Q&A with Josh Lanyon discussion
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Writing Questions for Josh
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This? Is justifiable. LOL
There are things I don't like and I may have contributed to that list, but I always say "never say never". As a RULE, ..."
Which is why every book is not for every reader and if you read those lists and take them seriously you will go stark raving bonkers.
I mean, those lists are fun to contribute to. I'm not taking anything away from the community entertainment of putting together lists!
But the thing about romance is every single reader has her or his personal preferences. I mean look at how many readers mentally transform Jake into having dark hair? As a reader I have a zillion preferences, including the kinds of names I like and the jobs I want characters to hold down. :-D I don't want children in a book and I hate babies, I don't like ex-cons, I hate knitting!!!!! (which is why I find this knitting thing so funny), I hate truck drivers, I hate prisons, I hate too much angst, too much sex, too much too much.
And any writer who changes one word of their work because of what I like or don't like? I hate that! :-D
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And any writer who changes one word of their work because of what I like or don't like? I hate that! :-D"
Oh. My. God. You are KILLING me! That's too funny... TOO MUCH fun! :)
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I wonder if this isn't a little bit of shame ta..."
I'm sure there is some of that. I think it could also be a reaction to books where there isn't enough plot to balance the sex scenes or where there are so many sex scenes that they become generic.
It seems like there are some readers who are absolutely, unequivocally reading for the smut. And that's okay! Why not?
I like erotic scenes too, but I want them to be meaningful and memorable. For me, it's quality over quantity.
Tharayn - thanks, that's the one I meant. :)josh - I'm funny, I can get along with pretty much anything, though I strongly dislike crying (if a character cries, the author must make it count) in my romances. Anything else? If the author is good, they can sell me anything, even things I hadn't considered or never imagined I'd find hot and or interesting,
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* Seeing characters falling in love, not just being told that Pooter is the hottest guy Bug has ever seen and he's nice to anim..."
:-D
This is a great list.
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And isn't that the truth. That is such a lovely way to put it, Aleks. :) I think we all agree with you.
And Aleks, take care, rest and get well soon, you hear!
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I love women characters who are "normal" and nice. Sure, the odd bitch is good, but not all.
I like kissing scenes and anticipation.
I like broken ster..."
Yes! Yes, and I read these lists and there's so much to agree with.
Maybe these are the universals?
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I like to read well researched story with intelligent writing. The references to art and culture always feel like a bonus!
I like reading realistic sex scenes. I lik..."
Oh yes. These are all key for me. I don't expect them, but when I find them, I'm delighted.
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Humour.
No underestimating of me as a reader, in other words, I can think for myself, you don't have to force feed me al..."
I wonder if the not-underestimating-me-as-a-reader is as common as it seems here? I think Kari makes a good point about generalizing about m/m readers. This is a genre where you do have extreme ends of the spectrum.
Josh wrote: "Maybe these are the universals? "Ha! No way. There are people who hate guys with cats. LOL
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Ditto.
Tam wrote: "I wonder if this isn't a little bit of shame talking. Everyone has looked down on romance readers for reading smut and trash. By saying "I don't like lots of sex" you are saying you aren't like those "other" readers. (While hiding your smut reading from others.) You are high minded and need plot, not porn. Whereas sometimes you just need some unadulterated (vs unadultery) boinking and a sex fest. If people said "hell yeah, I love reading hot sex" maybe there wouldn't be this outcry trying to prove that what we read is NOT smut or trash. And having a ton of hot sex in a book does not make it porn. Sure, sometimes it is purely erotica and has little to no plot, but the two are not mutually exclusive. ..."I like story and I like smut and I like porn. I will read/watch anything from Shakespeare to Lovethecock.com.
And I'm not ashamed to say so. :) Now I might get more out of Shakespeare, but it depends on my mood, eh?
Josh wrote: "Tam wrote: "Charming wrote: "Good point. For example I've seen a million complaints about "too much sex" but apparently books with more sex still sell better. "I wonder if this isn't a little bit..."
