I don’t know what’s the big hot setup in fiction sales; I’m too far from completing a novel to need to know what’s current. But I do see an awful lot of fantasy fiction being written lately, especially so on sites such as Crapometer that offers writers some critique and suggestions. The vast majority of submissions are fantasy novels, and I’m curious if this is because new writers are geared in this direction (maybe even being led to believe [rightly or wrongly] that this is the current selling genre), or if fanfic writers are more likely to seek advice, or if people who read this genre are more likely to have the desire to write.
While I can offer some technical suggestions on general writing elements, and do try to do so to become an active member of these communities, frankly, I’m tired of them. Where are the contemporary dramas, the strong characters rather than the dependence on action? I’m wondering if the story games were a precursor of this literary bombardment. I personally am not as interested in the futuristic video games as much as in the mystery puzzle types. (I prefer reading literary fiction, but can well see how this might make for boring gameplay, simply because of the taste for action that games have inspired.)
In the meantime, I stand as one of the few unpublished aspiring authors who doesn’t use settings on some strange planet or land named Klak’na nor have princes or princesses with names like Casa’lada or Neely.
The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology