Unwritten books

[megwrites]

I thought I'd pose a question to the almighty f-list and see what you say.

What types of stories would you dearly love to read, but have never seen written, or not written nearly enough?

For example, werewolves in spaceships or unicorns that aren't helpful, wonderful creatures but evil one-horned ponies of death, or maybe just something as simple as, "I'd love to see a story with a main character that (insert something you think is underdone)".

For me, one book I'd like to see is an urban fantasy novel that is heroine-centric, but the heroine is not the typical leather-clad, beautiful, sassy vampire-huntress, but instead someone who is perhaps not so attractive, damaged, and stops punning long enough to actually fight evil. In fact, I'd love for someone to flip the entire Laurell K. Hamilton/Kim Harrison type novels on their head.

I know I'd like to read a lot more novels in the SF/F genre as a whole that feature main characters that are characters of color and/or disabled and/or transgendered and/or queer and/or otherwise different from the usual. I know that some exist out there, but not nearly enough if you ask me.

So what are the books, characters, plots, and settings that you'd love to read but haven't found yet?

Comments

[queenoftheskies.livejournal.com]

I'd have to agree with you on a lot of that.

Since I haven't found what I want to read, I've been writing it myself.

I have an urban fantasy with a male lead who is a character of color. I have a YA urban fantasy with a lesbian lead character. I feature a wide variety of ethnic groups and fantasy races rarely used in my work.

I get so tired of the same stereotypical characters that were probably made famous with Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. Some of them aren't really even PEOPLE at all. They're just stereotypes with nothing to set them apart from any of the other main characters.

I'd love to see books in science fiction/fantasy/urban fantasy written about REAL people who have to cope with these sets of problems with what talents and abilities they have.

[readingthedark.livejournal.com]

I'm always looking for characters that show weakness in times of crisis or who don't even try when things fall apart, since I feel like those are more true to human nature and I'm quite partial to bleak and hopeless endings that are as un-Hollywood and as un-heroic quest as possible.

I guess some call it anti-fantasy, but I'm very into works that don't console, probably just because I'm burned out and jaded...but that can't possibly help someone who is writing for publication since it makes getting published less likely, in most cases.

[wisdomeagle]

I have wished there were protagonists who were liberal Protestant Christians FOR THE LONGEST TIME. Or really just any protags who are Protestant and religious and faithful and go to church but the novels aren't about Christianity but, yanno, other stuff. That happens to Christians. Like life and death and love and heartbreak and outer space adventures and fantastic hijinks.

[aberrant1.livejournal.com]

Well, really, that's the same thing I think any demographic wishes for: characters that represent them, but do other things than just be there as tokens.

[denoue-moi.livejournal.com]

that sounds cool.
I'd like to see that. I admire people with faith.

Older lesbians in love

[denoue-moi.livejournal.com]

A story where you have 2 ladies who love ladies fall in love with each other.
Not a story where 1 of them is all conflicted about her sexuality. 2 ladies who know what they want, and it just happens to be each other.
And can they be older than 30? Older than 50? And they don't have to adopt a little Chinese baby and name her Emma Grace. It would be okay if they just had dogs.

Hey, maybe they could meet at a dog park.