Am I the Asshole For Abandoning My First Love, Fantasy?

Literary Hub's advice columnist Kristen Arnett explores common obstacles facing writers in her latest column. One reader abandoned her longtime love of fantasy but remains stuck on a half-finished manuscript in the genre, while contemporary fiction—her new passion—yields only dead ideas. Arnett's counsel: embrace the change in taste rather than forcing yourself back into old territory; trust that your creative instincts know something your rational mind hasn't caught up to yet. A second writer completed a three-and-a-half-year manuscript but can't bring herself to reopen it, paralyzed by fear. Arnett's remedy is direct: you've already done the hardest work; the only step left is opening the file. And to a third writer's question about whether there's a tactful way to tell a peer they're annoying, Arnett delivers the blunt truth—there isn't one.

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