I like what you said about Harry Potter being written by someone other than J.K. Rowling. You’re exactly right – the story would not have been the same without her! She is one of a kind. 🙂

I ca imagine other benefits as well. Write the story first.

Interesting point, Rin. I guess it all depends on what the writer’s end goal is. If the main goal is to get published by a traditional publisher and sell lots of books, then I totally agree with you… Some of those trends are over and like it or not writers have to accept the fact that some ships have sailed.
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On the other hand, if the writer just wants to write a story that he or she loves, why not? I often tell my students, it’s not just about publication, it’s about finding the right home for your work. If that home happens to be a publishing house, fantastic! But sometimes that home might be a small literary magazine. Or a college alumni bulletin. Or a blog. Or maybe just an impromptu poetry reading in your living room with friends. The important thing is that writers share their work with the world.
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In the end it’s about finding a balance between being aware of what the market is doing, but also not shackling yourself to it. After all, trends can pass but eventually they can cycle back.

Great point! And that was great advice that you gave, Satia. No amount of analyzing “the market” or trying to anticipate the next new trend can replace good old BIC (butt in chair). When you struggle with your ideas on the page, they go from being amorphous blogs out in the ether to being concrete words you can work with. As I often tell my students: you can do just about anything with writing, but you can’t revise a blank page. Getting those words on the page is the first step to uncovering a project that truly sings.

A year later I returned to the same conference and the same woman was there saying the same thing. I guess she either didn’t trust my words or trust her voice or maybe she simply wasn’t ready to actually do the writing, more enamored with the idea of being a writer than she was prepared to do the work that being a writer demanded. Or worse–she doesn’t have faith in her talent.

I’ve had many ideas that I tried to make work on paper that refused to work. I don’t know if it is because I lacked talent or was trying too hard to make the idea work when it wasn’t strong enough to do so. Regardless, even my failed attempts are attempts, pages and pages of words that add up to actual writing and not merely ideas that hang in the void.