Living With the Dead (LWtD) began as a writing exercise, basically daily practice to strengthen my skills and to make me a better writer in general, as well as helping me get used to writing A) a lot, B) every day and C) multiple projects at once.
I think it did its job. I managed to buckle down and finish my debut novel, which is available on the Kindle and the NOOK. It's an epic fantasy and the first in a series, totally different than LWtD in style and tone.
Right now, I'm working on a Vampire novel that can best be described as real life, but with vampires. By that I mean that the only tone I'm going for is how real life is--scary, sometimes very funny, with sex and love peppered throughout. It's a fun project on its own, and writing it comes much more easily than anything I've done yet.
And there's the point of this post: I have a ton of ideas for stories, many already in the early stages of outlining and development of canon. At least a dozen ideas for novels, ranging from thriller/suspense to more epic fantasy to literary fiction. I mean, look at what I've already done: I write zombie survival fiction, a fantasy story, and vampire erotica/romance/comedy.
I think a big part of being a writer for me is being totally behind the story. I think too many people focus on where the story itself falls within the confines of how others see it. I just don't care if someone says, "Oh, he writes zombie fiction, so his fantasy must suck out loud." It's just not a part of my makeup to really care about that type of thing.
For me, it's about having an idea that you just have to work on, developing that into a story to tell. It's about taking that kernel of inspiration and applying liberal amounts of creative heat and watching is spring out into something bigger.
Something tastier. Damn, but I made myself hungry for popcorn just then.
So, if you want to check out my work and see if I manage to tell different kinds of stories well, then please check out my books on the Kindle or the Nook. Making money is important to me, as a means of making a better life for my wife and I, but just as important is that you, the reader, genuinely enjoys the experience we share. I build my worlds and tend them with new efforts so that you might find enjoyment from them.
I just don't see how some authors can stick to one genre. I like the different textures of them too much as a reader to ignore them as a writer. Love, fear, mystery, hope, humor, awe and amazement...I want to try my hand with all of them.
I think genre is useful for marketing purposes, although I hate labels and try to avoid them myself. I've always said that a good writer is a good writer no matter what the genre, but it is a fact that people have their preferences and it's difficult to get them to step outside that. It is for me, as a reader, also, if I'm to be totally honest.
ReplyDeleteMany authors get around this by using a pen name for their various endeavors, so their readers know just exactly what they're getting when they pick up that writer's book. There's great merit in that approach, IMO.