Do you genre jump?

I used to genre-jump quite a bit, but I think recently I've found where I feel home most: writing under the fairly wide label of gothic. So the two novels I'm working on is a gothic horror, and the other is sort of in the vein of southern gothic... but set in the english West Midlands. I've got a nice somewhat GH story cooking about an unnamed ship of criminals aboard a sentient sea, too.

So I've definitely found my aesthetic! My prosaic style really fits in with the story's I think, too. I try to make everything as grey and infused with dread as I can. It means I won't ever try a romance or a comedy, but I'm okay with that

I definitely read a variety of genre's and I have a variety of wips in different genre's. I don't think a writer needs to write anything other than what they want to write and if that is strictly one genre then that's the writers prerogative. I can't imagine only reading one genre though, but to each their own.

I think it depends on the personal interest of the writer. If he is interested enough to pursue something outside his comfort zone, then he should give it a try. If he's not interested enough to put in the work, then keeping with what he's more comfortable with may be a better fit for him. In general though, I do find value in trying a new genre even if it doesn't produce an actual novel, just going through the process may teach the writer something that he would not have had the opportunity to learn before which can improve his writing regardless of what genre he writes in.

Lou Trent said:

I recently had a discussion with a friend about genre jumping when writing and it left me curious about other opinions about the subject. My friend and I talked about two major schools of thought on the subject. The first is that you should stick with what you know and are best at, as it would ensure that your writing is better. The other is that a writer can't grow if they stick to the same thing. Have you any different options about it? Also do you genre jump or do you stick to the same ones? Why do you do that?

I'd really appreciate any comments as that little conversation has ignited my curiosity.

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I'm guilty of genre jumping! There's good and bad sides to it.

The bad: Editors and agents prefer for writers to stick to their lane. They're afraid readers won't follow writers across genre lines, and to some extent they're right. They also want writers to build up a faithful audience within a single genre. Makes their job easier, and it makes it easier for the writer to stay in print.

The good:

You get to write whatever the hell you want. I'm quite slow---a novel can take me two years or more. Since there are only a limited number of books I'll produce in this lifetime, I figure they'd better be the books I really, truly want to write.

You pay a price for jumping genres. Some first-rate writers get away with it because their readers follow them wherever they go----Colson Whitehead comes to mind. But others get slapped upside the head by the editors and dropped by their agents. Still...if you're looking for security, writing is not the smartest choice of profession.

Writing, IMO, is a form of exploration. If your imagination ranges far and wide, and if you read different genres, then why confine yourself to one little genre? It's a big world out there.

I more genre-hop than genre-jump. Out of seven novels, I've written one heroic fantasy, one space opera, and five pulp SF adventures. It's three genres, but they're all related.