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Author Topic: Geek Girl: Romancing the Paranormal Stone  (Read 7530 times)

The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers

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Geek Girl: Romancing the Paranormal Stone
« on: March 17, 2006, 12:06:59 PM »
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Nessa

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Re: Geek Girl: Romancing the Paranormal Stone
« Reply #1 on: March 17, 2006, 12:49:01 PM »
Yeah, I read one of the Luna fantasy books (I didn't realize it was a Harlequin imprint when I picked it up at the library until half-way through the book). Although slightly better than regular romance books, it was still bad. Bad for the genre of speculative fiction in general. The magic system was incoherent, the plot confused and contrived, and the sex...well...waaaaaayyyyy too graphic.

Steer away from reading this stuff, people, much less writing it.
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Skar

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Re: Geek Girl: Romancing the Paranormal Stone
« Reply #2 on: March 17, 2006, 01:07:02 PM »
But surely you could write a paranormal/fantasy novel that had a Romance as the main plot but didn't engage in the bad things Fish listed, or at least did them well instead of badly.  You'd probably become an instant best seller in the genre.
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Nessa

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Re: Geek Girl: Romancing the Paranormal Stone
« Reply #3 on: March 17, 2006, 01:12:27 PM »
Decent bestselling romance 'paranormal' writer: Diana Gabaldon (true, there's sex, but not as explicit as other books) and Marion Zimmer Bradley, and Robin McKinley.

Other very good 'paranormal' romantic-like writers less well known include Judith Merkle Riley...um, I'll have to think if there are others. There aren't many.

But the whole point of these romance books is the sex, so it's difficult to become a best-selling romance novelist without all that stuff. There just isn't such a large market for it.  Unless you're writing for the LDS market, but a lot of that stuff isn't well written, either.
« Last Edit: March 17, 2006, 01:31:18 PM by MrsNessaC »
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fuzzyoctopus

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Re: Geek Girl: Romancing the Paranormal Stone
« Reply #4 on: March 17, 2006, 01:14:25 PM »
Quote

Steer away from reading this stuff, people, much less writing it.


Unless, you know, you're one of the thousands of people who actually LIKE it.
Sorry, I'm trying to find a non-flame-starting way that expresses my annoyance with your phrasing that as an imperative. I must have gotten up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.  I like those kinds of books. Well, some of them.  Catherine Asaro, for example, writes lovely romance sci-fi.
« Last Edit: March 17, 2006, 01:15:20 PM by fuzzyoctopus »
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Nessa

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Re: Geek Girl: Romancing the Paranormal Stone
« Reply #5 on: March 17, 2006, 01:15:30 PM »
I meant the graphic stuff that's written like crap (the Luna book I read was "The Compass Rose" if you're wondering, Fuzzy).  I was saying don't read or write the kind of stuff that Fish delineates in her article.

And I haven't heard of Asaro, so I may need to check her out.
« Last Edit: March 17, 2006, 01:20:30 PM by MrsNessaC »
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Mister M

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Re: Geek Girl: Romancing the Paranormal Stone
« Reply #6 on: March 17, 2006, 01:28:17 PM »
Asaro writes some good stuff, and she has some really fun worldbuilding. (I love her world where all politics are determined by playing quis, which sounds like the most complicated game ever invented. Thus, the perfect game for politicians.) I read some of her stuff back in high school, and I consider it to be more "SF with romantic elements" than "romance with SF elements."
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Skar

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Re: Geek Girl: Romancing the Paranormal Stone
« Reply #7 on: March 17, 2006, 01:47:13 PM »
I am reminded again of the romance novelist who insisted on being given membership in SFWA because she had written a cookie cutter romance that took place on Earth, Mars, and Venus (as opposed to America, Britain, and France).  It caused quite a stink until she was finally denied membership because she'd gotten the planets in the wrong order from the sun.
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Nessa

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Re: Geek Girl: Romancing the Paranormal Stone
« Reply #8 on: March 17, 2006, 01:52:43 PM »
Skar, that is pretty dang funny.

Edit: So I was reading up on Asaro, and the difference between her and many speculative fiction romance writers is that she actually has science degrees. See, we just need intelligent people writing this stuff (not necessarily with B.S. degrees, but I'm sure you get my point). I'm sure Fish qualifies  ;)
« Last Edit: March 17, 2006, 01:55:34 PM by MrsNessaC »
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The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers

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Re: Geek Girl: Romancing the Paranormal Stone
« Reply #9 on: March 17, 2006, 02:09:37 PM »
Because it sounds like it will frustrate you, I'm going to go read all the Anita Blake novels I can find.
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Nessa

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Re: Geek Girl: Romancing the Paranormal Stone
« Reply #10 on: March 17, 2006, 02:17:05 PM »
You do that, and it won't be me who gets frustrated.
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The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers

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Re: Geek Girl: Romancing the Paranormal Stone
« Reply #11 on: March 17, 2006, 02:20:39 PM »
it will when I gush about them.
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Fellfrosch

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Re: Geek Girl: Romancing the Paranormal Stone
« Reply #12 on: March 17, 2006, 02:35:26 PM »
You can tell a soap opera because of the print quality. Most of them are made on very cheap video rather than film, so the picture looks different. That's not what you were going for, but I had to mention it.
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Mad Dr Jeffe

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Re: Geek Girl: Romancing the Paranormal Stone
« Reply #13 on: March 17, 2006, 03:34:27 PM »
Soap operas are compelling because of scene length.

No seriously, every scene is like a self contained short story, completely independent of another, the fact that they build upon each other is inconseqential, because its told in such a way that the viewer becomes a participant in the scene. When the scene cuts, for a commercial or what not theres a sense of completeness as well as one of suspense.

Also the camera tends to be more focused on the actors and their reactions and less on the cruddy sets, there are a lot of closeups which are more personal and frankly more likely to draw you in.

As for Paranormal Romance,... you mean poorly written Vampire softcore porn right? That seems to be the Paranormal trend right now.
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Re: Geek Girl: Romancing the Paranormal Stone
« Reply #14 on: March 17, 2006, 03:46:14 PM »
Quote
As for Paranormal Romance,... you mean poorly written Vampire softcore porn right? That seems to be the Paranormal trend right now.

Hmm, why am I suddenly reminded of the Spanish cover for Elantris? ;)
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