To you , your short story is unequalled and sodding . To editors , it ’s “ the third steampunk time - change of location story we ’ve find this hebdomad . ” But which curve should you seek to avoid ? To find out , we require some of the top editors in the playing field which eccentric of scientific discipline fable and fantasy storey they ’re tired of seeing . Here ’s what they say us .
Top figure : Asimov ’s Science Fiction , December 2010 , art by John Picacio
First , some caveats . Every one of the editor we spoke to said the same thing : a deal of these things go in wave , and just because they ’re drown in mermaid this week does n’t mean that ’ll be on-key month from now . Also , no editor program ever require to say “ I ’m tired of unicorn , ” because right now someone is probably pen a unicorn story so dear it ’ll make you weep to learn it — and chances are , the editor who just swear off unicorn stories would buy that storey in a flash . So this mostly is n’t a lean of story you should n’t write — more a list of areas where you ’re move to have to ferment harder to resist out .
Also , full revelation : I ’ve submitted my fiction to most of these editor , and in a few golden case they ’ve put out my employment .
So with that out of the way , here are 10 report character editor in chief say they ’re over :
1. Zombies
AskNeil ClarkewithClarkesworld Magazinewhat he ’s tired of seeing , and he respond :
“ Without hesitation : snake god ! Zombie stories , just like snake god , just keep coming in , no matter how much you discourage them . I ’ve been kick about the relentless drove of zombi news report for years and have happily put rejection bullets in the head of each and every one of them . [ zombi ] digest me . Same old matter over and over . Even when someone thinks they have an original take on them , it ’s something I ’ve seen in slush a million times . I ’m sure there is an audience for these thing , but it is n’t me . Wo n’t ever be . ”
Adds Brit Mandelo withStrange Horizons , “ I ’m still just as shopworn of zombi stories as I was last class , and plausibly the year before that . We do n’t often see a automaton story that has much freshness to it ; even the ones that intend to have some kind of special clever thing stop up reading a lot like the other handful we ’ve seen recently . ”
2. Parallel Universes
Asimov ’s Science Fictioneditor Sheila Williams pronounce she ’s a routine tired of ascertain parallel universes in her fiction . “ The parallel existence / multiverse is overused as a plot machine and underused as a scientific thought experimentation , ” she says . “ I ’d wish to see more extrapolation from current theory and less handwavium that control as an self-justification for alt account . Still , I always feel free to negate myself because I enjoy well done alt history as much as the next editor program . ”
3. Time Travel
This is one case where an editor program is seeing a inundation of stories on a special topic right this instant — and that ’s in all likelihood just a impermanent thing . Clarke with Clarkesworld says he ’s ensure a gross ton of clip travel tarradiddle right now , to the point where he ’s kind of overladen with them . Normally , you ’d wait to see “ this variety of theme - flood ” after a bunch of mass have had their stories rejected from a themed anthology , but Clarke has n’t been able to discover any al-Qur’an that would explain a prison term - travelling upsurge . In any type , when there ’s a surge of tarradiddle about a special topic , “ it ’s a curt - terminus overdose , ” sound out Clarke . “ A few month from now , I ’ll probably be happy to see the theme again . ”
4. Faux Steampunk
Ann VanderMeerhas edited some bestselling anthologies of steampunk fiction . And she says she ’s really hackneyed of seeing “ tale that guess they are steampunk , because a clock , goggles , airships or gears have been added to the story . ” trope byErik Mann / Deviant ArtviaSteampunk for kid
5. Getting Revenge
But VanderMeer , who also edits poor fabrication forTor.comand other anthologies and was the editor of Weird Tales , also says she ’s tired of seeing “ too many domesticated , or in high spirits schooltime , revenge stories . ” She adds : “ You know what I intend : A put - upon husband ( or wife ) finally gets revenge on their spouse / partner for all the years of ill-usage . Or the high school roughneck / cheerleader / football star finally get their due . ”
Adds Lynne Thomas , former editor in chief atApex Magazine :
“ When I was editing Apex , the narrative figure of speech I was thoroughly commonplace of were the rather misogynistic retaliation - against - the - X stories , which I tended to refer to as “ kill the bitch ” stories . We saw a LOT of those , as it ’s a vulgar repulsion figure . I blaspheme I ’d never corrupt one because I did n’t consider it was possible to farm one that I ’d witness remotely toothsome … right up until Rachel Swirsky spell “ Abomination Rises on Filthy Wings ” as a challenge , when she heard me grousing about those kinds of stories . I purchase and published that story . ”
6. Fairytale Retellings
Julia Rios with Strange Horizons says they ’re seeing a band of reimaginings of Hellenic fairytales , and it ’s set out to get onetime . “ These qualities are n’t necessarily conk out to make us reject them — we justran a Little Red Riding Hood story in March — but when we see well raddled tropes like that , they have to work extra firmly to show us something new . ”
7. Mermaids
Rios also mentions that she ’s ascertain a LOT of Mermaid and Selkie tale , to the point where something really has to be particular to win her over . Another forgetful report editor in chief , who require not to be cite , reports being inundated with mermaid : “ FWIW , a mickle of them have been GOOD mermaid stories , but seriously , SO MANY mermaid storey ! I ’m not even indisputable I ’d say I ’m tired of seeing them . It ’s just that I ’ve been seeing so many of them that even if I wanted to publish all of the ones I like I could n’t , since my magazine is n’t called Mermaids Monthly . ”
8. “Edgy” stories
impart Thomas , “ My other pet peeve was a inclination to include massive amounts of rape , misogyny , racism , able-bodism , etc . in an attempt to shock in horror stories through a really obvious tabu that did n’t in reality function a purpose in moving the narration forward . ”
And Ellis , her successor at Apex , says even more compactly : “ If you ever tell someone your story is edgy , I probably wo n’t publish it . ”
9. Pregnancy Horror
Says Ellis with Apex :
“ When I was slushing for Apex under Lynne ’s editorship , I swore up one side and down the other that I never want to see another pregnancy - horror story again . I was pallid of a woman ’s consistence being intrinsically atrocious . I was grisly of a char ’s body being a metaphor for unwellness and evil . And then I became editor . And the first story I bought wasLucy Snyder ’s “ Antumbra,”which is a vivid incest bisexual sister intellect - controller medical experiment rape gestation story . I just do n’t EVEN . That said , I am still tired of horror pregnancy . Just , no . ”
figure of speech : Inside , Gallic pregnancy revulsion movie .
10. Pun/twist ending
A few editor have mentioned disliking this . Stories that rely on wordplay for their bodily fluid , or which are just conduct up to a silly twist ending or punchline , are going to have a really , really hard time gain multitude over . mental image : Alex Schomburg .
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