I’m not one to follow trends. I like writing in directions that are not over-saturated and that suit the stories that I have in me to tell. Other writers want to find what’s hot and go there to add to the diversity of the trend. I say, whatever works for you (and your readers).
What’s funny to me is that trends are not easy to calculate - you just know when you’re in the middle of them. Take Dystopian YA - Scott Westerfeld had a jump on that type of story, but it took Suzanne Collins to bust it wide open. Now, it’s a whole sub-genre of YA. And we can all tell the tale of Vampire fiction, I’m sure...
So what is the next big trend in YA going to be? Well, that’s hard to say - but I have seen signs in the unpublished world that paranormals where characters can communicate with animals seem to be on more than a few minds. Whether or not it’s a trend that editors will buy is another issue.
I just want to know - where is the hard Sci-fi? Where are the mysteries? There are a lot more places for YA to go that just haven’t been widely visited yet. I’m excited to see what the future holds. Sometimes I think fiction can be like a Field of Dreams - "If you build it, they will come."
What do you think? What do you see trending now and what do you wish you could see more of?
Hugs,
Heather
www.heatherdavisbooks.com
Wherever You Go - Harcourt November 2011
The Clearing - Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Never Cry Werewolf - HarperTeen
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4 comments:
Heather, here's my prediction: it will surprise us. It seems to me that The Next Big Thing starts with great talent and passion, with a story that simply HAS to be told. It ends up blowing the readers and critics away, and suddenly creating a need for more.
So my guess is that somewhere, someone is quietly creating the work that's going to set the next trend. The question is...who? Someone established? Someone brand new? It'll be fun to find out!
That said, I'd love to see more mysteries, and humor and romance are always a plus!
I have to ditto Tina--I was thinking about this one a lot, and I know what I like to read, and I know what inspires me, but they're already things that I like and know, so I don't think I'll know the next WOW, until I read it...or until somebody else tells me to read it. ;)
...Rethinking a little more--I'm kind of new to the dystopian stuff, but I think vampires and monsters are classic RE-trends--Twilight reminded me of what I USED to LOVE to read...I was reading L.J. Smith, Christopher Pike, and R.L. Stine back in the early '90s--and Dracula was written, what almost a hundred years before that?
One of my college profs made a comment that stuck with me (among others)--We were talking about movies, but I think it applies--he noticed a trend different of "scary" movies popping up during times of fear in society---Aliens during the '50s/'60s, horror during the '70s, cancer movies during the '80s (Terms of Endearment, Steel Magnolias, Dying Young), and most recently the vampire/zombie/werewolves/dystopian/angels.--I guess now that I look at it, there's always something going on...He explained it better.
I feel like there might be some more Alien stuff coming back--I AM Number Four, and Cowboys&Aliens.
I personally am drawn to a lot of mythology and fairy tale re-tellings...
But in the end, I keep going back to my favorites...I would love to find some good/new fantasy and adventure stuff--my favorites are Tamora Pierce--female knights, and interestingly enough, a half-human/half-god-child who can talk to the animals and shape-shift--and that was at least 10 years ago
--and L.A. Meyer's Bloody Jack books, full of swash-buckling adventures and pirates...
I agree with Nymfaux, that I think we are going to see more aliens on the way. :)
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