Do you write from your heart despite the odds that the subject matter isn't a very popular genre but you just HAVE to get it down on paper? Or do you create stories because you know it's a really popular subject (say, vampires) even though you would rather write about, say, robots? I'm curious about the answers
I tend to stay on the edge; I don't try to pick subjects based on popularity, but I don't pick them because they AREN'T popular either. I strive for concepts that I can personally relate to in hopes that someone else out there can relate as well. My personal anxiety disorders formed a story about paranoia. My growing dissatisfaction with working jobs I despised form a story about a revolution. I think that most good writers try to find things that they enjoy writing about, and not just what they can profit from. There is the case, however, with many good writers just trying to make money now that they've established themselves (lots of popular modern novelists are accused of this).
I write from my heart. I'm having to do a forced writing for my creative writing class and it's turning out awful because I just don't like the story. At the same time I'm doing an expirament where I started with a scene and now I'm following the character without any concrete idea of where the story will go, and it's turning out to be great fun. Out of the two I think that the second one would have more appeal to any audience because it's just better, and I have no doubt that the plot will turn out to be the perfect balance of realistic randomness and structure. Also, the stories you like are the ones you finish, so by definition they are more likely to be loved by others.
I write from the heart because it doesn't limit what I have to write about. Also, I hate the idea of writing something I'm not very comfortable writing just to please others.
Heart. Not much of a point if I can't have fun with it . Besides, just about everything that gets published gets some degree of popularity. Who says Robots aren't popular? And It's not like writing about vampire makes something an instant hit. Whether a subject is popular or not won't make it better or worse. It tends to be the writing and the presentation, not the subject matter, that determine how good something is.
I think if people were writing just what's popular then everyone would be writing romance novels...the ones with Fabio on the cover.
I write what interests me. It's not really something in my heart. It's just something that I either can relate to or think is cool. At this point in my life, I feel like I NEED to get things down on paper. But it's not because I'll feel a void in my life emotionally, but rather, I know that I'll kick myself for years for not perfecting the skill of writing. MONEY. That's where I feel my need for writing. I enjoy typing and I enjoy entertaining. But I also enjoy money and I have a huge respect for the fact that it keep me alive.
I agree with laimtoe. The only time I think I write from the heart is when I write poetry. When I write stories, it is from my imagination. A cool idea that I must create. I must write it down and experience the world I create.
I write very strange, abstract things which are the direct product of my mind and heart. Whether anyone else is capable of enjoying them is beyond my concern. I write for fun, and for myself.
I apparently write from my heart because it seems nobody out there is much interested in reading several-hundred-thousand-word stories based on Ojibwa mythology. And I hate vampires.
I write what appeals to me. If other people like it too, that's just a bonus, albeit a big one. I've never (yet) submitted anything for publication, and there's a lot of my writing that I've never posted or shared (admittedly mostly only partially-finished pieces and writing experiments). Would I write a novel that I didn't think would appeal to others besides myself? Probably not. A novel is just too much work for that. But neither will I tailor a story to maximize its mass appeal. For example, I wouln't jjust throw in a sex scene so people would dog-ear page 288 (two gross ) and keep flipping back to it for a salacious thrill.
I write in the thriller genre not because its somewhat popular, but just because I, by nature, write thriller stories. If I tried, I'd have difficulty writing a story in another genre. A big part of this was that I've been reading thriller novels almost exclusively since I've been 11 or so and I started reading them right around the same time the quality of my writing started to progress, so I got stuck in a "thriller-writing" mindset kind of thing because everything I learned came from the thriller novels I read.
D: Noooes! I wanted the robot vampires as president! DX ...Ah, I write from the heart, mostly--sometimes I end up writing something I love writing that was throwing a tantrum about not being written sooner, and it turns out to be a ridiculously popular thing, ya' know? Then I might get bored with it and it throws a few more tantrums, but why write what you don't like? *realizes I just went off on a really, really, really redundant point* DX
I couldn't help but laugh at the topic title. Anyway, I write based on how I feel. Screw the popularity, I usually go against majority/society.
I'm so far out of the loop, I have no idea what's popular. It's kind of sad really. Coincidentally, there are vampires in my story. I guess I'm screwed. On topic: It really doesn't matter what's popular; you can always find a way to tailor it to your needs if you had to. If I were writing for profit, I would stay on top of the trends, even the ones I don't like. There's always a way to put your personal spin on it. My teachers in grade school loved that about my stories; I'd always take the prompt places they never expected it to be. Trends are meant to be shaped into something new. If no one pushed them in a new direction, where would we be right now?
"Popular" writing is not a genre. Popular writing is writing that is good. But as for your question, I write whatever I write. This "heart" thing you're talking about (which, I believe, refers to that metaphysical shape resembling Cupid's bow) I have none. So I write what stories are told to me. Then I try my best to communicate it. I'll show you what I mean after I do a couple reviews.
Yeah, I reckon I write strategically, as opposed to emotionally or from the heart, though aspects of the story may move me. If I wrote from the heart, I suspect my characters would overcome their troubles with the least bother, and, since I write thrillers, well, 'soft journeying' isn't particularly thrilling, in my opinion. On the other hand, I write with great passion, immersing myself 100% into my writing sessions. If this is your definition of writing from the heart, then yeah, I write completely from the heart. What am I really saying? There has to be a healthy level of objectivity to balance the weight of the subjective first drafting. Without this, the strategic reshaping of the work cannot be achieved to its full potential. Apologies if I've slipped off topic.
I like to think I write from the heart. I put a lot of myself into my characters and I hope that it makes the story more personal and relatable to my readers.
I've been writing since I can remember. My first shared work was in second grade, not that it was very good (or made very much sense.) I presented it to my class. I love writing so much, and I seem to have some sort of knack for it. I could care less if my work got published or if I got money for it or anything. What I care most about is sharing my completed works with the people who find them interesting. I love to hear reactions and get advice. Stories are my favorite thing. I certainly don't do it because it's popular, but the fact that it IS popular helps a bit, to be honest. If it wasn't so popular, it would be harder to find things like this forum, and ways to connect with other writers. Bouncing ideas off of one another is, in my experience, a great way to write and to improve. If writing was unpopular, a lot of us wouldn't get as far as we tend to do. I'm not saying this is true for everyone, but it certainly applies to me.
Yup, how else does one write? Nope, in general, there's no 'popular subject'. It's up to the author to make it what it is. Most of the time, it's not the subject that matters.
I really don't see how this is a serious question. If you are not writing from the heart, you should not be writing.
I do a little bit of both. I write romance novels because they sell. I'm working on a non-genre novel, because I want to tell that particular story. It may never sell, but that doesn't stop me from writing it. Does that mean I'm writing from the heart? I don't know, the phrase is so vague as to be nearly meaningless.
When I write something unfeasible,I relinquish and become waspish.I write solely when a title befits me and then it comes from my heart and soul.When you don't toil,then alter the title.
