Writing Outside Your Comfort Zone

[Philip Overby]

I've often heard other writers say, "Try writing outside your comfort zone/genre." For me, I primarily write fantasy, although I have tried to write sci-fi, horror, and surrealist/absurdist fiction in the past as well. All in all, I stay in the realm of speculative fiction. However, I'm curious as to what my version of a romance or mystery story would be. Since I haven't written in those genres before, I'm sure the results would be pretty interesting.

This could be a fun challenge for us (I know this isn't the Challenge section, but just throwing this out there.) Why don't you try writing something in a genre you'd never normally write in for you next story? Just have fun with it and see how it turns out. I know a big factor for some is "write what I like" so it would be interesting to see your own spin on genres you normally don't like.

The main question is this: As far as your writing goes, do you ever step outside your comfort zone, or do you usually stick to your preferred genre (which I'm assuming is fantasy since you're all here )?

 

[Feo Takahari]

I don't often come up with ideas for stories with no fantasy elements (and I've never successfully published or won a contest with one), but I don't have anything against them. I do think there's a specific style I tend towards, but it functions in a lot of different genres.

I suppose I'd challenge myself most by writing a story glorifying "natural living" and denouncing science, but that's really not a direction I want to go. As it is, I've written a story directly opposing my usual message of tolerance and unity (Dulling the Pain), a story containing significant male-on-male romance (Eternal), and a story in which I did horrible things to a character I really didn't want to do horrible things to (Worms.)

 

[Chilari]

I can certainly understand that reading and writing in other genres can be helpful to any writer in learning about writing overall - about the way pacing and tension work, examining different ways of portraying relationships, and so on. I agree it would be a valuable way of improving our writing.

Feo: are you saying that an anti-science stance would be challenging to you because it goes against your beliefs? I don't think writing stories with values which are opposite to our own are necessary to write more challenging stories. I agree that trying to take on a different perspective and understand that perspective would certainly benefit one's own understanding of humanity and the world we live in, but I'm dubious that we can learn much as writers from such an approach. There are other ways of going outside your comfort zone - as it seems you have experienced with some of your other stories; writing a story which contains values that outright contradict your own is going further than is necessary.

I think there are a number of ways to write outside your comfort zone. Not merely writing in a different genre or involving scenes or sequences which are not part of what you'd normally choose to write about, but writing in ways you don't usually. If you normally stick to third person omniscient, a strong first person voice might be worth attempting. If what you write tends to focus on what people think, want, feel and say, then a more action-driven story could be interesting to try. If you prefer quick, concise language and fast pacing, trying to slow things down and appreciate the scenery, the thoughts of your protagonists and the world elements which impact upon the story could provide insight too. It's all about a new perspective on writing.

 

[Feo Takahari]

@Chilari: I just mentioned that because it seems to be a "genre" of a sort. (Or multiple genres, actually--anti-science horror like Lovecraft's work is very different from anti-science fantasy like Dinotopia.) I've written a character who thinks in terms of the latter, but I don't think I could really write either.

 

[Taytortots]

Step outside of my comfort zone? But it's comfortable in here!
Yeah, I like to stay with the things I know, which is really any type of fantasy, but I have been branching off into dystopia a little, but considering I also read dystopia it`s not a far leap.
I have tried before to write a contemp YA, I'm not really sure why, looking back, because i'm not even interested in reading that genre honestly. Anyways it didn't work out. I can`t think of an idea that`s all that great outside of fantasy.
I also feel like if I do, i`ll go down a few pegs and be a new writer again. Because since I know fantasy well, I read it, I write it, I love everything to do with the genre, I know many parts of it. But trying to write something else I would have to force myself to learn all the aspects of that genre, and start from the bottom and work my way higher from there. Get what I mean?
I can say that I do intend on doing an all out dystopian book sometimes, but that is not entirely out of my comfort zone.
I do think it would be a good exercise though. Maybe i`ll try it one day.

 

[Penpilot]

Every so often I'll write something out of my usual SciFi/fantasy comfort zone. I usually don't deliberately do this. The story just pops up and demands to be written. I've written a little horror, and to my surprise, one of my contemporary stories I realized could maybe considered a romance. And just recently as I was planning a fantasy book a second idea for a contemporary book popped into my head and is demanding my attention.

 

[Saigonnus]

I actually write outside my confort zone all the time, whenever I have a concept that I want to explore that doesn't generally work in a fantasy setting. I typically write sci-fi or fantasy, but I have a couple concepts outside of that, one being a western type story; those years always fascinated me.

