Post #2

Thinking about genre this week has been interesting.  As someone who subscribes to and enjoys working within rigid genre constraints, I find myself a bit torn.  As much as I basically do subscribe to the ideas of genre fiction, I have always been most excited by anything that blends the science fiction and fantasy genres, and that's what I've been planning to do for this class.  These two genres have been blended thousands of times by now, so I admit I am covering familiar ground.  Ultimately though, I think that's where the appeal lays for me.  The stories I loved as a kid are something that I value above almost everything else, and i truly want to be able to connect with kids of the future with my own writing, so they can feel the same elation I did.  That's what my writing is about.

Keeping this in mind, a lot of my work is influenced by science fiction.  I love the setting of outer space, and all of the inherent possibilities it implies.  That said, there are a lot of conventions within the actual writing of the genre that do not really hold my interest as much.  Almost all fiction has elements that seem politically minded, but Science Fiction is among the least subtle, with its plot sometimes being a direct allegory to real world trends or events.  This kind of narrative is too heavy handed for my taste, and while advocating social change is important, its not an area where I am a particularly strong writer.  The furthest into this realm I will go is to make sure my characters offer positive portrayals of American minorities, especially women.  I consider myself a strong proponent of modern feminism, and I enjoy applying that influence to my writing, but as for things like critiques of capitalism, I find myself not as interested in making those themes a pivotal part of my stories.  In fact, I find I draw quite a bit of influence from another genre.

I've learned a long time ago that the character arc driven plots of the fantasy genre, with it's multiple characters and deep, rich back stories, are something that I really do love when I try to create a fictional world.  The themes of adventure, friendship,and perseverance are what really stick with me when I look to writing, and so these, more than anything else, are what I want to write about.