "Duh" type moment. :)
I can understand that! I love those moments, they sort of sneak up on you and whack you upside the head.I get a lot of...wow, the plot was fantastic! from some new gay romance readers, but most of them are reading for the romance, and they'll complain if there's too much sex.
And my publishers won't allow sex scenes for sex sake...they're great like that. The sex has to move the plot or characters forward.
Some of the print NY books I've read have the same amount of graphic sex, they just aren't labeled as erotice; more like "a new hot historical" or something, but you get in them and bam! it's in your face sex between the H & H.
Yep, yep :)I also think in a similar vein is the horror genre.
I like horror. However, I dislike violent reading/watching that passes for horror. I don't know if I am making this clear, but, for an example, the "Saw" movie franchise falls into this category for me. At least from the trailers I saw as I have managed to avoid watching them. For me, and from my understanding of what the movies entail, it seems more of 'violence for shock value' than anything else.
*shudder* I can't stand those slasher movies with blood and violence...they make me physically ill.Dang, girl, we're up to early for all this talk of horror stuff.
I used to read horror all the time, until I had kids...then it wasn't so much fun anymore - kept worrying about them and the violence - so I stopped reading it.
It is a little early for this kind of talk, yes.I too greatly dislike the slasher stuff. For me, I like psychological horror. The stuff I like might be considered lightweight by others, but it's Hitchcockian, Rebecca (I remember reading a collection of DuMaurier stories in 7th grade, last tale in the book was The Birds - this was before I knew the movie was based on the book - couldn't finish the collection and it was years (like last year to be exact :)) before I even watched the movie).
Henry James "Turn of the Screw" is also good.
Have you ever read We Have Always Lived In The Castle, by Shirley Jackson...man, that scared the livin' crap out of me when I read it...I was in my teens and it started me on the horror/suspense train.Me too. Psych. is better then blood and guts anyday.
Shirley Jackson was the absolute mistress of fright. An odd thing - she also wrote funny stories about raising her kids, but she had the strange ability to tell a funny story about her little son and then, with just the slightest shift of emphasis, turn it scary. The Lottery remains unequaled.
I agree. She was a master.I also devoured Lovecraft...he could scare me like no other with his unworldy creatures.
I still have his books, but haven't read them in probably 30 yrs.
Lovecraft, yes, and Poe, can't forget him, and Hoffman, not so well known today, probably more famous now for the opera, The Tales of Hoffman.
I have read the odd Shirley Jackson story and must agree.Poe is also a favorite.
While I've as yet to read Lovecraft, I have heard of his stories and they're definitely on my wishlist. :)
I think this should be of interest to anyone who writes novels. Over at Librarything there is a thread that is focusing on "Underappreciated Writers." For an entire month the writer is asked wide-ranging questions about his or her work. The goal is to broaden readership and appreciation of the work, but the questions can be demanding and revealing. By the way, anyone can pose questions to the writer. I was lucky enough to be chosen as the writer for February, and for another 10 days will be answering any and all quetions that come my way. Other writers will be chosen in the months ahead. Dropping in on the thread to ask a question or make a comment may be a good way of introducing yourself. The link to the thread is http://www.librarything.com/topic/82398 By the way if you ever want to take a look at the primary novel being discussed, The Red Album of Asbury Park Remixed, the free PDF is http://www.willcall.org/web/redalbum.pdf
Gabby wrote: "Yep, yep :)I also think in a similar vein is the horror genre.
I like horror. However, I dislike violent reading/watching that passes for horror. I don't know if I am making this clear, bu..."
I'm with you Gabby. This schlock they call Horror these days is crap. To be perfectly blunt. Saw or those like it are nothing but cheap trash.
True Horror makes you nervous, sweaty and frightened all without showing a drop of blood. It builds the suspense to a point where you're about to faint and then takes it higher.
Alfred Hitchcock was the master of suspense horror. Psycho, The Birds, Rear Window.
Edgar Allen Poe wrote stories that would leave you with all the lights on. HP Lovecraft would have you cowering in the middle of the room watching the corners and edges for 'something' seeping through.
There are many modern horror writers that are nearly the equal. That can terrorize without splashing you with gallons of blood and guts and dismembered limbs.
Now, these same writers will and do write the gory story as well, but some are equally good (better IMO) writing true horror.
Brian Keene, Bentley Little, Graham Masterton and nearly every writer in the Leisure Horror stable!
Then...
Science Fiction and Fantasy.
Recently this genre has become a little more respected. But for the most part you are sneered at for reading it. I can't tell you how often I have heard that it's not "real fiction" that it's just "junk fiction" and a complete waste of time and paper.
On one hand I love the recent popularity of SF&F, but I see it as transitory since it's the film industry really pushing it and films change faster than ever.