I'm finding the more I write, the more I'm tending toward getting away from the three-page erotic scene, and simply moving toward a very nice sexy, but subtle perhaps implied coupling. Sometimes I think the less said, the more arousing...let the reader fill in the blanks to their liking. No?
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..."
Pretty much the way I think, although it does depend on the story. The DG books are more pulpy, action-oriented, and more sex just seems right when I'm writing them.
Aleksandr wrote: "Tharayn - thanks, that's the one I meant. :)josh - I'm funny, I can get along with pretty much anything, though I strongly dislike crying (if a character cries, the author must make it count) in ..."
A good author can tell me almost any story they want, as long as it is done well, even stuff I usually would hate in real life.The same themes done bad, makes the story worse. So it does come down to the writing every time.
Take care of yourself Aleks, and get well soon.
Aleksandr wrote: "If the author is good, they can sell me anything, even things I hadn't considered or never imagined I'd find hot and or interesting, ..."This is why I have very few hard line in the sand dislikes. Yes I dislike D/s books. I like contemporary more than paranormal.
BUT I LOVED Duck! and Magpie by Kim Dare. They were so far OUT THERE but really strangely wonderful.
Aleksandr wrote: "Uhm. Please continue. Drugged author is drugged. ...."Author down, author down!!! Get him some reading material STAT!
Are you more likely or less likely to come up with plot ideas when drugged to the gills? Hmm...
I have cool ideas that end up being nonsensical and weird when I'm no longer drugged. But I can take the emotional experience - anger, helplessness, despair, or even the nice floaty ness I have now - and explore them. What do they feel like? How do they feel in my body? (Incursion is chock full of the sensation of my slipped disk, just obviously amplified and twisted.) so I'm an author who often steps outside of my current experience - whatever it is - and go "hmm, this is interesting, I need to remember that detail). Everything is material I can work with.
Aleksandr wrote: "I have cool ideas that end up being nonsensical and weird when I'm no longer drugged. But I can take the emotional experience - anger, helplessness, despair, or even the nice floaty ness I have now - and explore them. What do they feel like? How do they feel in my body? (Incursion is chock full of the sensation of my slipped disk, just obviously amplified and twisted.) so I'm an author who often steps outside of my current experience - whatever it is - and go "hmm, this is interesting, I need to remember that detail). Everything is material I can work with. ..."Sounds very much like an actor saving experiences to re-live them. Very cool.
Now that you say it.... Yep. I've described myself as a method acting type of writer several times. I steal from real life whenever I can. :) what else is it good for, hm? :)
Aleksandr wrote: "Now that you say it.... Yep. I've described myself as a method acting type of writer several times. I steal from real life whenever I can. :) what else is it good for, hm? :)"That's what I say!
Dev wrote: "I really want to read the book y'all are building here - a subtle, sexy, tender story about a shapeshifter and the cat he loves."You're all such . . . such . . . GIRLS! :-D
George wrote: "I'm finding the more I write, the more I'm tending toward getting away from the three-page erotic scene, and simply moving toward a very nice sexy, but subtle perhaps implied coupling. Sometimes I think the less said, the more arousing...let the reader fill in the blanks to their liking. No? "Of course.
BTW I went to check which writing George are you ;-) and found out that I gave 5 stars to your Continuum! Awesome book!
Josh wrote: "K.Z. wrote: "Heck, lately I've felt like a slouch because I don't write knitting-based stories! ;-) ..."
I don't get the joke!"
You don't get around much, do ya? ;-)
There's been a bumper crop in recent months of m/m stories based on and geared toward knitters. Don't ask.
Aleksandr wrote: "I have cool ideas that end up being nonsensical and weird when I'm no longer drugged. But I can take the emotional experience - anger, helplessness, despair, or even the nice floaty ness I have now..."Get well soon, dear Aleks!
Interesting bit about Incursion though... Not that I wish you drugged for more creativity, I think you are brilliant enough not drugged ;-).
K.Z. wrote: "There's been a bumper crop in recent months of m/m stories based on and geared toward knitters. Don't ask. ..."Knitting even cropped up lately in non-knitting themed m/m. I'm thinking WTF? It's just so unexpected, LOL.
