All that talk about books we grew up with over on Carolyn’s blog had me in my library pulling Norton books and I’ve been reading them at night. Just finished Shadow Hawk and am already 1/3 of the way through Star Rangers.
What a joy….Pure, simple story-telling about compelling characters and situations that celebrate the human spirit and achievements.
One thing that came up at a SteamPunk panel at RadCon is the sense readers are getting that “regular” SF is soooo pessimistic. Well, I don’t know who they’re reading, but I fear there might be a problem that a lot of “entry level” SF might well be. Where are the Nortons and Heinleins of this generation? Have I missed something?
I have no illusions that I could fill such shoes, but you know…a part of me really wants to try writing something…simpler. I’m not so sure about short fiction, but I’m beginning to wonder if I have some YA in me.
Hmmmm….
I’ll keep you posted….
Norton is, as you say, about “pure, simple story telling about compelling characters and situations that celebrate the human spirit and achievements.” Of course you can do that. You have already done it Just delete the sex scenes and one or two plot twists.
. I like Norton as much now as I did when I was ten, and it is because she does what you say, and that kind of story is appealing for the ages, and to all ages. In fact, it is the kind of story W. Faulkner said all writers should be trying to write. http://www.rjgeib.com/thoughts/faulkner/faulkner.html, in case you don’t have it handy.
I think the current writers who write pessimistically are like Joe Abercrombie, who is trying to turn the epic fantasy quest on its end by defeating all the reader’s assumptions and expectations with ugliness and misery. [I've been going on and on about this over at S. - it is a peeve of mine at the moment] He’s doing it because so much crappy epic fantasy quest books have been written and people are so bored with them and don’t really like to read about yet another wise and kindly magician, a mysterious youth, a quest and a beautiful princess saving the world.
But I think Abercrombie failed as an artist because all he wrote about was, in WF’s words, ” not of love but of lust, of defeats in which nobody loses anything of value, and victories without hope and worst of all, without pity or compassion. His griefs grieve on no universal bones, leaving no scars. He writes not of the heart but of the glands. ” I don’t care to read that kind of thing any more than I care to read the tepic JRRT imitators.
So yes, please, I think you can easily write such books [or with blood sweat and tears, but write them you can], and young people as well as old people will enjoy them.
I don’t know about the author you mention, or much of anyone else new! :D but that’s sure a great description, whoever it’s about! :D
There are story elements you can set on end because they are social assumptions, and there are story elements that are… sacrosanct… because they are human elements. Characters without their humanity aren’t very interesting, IMO. Some writers don’t seem to understand the difference.
People don’t buy books to be depressed. We need some rousing good YA stuff that’s about solutions to YA problems. And there”s certainly no shame in writing YA. I just don’t operate in that market.
Jane, we still need to discuss what was discussed during the Radcon panels you attended that I didn’t. That’s the trouble with such wealth to choose from — we end up at different discussions, like 2 ships passing in the night. Not to mention trying to connect with the many people we don’t get to see that often. I barely saw you two — and we were semi-sharing a room!
Of course, you could say the same thing about me.
Anyway, Inquiring Minds Want to Know what you learned at your panels!