Did you choose your genre or did it choose you?

For novels I more or less choose the genre, and so far all have been contemporary because that's what I like to read, and also because many of my ideas come from "I wonder what would have happened if . . ."

My shorts are all over the place. Most are contemporary, some are sci-fi, and one is historical.

What I write is sort of a cousin of what I read. It's considered the same genre, but it's different stuff. I read a variety of literature, but truly love all fantasy and sci-fi. I knew when I began writing that I wanted to do what I could to push those genres in new directions in different ways and try some original things. I'm not so extreme that my work is unrecognizable, but it's different enough that it isn't comparable to anything I pick out at the book store.

If someone had asked me before I began writing I wouldn't have said this was what would have happened.

If someone had asked a person who knew me well, they probably would have known. They also would have predicted I'd write comedy. This surprised me, but everyone else took it in stride.

little of both. When I was younger and totally certain that I posessed an almost unfair amount of sheer awesomeness, I was also certain I was going to be a horror writer.....part because I read horror mostly, and part because the only thing I had more of in me than awesomeness was sheer badassery. (oh yeah, and humility).

Now I write what interests me, and mostly that seems to be people trying to become more than the fuckups they are, and either succeeding or failing and dragging everyone within reach down with them. Now some of that is actually framed within horror, some thriller, and some, God help me, mainstream love story even. I'm finding I write what comes to me, and it usually starts as a theme and then sprouts enough plot to find a genre.

I started off writing historical.

The story that's getting published is erotica. It was an accident, honest!

firedrake said:

I started off writing historical.

The story that's getting published is erotica. It was an accident, honest!

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the first hint should have been that you typed the entire thing one-handed....

I write the kind of books I'd like to read, simple as. And having read a lot of different kinds of fantasy and SF, and several non-fiction books on the genre, it was obvious to me where mine fits in.

quicklime said:

the first hint should have been that you typed the entire thing one-handed....

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You dirty-minded bugger.

never


*searches for "angel" emote, gets bored, surfs pron instead

For eight years I tried to write a crime novel.

It took one trip to the cinema in March to switch to historical thrillers.

One experiment I did was to write one short story for each genre.

Turns out that I have a talent for a genre that isn't my primary genre.

I recommend everyone try their hand at writing a short in each genre (to include erotica ).

Trust me, you'll be surprised at the results

Mel...

Most of my stuff naturally falls into the edges of a couple of genres. I would read more stuff like that, but there's not a lot of it. I do read the main genres, though, definitely. I just like a bit of a twist on them, if the stories can take it.

It's magical realism, for the most part, so it's kind of nice to be able to call it something. I don't know how much the MR label helps, though, because it's far away from the Latino masters' version of that.

Chosen for me. I thought if I'd ever be a writer it would be in science fiction or high fantasy, but I've written an urban fantasy m/m romance. I wanted to collaborate with my co-writer on something that would use both our talents, and that's what we ended up meeting together on. She has lots of background in romance, so that makes up for my lack of familiarity with the genre.

It chose me. I thought I was a fantasy writer. Turns out I'm more inclined toward dystopian SF assassin fiction (it's a genre if I say it's a genre, damn it!)

I thought I was a lit fic writer, and I guess that wasn't entirely off-base, as I do still write lit fic short stories.

But for novels, I wanted to write about this one particular set of characters that had been evolving with me for years. I had written and imagined a lot about their high school years, and a little bit about their college years, but I couldn't get them to age into their 20s. I imagined writing literary novels about them as adults, but they just refused to BE adults.

High school was where their stories were. So that's how I started writing YA.

I read and love science fiction and fantasy, and the novel creeping into the light one chapter at a time is SF.

The novellas I seem to have a knack for writing, or at least for finishing, are all erotic romance/super double plus steamy romance.

I didn't actually read any ER/SDPSR until I finished my first novella and realized I needed to figure out how to sell it. (I had a collection of Victorian erotic writing, but that wasn't the same thing.) Now I dig it.

I write what I read the most of. Which is science fiction and fantasy.

I can't imagine trying to write in a genre that I didn't adore. (Although I read everything that comes near me, so maybe that doesn't mean much.)

Rachael7 said:

Did you suddenly wake up one morning and say "Hey, I've got a great idea for a (insert genre here) novel!". Or did you start writing that genre because it's what you like to read? Or are you like me - you put the pen to the paper and started writing, and when it was finished, you had to scramble all over the internet to figure out what genre you had written?

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I had a wonderful and unique never-done-before idea for a story. Enthusiastically, I began banging away at my keyboard. 75,000 words later, I learned the truth. My genre was Paranormal Romance. There have been a few published before.

I see the humor now. Then, not so much.

I never read romance, so I'd never noticed.

Now I'm writing fantasy. The Paranormal Romance is in the offing, waiting for me to get back to it. This time I'll know what to call it.

I chose the genre. I don't believe genres can choose anything. Choice involves a reasoning mind.

I write what I most enjoy reading. Always have. Not knowing the genre before starting to write can make writing a publishable book very, very tough.

I chose to write thrillers because that is what I like to read the most, though I read a lot of horror, supernatural, and literary.

I found myself being pulled towards romance, though that wasn't my intention when I started to write. Still haven't fully figured out what I want to write though..

I have a degree in history, so I chose to write something I already knew a bit about. Now, how exactly did the vampires end up in there...?

It picked me really. I've always been the kind of person that feels like I was born too late and lusted for adventure and crazy shit that could never happen...in this world at least .

I write in the genres that I prefer to read--YA, fantasy, sci-fi, horror. The story ideas <i>themselves</i>, however, pop up out of nowhere, and there's no telling which of the above-mentioned genres will be "chosen" either by me or by the plot bunnies that continue to munch on my brain.

I've always wanted to write stories about humans and human relationships, and all the stories that come to me are about that. So I guess, whether I call it literary or mainstream contemporary, it did choose me.