But then there were llamas (a fiber animal) in Josh's Icecapade, but there they were in a neighboring farm.
Antonella - I've determined I'll treat this as the break I needed. Not that I have much choice, mind you. :)
Aleksandr wrote: "Antonella - I've determined I'll treat this as the break I needed. Not that I have much choice, mind you. :)"Good idea! I think our body has a way to tell us to slow down...
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I also like:
- enough darkness for spice, stopping short of despair
- lines from/references to Shakespeare woven in
- kissing
- elegant writing that respects the reader's intelligence
- beautiful book covers on beautiful books
- hot smart sex
Likes for me would be great characters that you really feel for and understand.Settings that are well described that are an integral part of the story.
Both of the above woven into a story that pulls me in and tugs me along to the end.
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Of course it's only really satisfying if the unfair character then grovels sufficiently. :-D
I know. I know. Totally goofy.
I would never have pegged you for a sap. :)
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Oh but I am! :-D
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Oh ouch! You have my total sympathy. At least you are getting good drugs, though. That's something.
Thank you for the kind words.
The Afghanistan story was Until We Meet Once More.
Johanna wrote: "Susinok wrote: "K.Z. wrote: ":-D Yeah, they did tend to go off on tangents. I skipped over that stuff and looked at the "what I don't like" lists. Holy cow, some people are put off by so many theme..."I think I'll be better off not venturing into that discussion and just write what I like writing, and hope readers like it, too.
A list of personal turn ons sounds a lot better than all the negativity.
Though... I do find it funny that they might say they hate certain tropes, and yet they keep buying the same books...
Susinok wrote: "Oh it's the usual crap. I don't like when a skinny guy tops, I don't like switching, I don't like..."Err... So... they want to get rid of stereotypes, but don't like the alternatives either *snorts*
Josh wrote: "And yet one of the major criticisms leveled at so much of m/m is that it reads like fan fiction. :-D "Exactly. There is good and bad to be found in both sorts of fiction, but now, because some ppl stumbled on some good fanfic, ALL m/m is now bad fiction? *sigh*
It's a good thing I've always loved writing gay romance, cause those comments might just make me stop...
Josh wrote: "ALL genre fiction is trope-heavy. Period.To bitch about tropes in genre fiction is like complaining about all the math in science.
It's one thing to personally tire of a particular trope. It's another to complain that genre fiction is too full of tropes. Yeesh. "
Good point. Not to mention that those tropes these people complain about are the same tropes people keep buying because they love them :D
I still think m/m is very diverse, with and without using certain tropes.
Antonella wrote: "Tam wrote: "I wonder if this isn't a little bit of shame talking. Everyone has looked down on romance readers for reading smut and trash. By saying "I don't like lots of sex" you are saying you are..."I have no problem with getting a lot of sex in a book, as long as 1) the book has a good plot as well, and 2) the sex isn't repetitive and has something to add to the story.
Aleksandr wrote: "Josh - might be the drugs talking (I threw out my back and am currently high as a kite - a redtailed one though - on Tramadol), but I adore you, your voice, your light-hearted way to speak reason...."Drugs or not, I wholeheartedly agree :)
Oh... What I like...I like mystery, fantasy, and magic.
I love it when writers take a theme that seems 'overdone' and then change it into something completely different.
I love little throwaway sentences that make me laugh out loud (and my men wonder what the F is wrong with me)
I love men, in all shapes and sizes. I love their quirks, their brashness, their humility. I love it even more when those men break 'rigid stereotypic conventions'.
I like 'bad characters' turning out to be not so bad (hey... I've always had a thing for Snape type characters... can't help it)
I love dark humour
I love strong women in m/m (though, please, don't be afraid to write her as a bitch when she is one)
Err...
I like reading themes/subjects that I never thought of reading before (within limits, because there are things I'll never read no matter how well they're written)
I love great and subtle worldbuilding
I think I could name many, many more...
