Being a story-teller

I have been a storyteller all of my life. I love it. I was thinking this week about how our culture has changed. Authors bitch all the time about how, "No one reads anymore". To be candid, I sometimes bitch about that myself. But, it isn't true. People read, but their habits, patience, and acceptance of new ideas have changed. Everyone and their sister read the Harry Potter books. It wasn't just the few of us book nerds who were able to buy 450 million books which JK Rowling has written. But, what do we find if we look at her story in particular?

JK Rowling suffered for a long time in the same rut many authors find themselves in today. Her stories were not accepted, until they were. What is that magical spark which changed her from languishing in her writing to being a successful author? I guess if I could tell you that, I would already have sold a lot more books. She is a brilliant writer. But, even she struggled when she got away from the Harry Potter universe. She had good sales because her name was on the cover, but not the kind of sales she was used to. Is this because she can only write about wizarding kids?  I don't think so. It is because we, as readers, tend to gravitate to stories which have tickled our brains before. We like characters we know, places we know. This is why Fan Fiction is one of the most popular forms of writing these days.

So, what does this all mean for me? Why am I writing about this? It is basically to let you all know that I am still writing. For most authors, a 7 month span between books is simply not a big deal. But I can write a novel in about 6 weeks, and after a year where I put 4 books and 2 short stories on Amazon, I have this year put nothing out there. I am considering other mediums, other venues for the stories I tell. I will still write novels, because that is what I do. But, I have tried my hand in a pilot script this year (hopefully I will have more to tell you on that soon); I have been toying with comic books to get some of the stories out there; I have played with the idea of different forms of publishing. 2017 seems to be my year of exploring connection with readers and fans of the characters. So, tell me, which would you rather see? New stories, in new universes, with new characters? Or would you rather see new mediums which flesh out the characters you already know? What would tickle that part of your brain and bring you enjoyment?