Forum: Story Discussion and Feedback

Sometimes a writer just gives their fans what they ask for. It helps keep them popular. But it can also lock a writer into a certain story line instead of being able to follow different themes.

Sometimes, it pays to build your reputation on a certain type of story (rich character development, involved plots, etc.) rather than a specific genre (i.e. story line). That's why writers of mysteries or horror rarely escape those genre's clutches. Then again, obscurity grants you more freedoms than fame. It's hard to argue with success, and if one type of story sells hundreds of thousands, you're unlikely to write something that only tells a few thousand (as if any of us are reaching that level of sales).

It's also known as the "Superman Syndrome", as the initial star of the original Superman TV show was unable to get work in anything else because everyone thought of him exclusively in that role (i.e. "Why the hell is Superman playing a salesman in Memphis?").