Writing Genres

As an author, what genre do you choose? It sounds like a pretty simple question, but one that is loaded with possibility. For the most part, I think that if anyone assumes anything about authors they assume that an author will write most of their work in one genre and stick with the one. Why write in more than one if you can help it? Well, because it's fun! And because the next story you want to tell doesn't fit in the genre of the last story you told.

Sometimes an author sits down for their next project and has decided already, or asks themselves, what genre will I write in next? Fantasy lends itself to great amounts of creative output and imaginative creation. Action books challenge the author to keep the book moving forward at a heart-throbbing pace without much call for deep character development. If you want to talk relationships, Romance may be the genre for you, setting up relationships, breaking them apart and finding a way to lead them back together again.

Whatever happens in the book, one of the things you have to understand about me is that I’m a punster, I write by the seat of my pants. That means I have to have a good idea of what my story is before I sit down to write, even a basic concept – a young woman’s car breaks down and she gets stuck in the middle of nowhere. Perfect! Now where do we go from here? The key is to let the story lead you forward, no matter the genre. 

One of the differences about writing in a genre that young or inexperienced writers may have is whether to write in a different style for the genre that they’re in. Should an author change their style to suit the genre they’re writing in? My answer is not straightforward. Don’t change your personal style of writing. However, if you’re writing a piece set in Victorian England, this will naturally reflect something different than a piece set in post-apocalyptic Boston, MA. People have different vocabularies, dress differently, use different dishes and carpets and furniture – the essence of the piece which you describe will lend a different air to it which will set is apart from the next piece.

So if you’re deciding you want to write, and you don’t know what genre to pick, that’s fine. Find the story that you want to write and go from there. Once you know what kind of story you want to write, the genre will be clear. The story will lead you in the right direction.