Do you genre jump?

I mostly stick to historical fiction.

The beautiful thing about historical fiction is the different places and times it an take you. I've written in France in the 1780s, America in the 1820s and 1850s, England in the 1900s and 1910s, but I could flip to ancient Greece or China, to colonial Australia, to the Mayan or Aztec empires, to medieval Russia . . . and it would all be the same genre. I'm extremely comfortable with the broad swath of possibilities my chosen genre affords. Which isn't to say I won't write something else at some point.

Also, with hist fic, there's sort of a barrier for entry--you have to put in a lot of effort to learn your era, so you want to make use of all that work you did. Ergo, I'm very familiar with the antebellum period and have written multiple mss set during that time.

The most I've branched out is with what I call my mash-up WIP, which takes place partially in contemporary times (first time I've done that!) and involves a speculative twist (still not sure whether to consider it scifi or fantasy or what).

I wrote and am currently revising a 1732 historical and a 1985 crime novel. As well as a bimonthly nonfiction blog article.

I genre hop like crazy, both in reading and my writing. I could tell you that there are common themes in almost everything I write, but most of them are far enough beneath the surface that I'm not sure readers would notice them. So far I have manuscripts in commercial fiction, alternate history, and epic fantasy, but there's also an urban fantasy (with an Arthurian twist to it) on the table and something sci-fi gnawing on my ankle.

I genre hoped once from urban fiction to Sci-fi and it felt awkward. As it changed right at the end and there was no mention of it previously. Maybe if I gave it the Sci-fi section more room it would of worked better.

I've recently given myself permission to do this more. It's funny, because I genre jump all the time when making music--pretty much every album I do is in a different genre, and sometimes I even switch genres between songs on the same album. I don't know why it took me so long to get out of the "stick to one thing" headspace with my writing. I guess I was always convinced I was meant to write fantasy and nothing else. My current WIP is horror, which a couple years ago I never would have dared to write, and I'm discovering that I like horror even more than fantasy! Going to try science fiction for NaNo.

cool pop said:

Yep, I write several genres. Romantic suspense and thrillers are my favorite. I will be getting into horror soon (or at least I keep saying that).

I write in different genres because I write whatever interests me. I write by plots meaning my plots drive my stories. I don't write to trend or write in a certain genre because it's popular or because I'm stuck in my comfort zone. BORING. I come up with an idea and whatever genre it falls into, that's what it will be.

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Do you publish under different pen-names, or all under one name?

I do believe all writers should read in as many genres as possible, but not that they have to write in them. Forcing yourself to write in a genre you're not particularly interested in doesn't sound like a good idea.

I *mostly* write gay contemporary romance and romantic suspense, but I do bounce around a bit too. I've written space opera, steampunk, cyberpunk, historicals (WWII, Prohibition, Ancient Rome), and my agent is shopping around my first horror novel.

The contemporary romances and romantic suspense are my bread and butter, so I focus mostly on those. My readers want them, and that's where I make the most money. But I flit around in other genres and subgenres when a story wants to be written, and also I sometimes just need to take a break from my usual genres. I write roughly a book a month, so while the stories themselves are different enough not to be in a rut, I find myself in a thematic rut, and just need to write something totally different as kind of a palate cleanser. Plus, well, plot bunnies happen and sometimes they won't shut up.

Most of the stories that invade my brain are either SciFi or Horror... which can be combined of course.

My early novels were (fictionalized) autobiographies... and I had a hard time placing them into categories. In the end, I marketed them as thriller / action & adventure. YA might have been something I should have tired, but there were some adult themes (murder), so I didn't go there.

Someone once told me that creative inspirations are sort of like bubbles floating through the ether. When those bubbles hit our head we chose to act on them or not. For myself, when a story forms and sticks in my mind it becomes an obsession... genre doesn't matter, the story drives me to tell it.

Haven't so far, but I'm planning on it.

I describe myself as genre-fluid as I have written in lots of genres, often in one book. I have had two books traditionally published, one time travel/historical romance/adventure thriller and one YA SF, but I don't have a preference and I'm comfortable writing anything.

My latest novel is a contemporary crime thriller and I'm hoping to finally get an agent & publishing contract, in which case I would be happy to stick to that genre.

I usually write fantasy, and lately I've been giving contemporary fantasy a try. I have tried Sci-fi but it usually just comes out like magic anyway.
Lately I've been giving some thought to YA, or even middle grade. I just don't want to start 4 projects when i barely find time for 1. haha

I jump. I just finished a historical fiction that was difficult and took over three years. With that out of the way, I wrote a conspiracy piece that is like the old series, Scorpian but without the cheese and preaching written for grownups. On second thought, the only thing that makes it like Scorpian is the FBI dude helping them. I do like/hate the research of a historical fiction, and sometimes it has been a lifesaver when you get stuck. You find an event that happened in that time period and put your MC in the middle of it. As far as writing what you know, I spent 45 years in aerospace talk about boring. I wrote that book already and no one would read it and I never asked them to.

I hop around all the time, but I'm still trying to find my strengths (if I have any-- ) and weaknesses as a writer. To add to this, I enjoy reading in all genres and believe each has something to offer.

I think genres today overlap more than ever, so the distinction among them is fading, and more and more hybrids are forming. Regardless, the farthest leap I will make is from thriller to mystery/suspense.

I do. Most of mine are historical fiction. Some are contemporary YA (well, loose contemporary. For some, 1980s are already historical. I have been taught that historical is something before we were born). One is contemporary romance. Most are novels, but I have too 2 short story collections. I use the same pen name for all, Marina Costa.

D.L. Shepherd said:

Do you publish under different pen-names, or all under one name?

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Under one name.

I don't genre jump as much as I form jump. I love to try new things and I love to jump around from poet to playwright to novelist to journalist to essayist to memoirist to everything. I've been jumping between novels and plays mostly lately. I now have 12 plays produced and 6 novels published. I feel a swing towards novels lately, with number 7 coming out, number 8 written and number 9 almost finished. I'm not good at all at jumping genres...as mush as I love to read other genres...I'm really horrible at world building...so I prefer contemporary...it's the only genre I'm brave enough to write.

Some people get bored doing one genre. I'm a fan of jumping genres, if one chooses to do so. I think this is good not only for novel writers, but those who write other things, such as screenplays or stage plays.

I'm a firm believer in writers writing what they passionately want to write. For some that means concentrating on one genre and for others it means writing in several.

I've written adult Sci-Fi, YA alternate-historical Fantasy, and adult contemporary Romance.

I love MM romance, but in that genre, I'll switch between subgenres of speculative fiction, contemporary, sci-fi, crimes, and psych thrillers. It lets me dip my toes in many a pool without really leaving the complex.

Fallen said:

I love MM romance, but in that genre, I'll switch between subgenres of speculative fiction, contemporary, sci-fi, crimes, and psych thrillers. It lets me dip my toes in many a pool without really leaving the complex.

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Same.

A good tip I was given was read as much as possible. Read what you love, read what you don't. Read good stuff and bad stuff. It can all have an influence on what you write.

In terms of writing, I think you should write whatever you want. If you're a sci-fi writer, but have a big idea for a western, for example, you should go for it! I tend to stick to horror, but I've also got a novel idea for a fantasy comedy. As long as you're happy and inspired, I don't think genre-hopping is an issue. I think some authors combat the marketing side of this by using different names for different projects.

I flirt between MTS and Historical. Even though my current WIP is modern day, the plot is still hinged on history (and a little archaeology).

Genre? No. Sub-genre? Yes. I honestly have no interest in writing outside of my genre. That said though, I write pretty widely within it and haven't had a problem doing so.