Switching Genres--The Good, The Bad, and The Annoyance.

Today I thought I would give a lecture, I mean a diddy, on switching genres. I find most writers I talk to have one or two loves of genres, the ones they read. And over half of them write in the same genre. Is that bad? No, in fact, I find it welcoming since I read books all the time and think the author should go one way, have a twist with that there, and they don't simply because that isn't their story. It gets your mind ticking into something bigger, not saying better, but bigger to how you might be planning a whole new manuscript based on something that didn't happen. In NO means am I talking about plagerism, as writers I'm hoping the above sentence makes sense, since ideas seem to spark while reading. So that's the good part.

Here's the bad part. If you always read and write in the same genres you'll never never know if your great in something else. Good writers can write anything they say. Well, I think so too. But writers who feel for their genre are brilliant. We all know the ones, those whose words make us believe every word they tell is true like JK Rowling, CS Lewis, Mary Shelley, amd Jane Austen. How can we be like them if we simply just write *good* ? We can't. We have to explore the other side of a whole new genre because even in the end you will learn new skills to story telling, plus maybe even find a new knack. One that will make you great.

The Annoyance. I know, a strong word for a passion. I won't lie, it's tough. I never wanted to read a women's fiction, but I did and guess what? I liked it. I never thought Romance could rock--but guess what? It can. It's also a pain when you don't know which genre is your genre. You'll have to mind your tones when writing in one WIP to another, you will need different Beta targets, and most likely try some agents to query you never thought you would. When you look at it that way, is it really different from the process you're doing right now?

I know I always rant about exploring genres, but I have read too many things lately where I see great potential and really wonder why they won't try another genre out. As always, happy writing! On a softer note, you're all Great already now let's just make the world see it!