Quote:
Originally Posted by Ralph Sir Edward
Set the WAYBAC machine to the 1950's. Look at the number of Science-Fiction writers who changed what they wrote to other genres because they could make a better living doing that. (And did S/F on the side until S/F sold enough for them to change back). Look at movie/TV writing credits from teh late 50's and 60's, for example.
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I agree with what you are saying and hope I did understand the point you were trying to make. Let me continue the thought process a little:
What you wrote is not a contradiction or even a surprise. Many of the back then SF authors might not have wanted to write science fiction or did not care what they wrote, but made sure that they told stories that people would want to read at the time. It works the other way around as well: If you want to write a certain genre (e.g. romance) and it does not sell at the time, you possibly could create a love-story in a science fiction setting. You could write about how your robot-mistress cheated on you with your neighbors robot-toy-dog or somesuch. Sorry though, if I come up with ideas it all turns into a sarcastic comedy. That is why I am not a writer
. And besides, cyber-cheating is not actually that much of science fiction any more, it does exist. With time it will be even harder to come up with
unique ideas for new technology to put into science fiction stories. Unless you want it to sound like a copy of this sucessful author or that one. Plus some of what was science fiction decades ago is reality now.
It is perfectly fine for
any author to not wanting or beeing able to be flexible. If that unwillingness to write is hindering the author by not making as much money as in a different genre, then please don't complain about it. Unlike most other jobs out there a writer does have the option to write what he/she wants. If I don't like my job and would like to switch to a different job then I have that option as well - to a degree limited by my qualifications. The decision is going to be if I work to enjoy working making less money, or work a different job (genre for authors) that pays better, but I might not like as much.