Josh wrote: "You know what I love? I don't write it, but I love it when someone does it well. A story where one character is harshly unfair and judgemental (for what seems like truly valid reasons) of the other..."Oh, that one definitely makes for some nice tension between the characters!
And that's what I like to read in stories: the tension. It's the reason why I don't get stories where the characters meet, have sex at page 20 and the rest of the book is a narration of their everyday life.
In addition to all that has been mentioned already (the good writing, real, intelligent characters, worldbuilding etc.) I'll admit to liking some of the so called tropes: enemies-to-lovers, friends-to-lovers, mistaken-identity (not so much a I used to), and yes, even the gay-for-you/out-for-you-trope. ;)
Oh, and the occasional closeted cop is a nice feature, too. :D
Just want to say that I really enjoyed reading everyone's fic 'turn-ons.' I was going to make a list myself, but so many people already touched on things that I love (and made me think of new ones I hadn't before) that I think I'll just sit back and enjoy reading what's posted instead.
What a refreshing change from that other thread I linked to. Thanks, everybody!
Writers and beta readers: Is it a good idea to tell someone doing beta on your story what your worries are as far as its flaws or weaknesses before they even read it? I guess I keep thinking it's like when someone points out a zit on their face and then that's all you can see when you would have never noticed it in the first place. :-D
"Josh wrote: "Heck, lately I've felt like a slouch because I don't write knitting-based stories! ;-) ..."I don't get the joke!"
K.Z. wrote: You don't get around much, do ya? ;-)
There's been a bumper crop in recent months of m/m stories based on and geared toward knitters. Don't ask. ..."
I have to ask - enlighten me.
Tina Kay wrote: "Writers and beta readers: Is it a good idea to tell someone doing beta on your story what your worries are as far as its flaws or weaknesses before they even read it? I guess I keep thinking it's..."
Tina your face looks fine from here.
I find it useful to know what a writer's insecurities are before I comment - although I tend to make up my own mind about what works and what doesn't
I’m not sure I’ve read enough M/M romance to be able to comment on what I like or don’t like. Heck I didn’t even know there was such a thing until a little while ago. I thought it all came under the general heading of gay fiction. But in terms of fiction generally I like it if I can’t see the seams. Dear author, if I can work out what you’re doing and where you’re going with this story then I will probably give up or flip to the last page/chapter to see if I’m right. You’re also going to have to do a fair amount of work to immerse me in this fictional world so if it’s winter I do want to have
“stumbled blind into some province of drenching cold, a berg of death. Everything was in question now.”
or on rooftop in a city called Al Tafar where
‘For four days we had crawled along the rooftop grit. We slipped and slid on a carpeting of loose brass casings left over from the previous days’ fighting. We curled ourselves into absurd shapes and huddled below the whitewashed walls of our position. We stayed awake on amphetamines and fear’...
I will need to see your characters not as characters but as real people with problems and stuff coming at them (method acting is fine if it’s done convincingly).
A boy with a suitcase stumbling off a bus into a South Wales mining community, except the mine closed years ago…and there’s a beggar at the bus-top ‘not waiting for anything in particular’...
or
A man on an airfield in Germany waiting for one plane to land – just this particular plane not the others ‘I don’t have time to count them. I’m normally counting the empty spaces. The absences. But I never count them in his Staffel...
or
A man in a phone box in Devon where ‘the wet-dark road was wide and empty’... and he’s praying that someone the other side of the Atlantic will answer the phone…
Then you’ve got me author. I’m all yours.
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Thank you for the recommendation, Antonella. That one went straight into my to-read list. :)
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Q&A with Josh Lanyon
Books mentioned in this topic
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As Meat Loves Salt (other topics)
The Well of Loneliness (other topics)
The Selfish Gene (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Julie Smith (other topics)Bernard Cornwell (other topics)
Robin McKinley (other topics)
Tove Jansson (other topics)
Astrid Lindgren (other topics)
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LOL! Yeah!
Anyone?? *looks around at all the authors, hopefully*
But WAIT. Do you mean a romance between the shifter and his cat??
Cuz that...would um...no thanks.