Has anyone been craving a vampire story lately? I know I haven’t. Before the Twilight series was published, vampire books seemed to be fairly common; however, among those books were stories with other supernatural creatures such as witches and ghosts. After Twilight became the next big hit, vampire stories started flooding into bookstores faster than Edward could ever run to Bella.
The other day, I went into my favorite store to find something fun to read. Instead of the usual variety among the choice of books, I saw eight about vampires. Some were more realistic stories such as Twilight. Others were more fantasy driven. I sadly turned away after reading similar summaries about each one. I promptly looked in another favorite section: Manga. I felt that I could, perhaps, be more successful with a different style of book. Yet, as I approached the tall bookcase that held hundreds of various Manga, my heart dropped. There, looming over me, was a poster for some new manga – all which were about vampires. “Really?” I thought to myself. “Here too?”
I think there is nothing wrong with vampire stories; however, an overabundance of novels that contain a certain element in the plot can be a little overwhelming. Even my friend, a vampire book connoisseur, feels like she cannot even begin to read all that is available on her favorite bloodthirsty friends. This problem is not exclusive to books. Many movies and television shows follow the same trends in hopes to appeal to the viewers who like certain themes or character types. Some examples would be animals going to the wild, monks destined to save humanity, robots taking over the world, and gangs ruling the streets.
What shocks me the most is how many authors fail to see the golden opportunity that has been presented to them. Some writers believe that by writing about the subject that everyone loves, he or she could become the next “big thing.” Although that idea is true to a certain extent, I believe that the opposite is true. At my school, everyone was reading Harry Potter, then the Clique series, then Twilight. Each book could be classified into a different genre respectively – fantasy, realistic fiction, and supernatural-fiction. Although all three series had similarities, yet they were all dissimilar: Harry is a wizard; Claire is a normal girl; Edward is a vampire. These stories rose above the rest in excellence, not because they were just another book about a teenager, but because they were different than the average novel.
Finally, if anything, I know that another book will arise and it will sweep through the nation. This time, however, let’s not try to fall into the same old habit; let’s not all write the same story over and over again. Maybe then, readers will not have to struggle to find something new and original.