How do you like your shifters?
Posted by on Jun 7, 2009 in Poll | 16 comments
I’m trying to find out more about what people like about shifters and why. Please take the poll and let me know. Use comments to elaborate on any aspect of the poll or shifters. Thanks!
You’ll need to vote separately for each poll since wordpress doesn’t have a multi-question poll widget. If you know of one please tell me!
[poll id=”2″] [poll id=”3″][poll id=”4″][poll id=”5″]
16 Responses to “How do you like your shifters?”
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For the first question I would have preferred to put all of the above. I find shifters fascinating and for the most part appreciate reading about all of them in a well written story. However, I am growing tired of the wolves. I think that’s why I burnt out early on my own wolf story. I’m trying to incorporate shifters folks never read about. For example, I have a shifter story planned with hyenas. (not in the the near a furture, mind you 🙂 I like to read about shifters that no one has ever touched on. The best part for me is seeing what the author can come up with in terms of uniqueness. I’m growing tired of reading the human-being vs. shifter stories. The same goes for aliens. Why is it that every time we write science fiction or paranormal the shifter or alien gets paired with a human? Are humans so important that there is no one else to pair them with(another human, another shifter). I’m a fan of two shifters, probably because I like the dynamics of equal power. I don’t understand why humans are always made helpless and fragile and in need of saving at every turn.
Urm.. in parenthesis I meant *another alien, another shifter* Wish their was an edit or delete button here.
Sage,
Thanks for the comments.
You can select all the boxes if you want to in the first couple of questions. You should be able hit VOTE again to edit.
I think you are right about stereotypes of shifters and relatioships. I’m also tired of Alpha/Omega relationships myself. I’d like to see really equal partners battling between instinct to lead and the need to get along and love.
Sorry WordPress commenting is so sucky. Not much I can do about it.
I would have liked a “None” option or “all of the above” – there wasn’t any option for vote again to edit!
I only really like werewolves, and with a traditional feel. I find that people are just getting silly with shifters as they find animals that haven’t been done before, like Squids and dolphins. I keep waiting for wereslugs or sloths. I suppose I just don’t get the attraction – and there are many horribly written ones verging on bestiality some of them – and all the claiming stuff gets very very tired. Mine mine mine! Ok – yours… keep it!
🙂
Erastes,
hopefully this works as a reply to your comment.
i added a NONE option.
too bad you cannot go back and change your vote. this poll widget leaves a lot be desired.
i also think a lot of shifter ideas are too prevalent, which is why i wanted to see what people did want to read. and finding new animals is getting ridiculous as you said. you’re spot on with your criticisms.
have you got any ideas of what you might want to read in terms of themes? even the traditional werewolves get boring if there isn’t something new to make it different.
thanks for your comments!
I don’t really think people would go so far as to create a wereslug, sloth, caterpillar or the like. Honestly, I haven’t run across any ‘crazy’ shifter stories. And I have heard of dolphin shifters and an orca but I didn’t think that was too out there.
Every time I turn around its something about a moon, howling, alpha, beta, omega. Blah Blah Blah. If someone did something really unique I might find myself excited about these particular shifters. I feel the same way about them as I feel for the vampires. Both are SEVERELY overused. How many hot, blood drinkers can there be, eh?
I’ve always loved the werewolves and the big cats are good too. I’m not really into any other strange animals although to be fair I’ve read a few others that were good. For example, I read a Dolphin shifter story and it was pretty ok but I also read a story on alien Lizard men, not shifters, and just couldn’t get into that one.
Lily
I love paranormal books, but there is a lot of crappy stuff out there and also books that seem to be lifted straight from another author! Hello originality! Good ones are like gold though and there are several authors who’ve managed to take the genre and make it new, exciting, well written most important there is usually a definite voice there in the writing that’s different from anyone else out there.
which authors have made it exciting for you?
lack of originality in published work is the fault of editors and publishers who aren’t aware of the genre and what’s been done. writers make lack fresh perspecitves but publishers shouldn’t let books that copy others so closely get published without working on attaining some more semblance of originality from the author.
thanks for your comments!
Can’t work out how to reply to a reply, so am just posting again.
have you got any ideas of what you might want to read in terms of themes? even the traditional werewolves get boring if there isn’t something new to make it different.
Well, that’s it really. Why would they get boring? They certainly shouldn’t. Stories about couples never get boring, so why should they with werewolves? There infinite themes! What makes them boring is when people insist on writing the same story, and the same tropes – mating for life, “MINE MINE” etc etc.
I love shifters of any kind, but I do find it important to refresh the idea from time to time. Like Erastes said, not writing the same story, even if it’s all about werewolves. Also, I agree with finding more unusual type of animals to shift in. Wolf’s the most common, dragons, cats, I’ve seen some birds here and there. Personally, I would love to see more snakes – not dragons, actual snakes. Which is why I’m making my own little contribution lmao. Were snakies… Yay!
thanks for all the recent comments and votes everyone!
I managed to agree with all the hightest percentges. Doesn’t usually happen with me.
Wow, Ryan you might just have more in common with people who like werewolves than you do with everyone else. Interesting results though. Thanks for voting.
It’s great to see fresh, creative ideas that have never been done before
That was a great article,Maybe I will sign up to your rss.