Comic books have gained in popularity for the same reason. My generation is old enough and there are enough of us to actually make these changes.
But in the background you still have these snobs moaning and tearing their clothes about how horrible it all is.
A short story to make a point.
The film "The Punisher" was being worked on. It was going to be a fast-paced down and dirty action flick with a man out to get revenge on the mob for killing his family. (He was killing "The Family" for killing his 'family') interesting.
Anyway, one studio exec was all excited and loved it all except for one thing. They HAD to lose the Death's Head shirt that the Punisher wore.
Now, those of you that read The Punisher keep still. For those who don't know, the Death's Head shirt is the symbol of the Punisher. Without it he is just another vigilante just like all the other vigilantes that have been in revenge films. The symbol is what sets this one guy apart and the studio money bags waanted it gone!
That shows not only a lack of respect for the writer or genre, but a lack of respect for the industry as a whole!
PS. Not only was the shirt a symbol, it was very important as it would draw fire too. He had reinforced bullet-proof armor under it and the baddies would target this white skull out of habit.
Brett,You're right - Hitch was a master. I've a funny story about The Birds. Back in 7th or 8th grade, I was reading an anthology of Daphne du Maurier stories, the last of which was The Birds. The first however many stories in the anthology had such an impact on me.......I never did read the Birds. Nor did I get around to seeing the movie until a couple years ago. I later (i.e., when watching said movie) went and did a little research and the movie is based on the short story.
As far as The Punisher goes - which version of the movie are you talking about? The one with Dolph Lundgren or the one with Thomas Jane? I thought one of the versions (and now I can't remember which one) did have the death's head shirt in it..... I could be wrong though.
The Birds (movie) has some of the most unintentionally funny scenes I've ever seen. E.G., Tippi Hedrin (herself amusing) and Suzanne Pleshett are locked in the old school house with a passel of children, watching through the window as the birds start attacking people. The women debate what to do, and then decide that the best thing would be to take the children outside and run down the street so the birds can have at them. Or, in another scene, Tippi watches from the bar (I've been in that bar, up in Bodega Bay) as the birds attack, and again she rushes outside to run to a nearby phone booth. One supposes to call Superman.Only Hitch could get away with it, because he has you so scared, you don't notice how silly things have gotten.
Gabby,I didn't finish I suppose. The dumb producer was outvoted about the shirt. It was fortunate that more influential people knew what it meant.
It's not like the movies were any good to begin with. I just used it as a good example of how some people just don't get it. How the idea that "Comics are just for kids!" still pervades the thinking of too many people.
It's only recently that comics have been recognized as a true media. There are award winning writers and artists working on them and look at how many films have either been influenced by comics or are made directly from comics.
I'm really tired right now and have a feeling I am rambling. -grin-
More than usual anyway.
As for the Birds, it's fun to go back and research the affect that film had on movie goers of the time. There are all sorts of stories about people being terrified of birds for years afterwards.
It's even more fun to watch the Hitchcock films and watch for the bloopers like Victor mentions. Hitch was an absolute master of filmdom, but there are some funny bloops in his films as well. Not to mention the intentional stuff he put in. Like how he had to actually be in every film he made. Sometimes you have to look hard, but he is in every one!
He was in his way a true genius, he knew exactly what he wanted and how to get it. Kim Novak did not want to wear the gray suit he picked for her in Vertigo, but Hitch insisted, and he was right, it was perfect for her. BTW, she didn't drive - the shots of her driving in S.F., she was just steering, and a midget (I'm not making this up) was down below operating the controls. Now who would have dreamed that up? I think Vertigo is nothing short of a masterpiece. I could write about the movie till the cows come home...oops, I hear bells...
It's been a long time (Goodreads bounced me) but to add to the discussison of The Birds - Hitch planned a final shot of The Golden Gate Bridge covered with birds, but it was cancelled as too expensive. Too bad, it would have made a great wrap up
What about poetry? Talk about disrespect. Only 8% of Americans regularly read poetry (NEA study). And poets, often the worst culprits, are notorious for not reading, buying, subscribing to or supporting poetry and the same poetry markets they ambitiously pursue. Ignored by 92% of Americans, we're truly a hated and a self-hating bunch.
Good question! There are so many different answers because we have varied backgrounds and opinions. I'd have to agree with erotic and poetry as two of the top ones.
To show my own petticoats, I'd say that I've written a few romances, and that I'm as interested in a HEA as the next reader. Still, I find a lot of genre romance kind of silly, so I wrote my own with plenty of accurate history and attention to how characters from that time would actually speak and think. This was a lot of balls in the air as well as the central love story, but I'm satisfied with the result. I'm not setting the world on fire, but it was the only way I could write the romance I wanted while remaining connected to real people in a real past.