I have a style of writing. It’s no-nonsense, somewhat loquacious but inelegant. And thanks to a smattering Hebrew and Yiddish being part of my vocabulary, my sentence structure sometimes causes people to stop and shrug, maybe.
My genre in the beginning was apocalyptic drama/action. I’d written three and a half novels in that genre before stopping to do other writing. In that time, I worked in the beginnings of a detective mystery novel, a western, sci fi, and historical fiction.
I’ve tried a little of everything, it seems. At first it wasn’t easy. I was used to writing one style. But to grow as a writer, I needed to try other genres.
This actually flies in the face of some writing advice I read in the beginning. One writer advised, “concentrate in one genre.”
I suppose that’s good advice for some. Yet if you took creative writing in college, you’d find that – guess what? They’ll make you try writing in every genre.
Why?
It makes you a better writer.
Now, I’m not about to advocate writing poetry. I did find a book of Robert Frost poems when I was a kid, and I read it. That was as far as I’ve gone in poetry.
I do recommend that every writer try different mediums, writing non-fiction and also Screenplays.
And I recommend that everyone try writing in different genres. Try drama. Detective fiction. Crime. Cozy Mysteries. Action/Adventure. Suspense. Tolkien/Carter like fantasy. Science Fiction. Young Adult & Middle Grade.
You should probably concentrate in one Genre as a rule – but branch out, try other things. Try some historical fiction. Try writing at least one novel in every field.
You might be surprised how much it improves your writing overall.
