Why I Write

Big Teeth GuyEvery writer has some reason for writing. That reason is rarely money, since most writers don’t make money at writing. I don’t care what the guy with big teeth told you in the How to Write a Book and Make Tons and Tons of Money seminar. The thing I enjoy most about writing is the challenge to figure out what makes a book good. Some people find a particular genre and settle into it. Me, I enjoy many different genre’s and much prefer the idea of picking the right genre for a story than molding the story to fit within a genre. I enjoy seeing if I can make several different genre’s work.


Sadly, the publishing industry is not well suited for people who choose to move from genre to genre. People like to see writers write the same type of story over and over. I know of one romance author who used two plots almost exclusively throughout her career. She changed the names and gave the characters different circumstances, but her readers most certainly knew how her books would turn out, before they read them. She had many books to her credit. I know of another author who had fans in one genre, but she moved to another genre and now some of her original fans won’t read her new work.

Comments

Avily Jerome said…
That's a tragic set of circumstances! I, too, like to move in multiple genres.

I like Francine Rivers, because she has crossed genres, at least to some extent. Almost all of hers have some element of romance, but they're Biblical, Historical, and contemporary. She's one of my writing heroes!

Silly readers, unable to follow an author across multiple genres!
October 27, 2008 at 3:49 PM
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