Teens Writing for Teens, the 5th
- Thread starter It's-Magic!
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I'll agree with you on that Zoom. Plot are very hard to be original with. I always though my series was original, until three people said my first book sounded like The Gone series.
Having never even heard of it i was really hurt then i looked it up and realized yeah there are only kids left on earth, but that's about it when it comes to similarities. Still people think its similar, and the way i think of it Great! let it be similar because if people like that book then they will probably like mine.
Having never even heard of it i was really hurt then i looked it up and realized yeah there are only kids left on earth, but that's about it when it comes to similarities. Still people think its similar, and the way i think of it Great! let it be similar because if people like that book then they will probably like mine.
I definitely agree with you there, Zoombie. My hope is a tad crushed though, so I'll put Poppies on the backburner to see if anything more unique comes to mind for the story.
Though I have a question for everyone out there. I have been thinking about this lately. Is contemporary YA still a popular genre or is this the era of supernatural/paranormal genres?
I don't really see a lot of advertisement for contemporary YA as opposed to supernatural and dystopian.
Though I have a question for everyone out there. I have been thinking about this lately. Is contemporary YA still a popular genre or is this the era of supernatural/paranormal genres?
I don't really see a lot of advertisement for contemporary YA as opposed to supernatural and dystopian.
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The more you read, the more you realise it's impossible to be original. I was just reading the Iron Witch yesterday, where the heroine's first meeting with her love interest happens on the roof, when she's trying to get some air, and the love interest is green-eyed (like amazingly green-eyed) and golden haired.
Guess what happens in my WiP? Thankfully, the situations are very different, and damnit, I'm keeping that scene.
Guess what happens in my WiP? Thankfully, the situations are very different, and damnit, I'm keeping that scene.
My 17th birthday was ruined when my mom gave me the Maximum Ride series... I cried the whole day because i thought the series was just like mine. 5 years of writing and dreams i was going to flush down the drain when i finally decided to read the book.... Its nothing like my series THANKFULLY!
That's very true. It is harder nowadays to be orginial, but people are so quick to compare a popular book or series to another book when it comes to reviewing.
One similar scene wouldn't bother me that much. I might not even notice. I've read THE IR0N WITCH, but probably wouldn't have spotted the similarity.
Honestly, some books are so strikingly similar to others that you wonder if the author kept the first book open on the desk as they wrote. Not to keep trashing HAV3N, which was no worse than dozens of others, but if you leave out the visions, the plot goes like this:
On her first day at her new school, the new girl encounters an incredibly gorgeous guy who is instantly and inexplicably fascinated by her. All the girls lust after him, but he has no time for anybody else. He is very pale, and his skin is icy cold. He can read minds. He carries her around in his arms. He can move supernaturally fast, covering miles in seconds. Oh, and he's a vampire. An immortal vampire. Who keeps repeating high school. And they can't have sex because he might snap and kill her at any moment.
How do you even begin to review that book without engaging with such a huge and central problem? You just can't.
HALO was sort of like that, but the other way round. I loved the book until the FMC got together with the MMC and promptly seemed to forget her mission. I don't know if I'm going to buy the sequel or not.
I guess everyone is kind of following a template. For Nocturnal Poppies, the concept of melas oneiros or a living nightmare are introduced into the series. They induce fear into their victims while they have nightmares, awaken them with illusions, and literally scare them to death while feeding off of their fear. Everything was basically based off of Greek mythology with creatures like the melas oneiros and gods such as Hypnos, Morpheus, and the Oneiroi making appearances.
So what exactly was the guy in Haven? Was he a vampire or something else?
So what exactly was the guy in Haven? Was he a vampire or something else?
The one from HAV3N was a vampire. Unfortunately.
I like the idea of living nightmares that feed off fear. Kind of like succubi, but less R-rated and a whole lot less fun.
I like the idea of living nightmares that feed off fear. Kind of like succubi, but less R-rated and a whole lot less fun.
You just made me spit out my water, LMAO. Demons draining people of their lives through sexual dreams is a whole lot more fun, huh? I tried to stray away from that idea because then it would support as that trope, "Oh, no. Don't touch me. I will rape you and drain you in your dreams. Stay away from me! No, wait. Where are you going? I LOOOVE YOU! Let me touch you."
I liked the idea of having living nightmares that brought a person's nightmares to reality through illusions.
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At the moment, YA paranormal and YA dystopian are still blockbuster huge, but other genres are still selling, just more quietly. I've heard editors are starting to look for more contemporary - a lot of agents have mentioned that over the last year or so. There's certainly a market for YA contemporary, it's just not a seven-figure deal, sold at auction, film rights optioned market. But the massive deal is pretty rare even in the blockbuster genres.
I've heard about Halo. Isn't that the story that was written by a seventeen-year-old girl or something like that?
Parametric: That's good. I think they need to start concentrating on contemporary YA again. I remember a time where contemporary YA was the thing that filled the shelves and paranormal books weren't selling as much. Now it seems like it's the other way around except I miss reading about reality!
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Living nightmares that feed off fear... Monsters Inc! Love that movie. Can't wait for the sequel!
I've never touched the Maximum Ride series, because I heard it was soulless. It's a pity, though, because I liked the character of Max when she was introduced in the author's adult fiction. It was actually a really sweet book.
I've never touched the Maximum Ride series, because I heard it was soulless. It's a pity, though, because I liked the character of Max when she was introduced in the author's adult fiction. It was actually a really sweet book.
I LOVE THAT FILM. Is there seriously going to be a sequel.
I've read the book she was introduced in (what was it called again?). It's a really good book. Mum loves his stuff.
I'm just saying, if you have to die, it might as well be pleasant.
Ah, I didn't realise we were talking about the love interest. Yes, an incubus would be a bit tricky.
I think you'd have to be pretty careful to avoid making it really problematic. (Evil mens with their uncontrollable urges, preying on the innocent womens! Ladies, resist your sinful thoughts!) But I'm sure a love interest who feeds off your terror wouldn't be a barrel of laughs either.
GAH! There goes my hope being scattered, LMAO. Granted, my living nightmares don't have to power an entire world!
Lisa: I've been wanting to read Halo lately. So many angel books out there. I've already read Fallen and Hush, Hush. Would you recommend it?
I gave up on HAL0. It wasn't markedly worse than similar titles, but it was pretty forgettable, I thought. (I do like some books, I swear!)
It depends how much you're into soppiness. I recommend borrowing a copy or buying a cheap copy.
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