Which Genre?
- Jocelyn Schindler
- Feb 8, 2021
- 3 min read
Deciding what to write is sometimes one of the most difficult parts of writing.
There are so many different genres.
1. Sci-fi
2. Suspense
3. Romance
4. Mystery
5. Fantasy
6. Horror
7. Historical
8. Western
There’s even more than that.
With so many options, how should we choose what to write?
Well today, I'm here to help you on this.
My first tip for you is, by far, the simplest.
Write what you want to read.
A huge part of writing is rereading.
Editing.
You have to read your book many times before it’s done. So why would you write something you are not going to want to read? Choose a genre that you are going to want to read.
Maybe you like reading historical fiction.
Write that.
Maybe there’s a story idea you want to read, like you wish someone would just write it already so you could read it.
Write that.
If you write something that you aren't going to want to read, how will you figure out what it needs to have in it? You don't like reading books like that so how do you go about writing one?
Why would you even want to write it if you don't like reading it?
But there is also another tip I’ll give you that goes hand in hand with this.
What you love to read isn’t always what you love to write.
One of my favorite genres is mystery. I love reading mysteries and figuring them out is my favorite thing ever.
But I don’t like writing mystery.
I feel like I’m just not good at writing a good mystery and the different aspects a mystery has are not always as fun for me to write.
The genres you love to read are not always the ones you like to write. Your favorite genre might be sci-fi but you might not like writing sci-fi. Maybe you really like reading romance but just can’t seem to write one.
Just because you like reading certain genres doesn’t mean you like writing them.
Basically, you love to read what you write, but what you love to read isn’t always what you love to write.
If that makes any sense at all.
You can write in as many different genres as you want.
Remember, you are not limited to one genre.
You can write a book in every genre if you want.
If you write a good sci-fi book, that doesn't mean all the future books you write have to be sci-fi. It just means that you are good at writing sci-fi and it's a genre that you can write well, not one you have to write every time.
You don't have to always write the same genre just because you are good at it. In fact, the diversity of writing multiple genres is great! Even if you aren't totally amazing at writing all of them, it gives you that experience, and that's always useful.
Don't feel pressured to only write in one genre because you're worried you'll fail in the other.
Besides, if it is a dramatic fail, who cares? Who will even know except you?
And what if you decide you really like writing in that genre?
There's no limit to how many books you can write just as there's no limit to how many genres you want to write in.
Have fun with it.
Alright, to end this blog post I just want to let you know that I have a special announcement tomorrow that relates to my blog posts for the next several weeks. You can look for it on my instagram: @livingonthewriteside or my Pinterest: @LivingOnTheWriteSide.
Here are the links to each.
Instagram:
Pinterest:
I hope you all enjoyed today's blog post! Remember, the limit to how many genres you can write exists only in your mind. Have fun and write what makes you happy!
So, as always, my friends, happy writing!
-Jocelyn
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