To Theme or Not to Theme

[lydamorehouse]

Just FYI, my alter ego posted a blog over at SF Novlists today on my take on anthologies called "To Theme or Not to Theme."

The question I ask there, I'd also like to ask here. Themed anthologies are becoming quite popular among the paranormal romance reading set. What do you think of them? Are you a short story reader in general? What do you think might account for the sudden popularity of these kinds of anthologies?

Oh, [insert shameless plug here], if you *do* like them, I have a short story called "Fire and Ice and Linguine for Two" now available in Many Bloody Returns edited by by Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner (Ace Hardcover, Sept. 2007, 978-0441015221).

P.S. In case it's not obvious with the vampire theme and whatnot, the story of Tate's takes place in the Garnetverse.  Actually, it happens AFTER the book that's not out yet, but there are no spoilers for book #3.

Comments

[la-luna-llena.livejournal.com]

I have nothing to say about themes. I just wanted to get all fangirl on you and say that Dead Sexy is very amusing, and providing lots of stress relief at a time of high family drama.

[lydamorehouse]

I'll always take compliments! Thanks!

[holy-toledo.livejournal.com]

Uh... well... *cough* I haven't *cough* liked an anthology since Marion Zimmer Bradley's Sword and the Sorceress. Anthologies on the whole, especially romance anthologies, have... often disappointed me. That is to say you buy the whole damn book and only one story in it was actually worth reading.

I am, however, looking forward to reading Many Bloody Returns when I get home. ;)

-Mel

[lydamorehouse]

Cool. I totally understand what you're saying about the spottiness. That's often my problem too. It's not that the other stories are necessarily bad, but I sometimes have to be in the right mood for the right "voice" or "tone," you know? It's kind of whiplash to go from humorous to silly to romantic sometimes, even if its connected by a theme.

[technocracygirl.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the shameless plug -- I had no idea this anthology was out. It must be mine!

[lydamorehouse]

Hooray! You just made me feel so much better... I feel kind of slimy doing these kinds of things. Of course, I totally forgot to mention that the story takes place in Tate's Garnetverse.

[xochiquetzl]

It sounds like the word "shameless" is a lie, then.

We're all here for the Lyda, you know. We want to know about this sort of thing. Remind us six or seven times. ;)

[lydamorehouse]

Shameful self-promotion doesn't quite have the same ring to it, I guess. :-)

[xochiquetzl]

LOL!

I've decided that I'm going to use the term "attention whoring" instead of "self-promotion" in regards to my own work. It's much more accurate in my case.

[morgan-dhu.livejournal.com]

I'm quite definitely fine with themed anthologies - I own quite a few (and once Many Bloody Returns is available in paperback, I'll have one more than whatever number I'll have before it comes out - when you live in a household that buys in excess of 300 books a year, and you're not rich, you have to economise somewhere).

I also enjoy anthoglogies that aren't so strongly themed, although when you come down to it, there is some kind of connection in all anthologies, it's just not necessarily one that's obviously imposing a framework of interpretation on the reader - even a "Year's Best" anthology has the unacknowledged context of being written in a similar time, so the reader can suppose a common context of historical events for the writers.

Even though I do have a preference for themed anthologies, what really makes or breaks an anthology, when you come right down to it, is the skill and judgement of the editor(s). A really great editor will ensure that there is a kind of flow, a sense of congruence, even if the authors, sujbect matters, themes and styles of the writers are very diverse and there is no apparent theme. A really great editor generally is able to put together a collection of stories in which the reader to whom the anthology is marketed is not going to find that there's really only one or two stories that really speak to her in the anthology, but rather, that there are likely only one or two that don't.

Not too long ago I wrote a little post about anthologies in my book journal. The essence of my observations about my relationship with short stories would be that while I sometimes read so many novels that I forget about the existence of short stories, there are very special delights to be found in the short form, and I need to remember not to deny myself those pleasures, becasue they are worth the having.

[lydamorehouse]

Cool post. And you mentioned the Wyrdsmiths' anthologies!

[xochiquetzl]

I bought one of them because you told me I needed it. I trust your judgment.

[morgan-dhu.livejournal.com]

I'm flattered and honoured.

[hutch0.livejournal.com]

I rather like themed anthologies; it's interesting to see how different authors tackle a common subject.
Having said that, on the odd occasion that I've tried to write a story for one, my brain's locked up. The last time was an anthology about AI and more or less the only thing my story had in common with the theme was a character using the words `artificial intelligence.' It didn't sell, natch.

[lydamorehouse]

Yeah, see, this is what usually happens to me -- especially when I see cool ones advertised in various market resource lists.

[hutch0.livejournal.com]

Oh thank god, I thought it was just me.

[xochiquetzl]

I love short stories. I'm a hopeless Tiptree fangrrl, so I have to be.

As for theme anthologies, it all depends on the anthology. I can't really generalize beyond that.

themes

[la-luna-llena.livejournal.com]

I thought about this question some more. When I think about it, anthologies definitely get you more exposure to people who will want to read more of your work. There's an author, who seems to rarely publish, who I still watch out for because of a short story of his I read over 10 years ago.

From a writing perspective, it gives you a chance to try something new and maybe be inspired. At first you think "dinosaurs and peanut butter?" But then your brain says, "OMG! Dinosaurs and peanut butter! I have the perfect story for that!"

[bibliofile.livejournal.com]

I usually prefer reading novels to short stories, but anthologies are a good way to check out writers while making a smaller investment. I'll probably check out this anthology, but that's partly because I already like the worlds that you and Kelley Armstrong create.

Even for authors I love, I don't read collections as much as longer, single-volume works. Sometimes that's the only way to see their work, though (cf. Kelly Link), so I cope -- somehow.

[epi-lj.livejournal.com]

I don't mind collections with broad genres, like "The Year's Best Mysteries," or something like that, but I don't generally like very tight themes, because I get really bored of the theme by the end.