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Today's topic involves a conversational object I feel that roams around whenever writing or watching random vlogs like 'Shaelin Writes' on youtube. It's basically a 'who are you?' sort of deal because once you declare yourself as a writer, you have start asking yourself this particular question- "What the heck do I write about??", and I don't mean just fan fiction and random cliché story that's already has been done before. I'm talking about the topics that gravitate within your subconscious. Do you want to embrace nerdy side and go with Fantasy, Science-Fiction, etc. Or do you want to be a romantic with fluff or loads of adult content? Or do you want to be the psychological and twisted?
Anything of these sort of questions should be one of the first things that should be popping in your head while embracing the writing world you're beginning to shape up. However, at times I believe that a writer should want to challenge themselves whenever facing a project. It's what gets us motivated to write our beloved stories to the general public. I mean, I'm facing about ten projects (Nine if you don't count one of them and the one that is a co-authored project) and generally they're all within the same paranormal-fantasy element. And that's normally because I came to terms with my identity of being a fantasy, but that is why I want to experiment as well.
Let's take my stories Soldiers and Penumbrae. My Soldiers is a modern paranormal-fantasy, which is my comfort zone. It involves the typical young adult elements you see in books like the Mortal Instruments, Harry Potter, etc. However, it does involve one of my favorite research topics, the Grim Reaper. :P I intend to make it 'original' for readers to love, but at the same time, I want to have fun as the author in the field of Young adult.
As for Penumbrae, I'm leaving the comforts of reaching for my norm by going after a genre I don't hear a lot of women go for and that is horror. As a lover of the blood, gore, and all things psychotic in books and movies, I've been dying to let my horror loving mind take over and do whatever the hell I want with it. And you know what? This story is easily becoming a favorite of mine to write. By the time this book may enter the hands of a reader, he/she will think that I'm belong in the electric chair. That's how glorifying and creepy I crave it to be. It may hit the adult genre if it is published, but I'm not gonna give a flying goat.
Anyway, upon discovering your particular genre in the writing field; you think that you got it all down right? Hehe, no. You don't. You are going to constantly get the 'what ifs' and craving to experiment of the endless opportunities for your writing. You may want to try happy rom-com, or western, or hell erotica. Your mind is an endless possibility if you let it be. I mean, yeah you will be afraid to write. You may think that you're not good enough. But, once you find what you want to write about, embrace it. The experimentation is the most wonderful action to take while being a artist. It helps you explore new challenges and you get away with it too when people begin to question it in person. It's okay to take risks! (Just ask all of the odd famous writers out there... I.E: JK Rowling).
So my question for you guys involve this: what type of writer or you? Are you a standard 'stick to one genre' writer or a experimental writer and go crazy in all of the genres? :)
