Personal Taste

I found myself mentioning frequently at Anticipation that I work with an imprint (Dragon Moon Press) that specializes in “science fiction, fantasy and ‘gentle horror’.”  To the world at large, this seems like a small range, but within the narrower bounds of f/sf, it’s actually quite broad. I found that a lot of people asked me the same follow-up question: “Which of those is your favorite?”

I’ve always been lousy at answering “What’s your favorite ____” type questions, and this is no exception. I can talk about which books were the most influential or formative for me, but I can’t pick a favorite book or genre to the exclusion of others. Ask me what kind of books I like to read and my answer will be, “Good ones!” It’s not an attempt to be flippant; it’s the honest truth.

My taste in music is equally broad and varied, and on the surface my preferences seem to lack common characteristics. I like fast and slow, hard and soft, classical and contemporary and alternative, acoustic and electric and electronic. Where my musical tastes share a common thread is in my love for musicality. I like my music to be melodic. I like for music to be beautiful and emotionally evocative. I have a special weakness for vocal harmony. I’ve been formally trained in music and music theory, and that’s given me a soft spot for the kinds of chord progressions that work, but that also go in unexpected directions and surprise me. As long as it’s not dissonant, scratchy or whiny, chances are I won’t mind it. As long as it’s constructed well musically, I’ll appreciate the craftsmanship of it even if it’s not entirely my thing.

I’m the same way when I read. Character, storytelling and emotional immersion transcend genre for me. Give me mystery, historical fiction, spy thrillers, high fantasy, cyberpunk or hard sci fi—if the world is lush and immersive, the writing is smooth enough to be invisible and let the story play out in my mind, the characters are fully-rounded and get me emotionally invested in the plot, the genre becomes secondary.

When it comes to editing, I prefer working with science fiction and fantasy. Again, even though they’re very different in some ways, they’re variations on a theme to me: a writer isn’t bound by the laws and structures of our real world, and it’s more interesting to work in an environment where those boundaries are taken away. I like the freedom for creativity and worldbuilding, and it’s always a fun challenge to work with a writer who takes a large sweeping concept or a tiny detail to its logical extreme, or adds a new twist to it that takes things in an unexpected direction. It challenges me to keep challenging the writer’s world and asking the questions that flesh it out until I find that I can immerse myself in it; if I can, I know the reader will be able to, also.

Tagged as: editing, worldbuilding, writing