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The problem with being a visionary is that you’re often not appreciated in your time, and the life span of a writer can be measured in dog years. If you miss your window of opportunity to spring your vision on the world, someone else will come up with a similar idea and you’ll look like a hack later.
As a novice novelist, is it better to be a hack or miss the fad completely?
I think I mentioned my EURIKA moment in the first post. It was about 2002 and I was reading a vampire novel written by a well-known author. In my opinion, the book was terrible. And since I was no stranger to creative writing and have a well-documented love dark fantasy (emphasis on vampires), I set out to create something special. I had a great idea, and vampires are always in style on the fringe.
The concept and outline came quick and easy, albeit slowly. Let’s face it, not everyone can drop their life and fulltime job. The five-page short story grew. Into my manuscript I poured every dark impulse, every twisted angle from the dark side of insanity, and LOTS of research into Romanian traditions.
And I named my creation ‘Immolate.’ I chose the name because every character would inevitably sacrifice something, be it their lives or their sanity… and by the end the world is set ablaze. Glorious.
And then it happened.
In 2005, Little, Brown and Company published Stephenie Meyer’s ‘Twilight.’ My dark and thrilling world suddenly tumbled out of the adult world and crash landed amongst the Tweens. In droves the Twi-hards stampeded from the hills, rallying around this rehashing of ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ and thoroughly trampling Bella Lugosi’s grave.
Suddenly, the word IMMOLATE reminded me less of my manuscript and more of Stephen King’s first novel (which he burned because he couldn’t get it published).
With this in mind, I have set out on a new endeavor, a novel of Biblical proportions with my unique outlook on the afterlife. Now I have to get a move on it before I have to be asked if I’ll tone it down for a younger audience.
Wish me luck.
Brad