Writing A Soap Opera Novel

I think that one or two people got a little testy when I declared that I thought their favorite author, George R.R. Martin, was writing a fantasy soap opera. This led me to make this blog entry. First, I want to define what a soap opera is. From the Wikipedia article, the definition of a "soap" is as follows: stories run concurrently, intersect and lead into further developments. An individual episode of a soap opera will generally switch between several different concurrent story threads that may at times interconnect and affect one another or may run entirely independent of each other. Each episode may feature some of the show's current storylines but not always all of them. Another thing that "soaps" are famous for is that they can go on without end. Could Mr. Martin's books do that? Yep...without end.

Does this not exactly fit A Game of Thrones and all other books in the series? The answer: Yes...yes it does.

Should you be offended that you love reading a soap? I don't think so. But stop fooling yourself that this is "high-brow" literature because it isn't. What it happens to be is one hell of an addictive story. My own confession: I go home and sometimes watch "Desperate Housewives of Beverly Hills". I can't turn it off. The same goes for Mr. Martin's books. I have to know more.

I've noticed a certain "arrogance" from the young men in the world that read Mr. Martin. For example, if I were to take my copy of Percy Jackson and the Olympians or even perhaps Harry Potter to a comic book or game convention where Magic: the Gathering tournaments are held, I might be scoffed at. These young beta males would say things like, "Oh...I read real fantasy. Have you tried George R.R. Martin?" My reply at present would be, "You dare to look down your nose at me for reading this Young Adult fantasy when you're reading a soap opera? Please...just...stop."

This brings me to another point on writing. Since many authors are often the source of inspiration, if you are writing to the standards of Mr. Martin, are you unwittingly trying to recreate a soap?

Do you think that "soap opera" style novels are the best way to squeeze money out of a book market?

My personal opinion is that if you can do it...it's the way to go. I think there's huge money to be made in writing a successful soap as opposed to a finite storyline told in three books. You can keep milking this thing over and over. It's like the goose that lay the golden egg or a cow with infinite milk.

I kind of despair a little in knowing that I'm hooked by something that really won't ever have an end until Mr. Martin "declares" it over. I mean the story really could run its course anytime. But it can also keep going at any time. I wonder if capitalism encourages this unnecessarily? Everyone wants to have a constant income but if money weren't an issue, do you really think that these kinds of tales would keep flowing from the publishers? I have to think that they wouldn't. People would wrap shit up and you'd get an ending.

This is totally Game of Thrones.