 

[Ophiucha]

I feel like every new project I have an idea for is just testing my patience with my so called comfort zones. Six months ago, I'd have sworn on China Mieville's lovely bald head that I'd never write a book with more than one viewpoint character and no more than twenty named characters, but my current project has three with about a dozen major characters and a couple dozen more on the side. I don't like writing about male protagonists, but last summer I was completely inspired by the life of John Hawkwood and had to rewrite it in meticulous detail (and I made him a werewolf). I have a hard science fiction project on the side; hard science fiction. I love to read it, but I'd never have thought I'd end up writing it.

I think my two only two hard, impassable lines are straight comedies and completely non-SFF (though I will write magic realism and low fantasy and post-apocalyptic stories without advanced technology or mutants or anything). I think I would write the second one - it would probably end up being very personal and specific to my experiences, but I could do it. But comedies? Bah. *

* As per my first paragraph, ask me again and I'll probably be writing a comedy trilogy (incidentally another thing I don't like doing, but I've already caved and written a duology(?) so I give it till September, tops).

 

[CreatorOfBotis]

I recently came up with an idea for a historical fiction novel - well outside of my comfort zone. Not only am I'm pretty comfortably stuck with fantasy, but that would require research! I can't bring myself to write about something I know very little about unless I can write it off as something I made up or a quirk of my own imagined world - a major reason I love fantasy so much. The idea of a historical fiction work would require intricacies of knowledge that I don't think I'm prepared to deal with.

Nonetheless, I started work on it. I was quite enjoying how it was shaping up, regardless of knowing that I'd need to read up on etiquette and dress in the appropriate time-frame. Next thing I knew, one of the supporting characters turned out to be a vampire and the main character's quick turned into an attribute of magical abilities.

Similar thing happened a few years ago when I had a realistic fiction idea. And shortly later I had a sci-fi short story mesh into fantasy, though that's not quite so drastic a leap. I just can't break out of fantasy.

I was thinking that I might give steampunk a try. Or a male lead - I haven't played with that in a while.

 

[Addison]

I've found that dabbling outside my genre helps to keep me fresh. I'll write a sci-fi or horror or regular fiction. Either a short story, a scene, or even flash fiction. No matter how big or small, fleeting, take a break from your primary genre and write.

 

[Steerpike]

I will write whatever. I even wrote a western once. More important than writing outside of your genre, however, is reading outside of it. I think it is vital, and you can often tell new writers who only read fantasy.

 

[Addison]

I've recently found taking a break from fantasy to be just what the doctor ordered. I've been going crazy over my current WiP so I decided to work on a different story. I've only written two scenes and I can already feel the pressure lifting. So writing outside the comfort zone is a good thing.

 

[Devora]

I constantly come up with ideas that aren't necessarily in the Fantasy Genre. To keep myself stuck in one Genre/Sub-Genre would be hindering my creativity.

 

[Corvus]

First of everything that is not fantasy is out of my comfort zone. Interestingly enough I didn't actually start writhing fantasy, though I was 13 and it was horrible :eeeew!: so I never attempted it again.

I do try different things within the genre I'm not necessary comfortable whit: different perspectives, pacing... and I think it helps to develop my writhing a lot more then struggling whit lets say a mystery novel that will never get finished. It good to challenge your self but not to go so far out of your comfort zone to find writhing a chore.
For me writhing is a way to relax and I wouldn't want to write something in a different genre I don't even like just so I can say I was being "brave" and went out of my comfort zone.

 

[Ayaka Di'rutia]

I have written mostly fantasy, but I have tried my hand at realism and sci-fi. Most of the realism stuff were short stories, though, and I have written sci-fi novels. It's interesting doing realism, to say the least, and to explore a story in a different way, but I don't find it nearly as exciting as fantasy or sci-fi.

 

[skip.knox]

I'm not sure what "comfort zone" means, really. Maybe it means more to someone who is writing their twelfth book. For myself, I have to *want* to write a story. Writing is hard work for me, and I need to be motivated to drag myself through that gauntlet yet again. I can't imagine doing that for something that was a mere exercise. It's certainly not something I'd call fun.

Moreover, I've got quite a few stories waiting to be written. They fly around my head like gnats. I want to spend my time on those stories, not on exercises. So, I would pass on such a challenge.