Tips: Writing In Multiple Genres

Writing in various genres at once might be difficult, but it can also help you satisfy various elements of your creative self. The many facets of your identity, the numerous voices that makeup you but which cannot always be reconciled into a single voice, may most certainly be channeled into various story-telling methods, as you may have surmised before reading this essay.

Although not all of the information presented on the following pages will directly apply to your goals, it is important to have a general understanding of the following concepts if you want to publish widely in several genres. Even if an author is best known for one specific genre, they may try their hand at others.

5 Ways To Get Started

Find Support

Reach out to other authors. When you’re a writer, you spend a lot of time alone, laughing and sobbing in your jammies with people who don’t exist but seem very real at the time. If you want your voice to be heard, you need to learn to share your work and take criticism.

Fear not about the quality of your writing; rough drafts make up the essential building blocks of future masterpieces. In terms of literary significance, an author’s early works are always the most significant. Even if it’s never seen the light of day, you can’t continue your job without this. Writing well and developing your voice is like practicing for an Olympic event that doesn’t exist yet. Authentic voices are always distinct from one another and never repeat the same exact performance again.

Joining a writers’ group is a great way to meet others who write in various styles. This makes it hard to evaluate the material. As an added bonus, you’ll stand out from copycat authors. At first, we all try to emulate what we see successful, but eventually, if we aren’t corrupted by our early financial success or our own lack of trust, we strike out on our own.

Turn Failure Into Energy

Even while writing every day isn’t necessary for success, many writers (myself included) need to have a regular writing schedule in order to keep our emotions from imploding. There is a high learning curve involved in writing in several genres, and you may get many rejections that may cause crippling self-doubt. Of course, we all have some, but the only way to overcome it is through pure tenacity or relentless obsession. The best way to deal with a scorpion climbing up your arm is to flick it off. Learning to do it with negative ideas is a necessary skill.

 “Lack of confidence does not mean a lack of talent.”

Read. Get Inspired. Repeat.

Here’s a rule of thumb: What you like reading is what you should write about. Read widely in the genres you want to write in, and not just casually; immerse yourself in the books, characters, paragraphs, conversation, styles, and even the sound of the language of that genre. This crucial sort of inspiration often accompanies a certain energy, an eagerness that makes a writer anxious to get started. An apparent piece of advice, but I’ve had individuals tell me they want to create a children’s picture book but haven’t picked up a picture book in 20 years.

Most individuals like writing in various genres; therefore, it would be a waste to specialize. You may surely get down and begin writing a horror book, even if you often compose poetry. Just imagine how much more qualified you would be if you had ten, fifteen, or twenty horror books on your shelves that you would sacrifice a finger for. You’ll have a firm grasp on what sells, and there’s a good possibility you’ll also have picked up on all the subtle strategies used by horror authors. In addition to reading a few go-to works in a certain genre, it’s helpful to have a few novels you didn’t like and couldn’t relate to on hand to use as cautionary tales.

Learn How To Play Again.

Can you see yourself observing young kids on a playground? Maybe you’re close enough to a school to overhear the kids yelling and laughing during playtime. When kids are left to their devices, their imaginations take off. Say it with me now: “I’m a tiger, rrrrrrrr!” A youngster raises his voice. A puddle may seem harmless to some, but it might be a fatal trap for others. Act it out. Laugh it up! Get dressed. Let your mind wander and create a fantastical version of your existence.

The Many Versions Of Yourself

A cookie created in a factory is always the same, yet that’s not how life works at all. If you want to be a great writer in several genres, you must let go of your commitment to just one of those personas. Discover all of your facets: serious, humorous, laid-back, confident, timid, and daring. That way, you can spend the morning writing a book on war and the afternoon writing a book about mice.

You’re Writing To Your Audience

You should follow your inspiration, but it will benefit you much if you have an idea of your new audience before you launch. You need just explore new forms and target new demographics with your work. Here are some suggestions I’ve come across that may help you reach out to a wider audience.

• Create a list of works and writers that have influenced you in this field. Get on board with them by following their social media accounts. Observe the demographics of their viewership and the methods they use to keep them interested.
• Participate in the new genre’s online forums and organizations on your preferred social media platform(s). Post original material that exemplifies your reimagined genre (s).
• Take part in that community by following new accounts, commenting, etc. Keep an eye out for interesting and original approaches to breaking into new groups, such as interviews hosted by certain accounts/bloggers.
• Mainly: don’t be shy about observing the crowd and learning about them in your own unique manner! Knowing your book’s intended audience is not only practical but also motivational.

What Makes That Genre

It’s not a waste of time to learn the ins and outs of a new genre before diving in and writing within it.

Writing your book how you think it should be written is important, but so is sticking to the essentials of the chosen genre. If you’re trying to write a thriller, but there’s not much going on, or the stakes aren’t high enough, you may want to reconsider. Some dystopian writers include love triangles in their works, while others do not. This can be seen by paying attention to how your target audience reads and interacts with the material. It’s possible to find motivation by studying established patterns and the tastes of your target audience.

Some individuals may find it simpler than others to understand what it is about a certain genre that readers like. While research on the genre is useful, don’t become mired there.

Tips on how to do this step:

• Try reading some works in the new genre you’re interested in writing in.
• To help you better understand the new genre, jot down the main changes or distinguishing features you’ve discovered. For instance, create an “order of events” for a few novels in that style. Do they share any fundamental properties? How consistent is the tempo? Is there anything you don’t like or think might use a twist?
• Examine works of various genres and make a list of the characteristics shared by those with which they have the most in common. Character growth may be the exclusive emphasis in a work of historical fiction, whereas plot tensions in a thriller book may be greater. Learning how the new genre differs from others helps you figure out what makes the genre work.
• Perhaps a fun topic to pose in online communities and discussions is, “What distinguishes *genre* from the others?” In what ways does it stand out? What components are necessary for its proper functioning?

Focus & Write

You can’t afford to become stuck in the researching phase; instead, you must buckle down and crank out the work. Do some writing. Investigate your strengths and weaknesses. In any case, you should continue and see if you can complete the first draft. Bear in mind that you are the author of this book. You have complete control over the book’s subject matter and intended readership. Give it everything you’ve got! Don’t be hesitant to share your deepest fears or fondest dreams. If you put your all into anything, your readers will notice. Never give in to criticism or discouragement.

Not Ready to Commit? Try Short-Form Pieces

Like many novels, writing shorter works might help you gain the confidence and stamina for longer projects. Putting your thoughts down on paper is a great approach to finding your own voice. For starters, jot down some thoughts on a topic that piques your curiosity, whether it is the sexual exploits of rats, Turkey’s naval history, or the future AI’s rise. The same may be said for fiction: create the book you’d most want to read. Read at least three recent issues (or content updates) of the publication(s) of interest before submitting any work for publication.

Send an email to the editor with a short paragraph outlining your proposal, briefly mentioning your background and a piece you like from a previous issue as pitch material. If you still haven’t heard anything after two weeks, follow up. Editors are not ignoring you; they just have dozens, if not hundreds, of emails to process daily. Don’t let yourself become too wrapped up in one publication; move on to the next once you’ve had work published in a regional publication, whether print or digital; editors have confidence in your abilities. Unfortunately, not all talented authors are punctual.