What's your take on humorous stories with emotional touch.

Recently I read in a newspaper that the demand for dark fantasies and thrillers is increasing among the youth. I'm perfectly fine with that, but unfortunately the novel I'm writing is completely opposite.

It's a humorous story with a feel-good touch to it and a sort of moral tale. I'm not going by the preachy way but does the young generation really like reading such stories? In YWS we have some great writers and avid readers, so can any one of you tell me your personal opinion on 'dramedies'. Thanks.

Well, it'd all depend on your execution, I'd assume. People really are sick of being preached at, but if you're showing a life lesson in a creative, fresh, non-preachy way, then you might be able to get away with setting that lesson in their subconscious while they're not even aware that they're really reading about it.

I love dramedies, personally, and I'm writing one myself. I'd say that they definitely still have their place in teen/young adult fiction, and they're definitely a good source of inspiration for young people (or, they could be. Teen fic is sort of running low on good books/authors). They can show you how to handle various things that life throws at you, teach you about the world, other people, and yourself, and provide you with a story that's both moving, but not so heavy that it leaves you feeling hopeless.

Seriously though, your biggest challenge will probably be execution. Make the characters real and believable. The more relatable they are, the more engrossed your reader will become, and the more the story will touch them. Appeal to a wide range of readers, if you can (as in, appeal to majority-people-groups and minority-people-groups). Don't be preachy, but don't totally skimp on the message you're trying to give to your readers either, and you should be fine Also, avoid pettiness. There is a lot of pettiness in that genre.

It's good to hear that you love dramedies. Regarding the execution, you are right, I will try my level best to make the characters realistic.

Do humourous stories with an emotional touch falls into the chick-lit genre? I'm not sure. Personally I think the dark fantasy genre has been polluted by chompy YA romance. I tend to distrust books that normally I would just read because I don't know if I'm going to find a few shiny vampires and an abusive romance in there.

Write Dramadies. We desperately need to brighten up the shelves.

And of course, write for yourself and adjust it to the market. If you write for the market you'll lose yourself.

Tenyo wrote:
Write Dramadies. We desperately need to brighten up the shelves.

And of course, write for yourself and adjust it to the market. If you write for the market you'll lose yourself.

Yeah, you are right. Writing for the market will suck away all the joy from writing.