the protagonist as author rant

[trailofstars]

Every year I make it a point to read anywhere from 2-6 horror anthologies (generally published within the last four years, though I will read older ones on occasion.) Some of it is professional interest--seeing what folks in the field are doing. And I like to support the editors who put these together. I worry that skilled editors are in the

Comments

[jtglover]

Hear hear! I think sometimes people mistake the past flood of stories along these lines for license--nay, encouragement--to do the same. And you're right: it's tiring. If you're doing a variation on a theme, there should be some variation. If you're doing (or trying to do) something original, why not throw in a protagonist who will be inherently interesting? I'm always interested to hear what people do, whether it's drywall installation, banking at the Fed, or crisis counseling. It can all be interesting, and, as you say, you're fighting an uphill battle trying to distinguish your own story from other writer-as-protagonist stories.

[trailofstars]

It also makes me wonder if one isn't limiting the potential audience reach. Are authors that interesting to people who are not authors themselves? I have a friend who used to enjoy reading horror (and she is not, never has been and has no interest in writing herself) but has ceased searching new work out in large part because of this. Ironically, she finds more satisfaction in horror movies, which despite their reputation for cliche actually offer a pretty diverse character set (once you get by the endless remakes.) The horror fiction market is overcrowded as it is, it is difficult for an "outsider" to find new material they might be interested in, and this incessant navel-gazing turns potential new fans away. I'm not saying the genre needs to go generic and appeal to everyone, but it definitely needs more diversity from its characters, I think

[docsrock]

Yeah, but what if the protagonist is a writer who...gets eaten by a bear?