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is it best for a writer to stick to one or two genres?

Alex

Troubadour
So I was just wondering, is it best for a writer to stick to one, maybe 2 genres or does it not usually make a difference?
 

Taytortots

Minstrel
I think it depends on the writer.
Some people are content sticking in a select genre (or a select few). Others like to create in everything.
I say, it wouldn't be best to stick to one genre if you want to branch into another, and the opposite as well. Don't write in more than one genre because you feel you need diversity (I don't mean you particularly, just a general thing)
So what's best is relative, I think.
 
I know some people that write many genres, but use a different pen name for each genre. It can be done, just not something I want to do.

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Dakkle

Dreamer
I think it depends on the writer, if they have the inspiration to write in the completely different genres and they can make it work then all the power to them. I'm not sure if I could. But I would agree that if they were going to get them published definately consider a different pen name.
 

Xanados

Maester
I think you have to be fairly confident in your abilities before you can write in two or more genres. It all depends, like the others have said, on the writer him/herself.
 
Most likely, it makes a differance for publishers, because books that mix genres a lot may be more difficult to market.

It absolutely doesn't matter to us writers in a practical sense, though.
 
Why can't someone write in however many they have an interest in? If I choose to do a scifi story I can't do a fantasy story? Are we all to limited in capability we can't create stories in more than one type of story?

That's crap. I can jump between fantasy and scifi without any difficulty at all because I love them both. Where is the law that says I can only write in one, so I have to choose one and forget the other?

I think if anything has happened it's that people can't seem to accept that people can do so very easily. If you look at most of the authors who have used a pen name you can find them all on their wikipedia site. It's like pretending to be someone else on the off chance no one will ever look up the name online and realize who the person really is.

No, there are no limits, other than what types of genre's and stories you love.
 
Most likely, it makes a differance for publishers, because books that mix genres a lot may be more difficult to market.

It absolutely doesn't matter to us writers in a practical sense, though.

I agree completely. "Genres" only exist as a box that writing can be placed in to make it easier for publishers and the public to know what a book, generally, is about. As the internet makes locating books easier, I predict a proliferation of genres, much in the same was of what has happened to music. People will get exactly what they are looking for, be it alien-young adult-comedy, or post-apocalyptic vampire romance.

Write what you love. You should be writing for yourself, not for a genre.
 
...I had this great post written down, but it now occurs to me that we are probably talking about altering between writing different genres, yes? Not mixing them, as I presumed.

So, yeah. Then it's mostly a matter of being skilled at multiple genres. There may still be an issue of marketing, though. I mean, even if your name is a successful fantasy brand, that may not really help you sell romance novels or whatever. I think that's the real reason people use pseodonyms.
 

Devor

Fiery Keeper of the Hat
Moderator
Writers can write cross-genre, but I imagine there would still be common elements or themes which the author takes into the new genre. It's all up to what you want to write about and your strengths or weaknesses as a writer.

Individual books will end up sitting in one spot on the shelf, so a single, consistent label would be helpful in selling it. But you won't have to justify that choice with a literary essay, so don't worry too much about what genres you might be in.

To be honest, I think I'm personally stuck in Fantasy. If I couldn't shape and destroy the world in my writing, I don't know what I'd write about. I guess I could write Sci-Fi, but I'd have trouble describing "scientific phenomenon" that I know are unrealistic. Probably I'd have to write about heists and spies, but I don't know what that would look like for me. I think movies are the better fit for that genre.
 

JCFarnham

Auror
I would say it most definitely isn't best for a writer to stick to one or two genres. Why? Because how ever will you grow as a writer? I strongly believe that one can benefit greatly from writing in as many genres as they can manage. Something about eggs and baskets...

Would try and work out a better argument but honestly I don't think I need to. Nothing wrong with being good at one thing, nothing wrong with being good across the board. Of course, thats if you take things from a purely "craft" point of view.

If we're talking business however, then regularly writing in different genres is called diversification and even I guess risk aversion. As writers of some times fairly obscure stuff we speculative fiction writers could stand to branch out for sure. If you know you can publish some I don't know reviews or self help or articles as well as your "main" then you'll always have something to fall back on.

So yeah ... uh, why would you want to stick to one genre? What are the pros if any?
 
I would say it most definitely isn't best for a writer to stick to one or two genres. Why? Because how ever will you grow as a writer?

[-]

So yeah ... uh, why would you want to stick to one genre? What are the pros if any?

Well, playing Devil's Advocate here: Growth doesn't have to mean versatility. You can also grow via specialization.

And there's a reason polymaths are rare in this world, while specialists are aplenty. It takes time and effort to master virtually anything, including writing, and becoming extremely skilled at one thing is hard enough. You usually don't get to be extremely skilled at multiple things unless you are already a genius. So, one might argue that you are better off seeking ever deeper mastery of your one genre of choice.

Put another way: Would you rather be an okay writer in many genres, or the best fantasy author in the world?
 

Steerpike

Felis amatus
Moderator
Another reason to stay in one genre is simply interest. That is, if as an author you have no interest in writing outside of one genre, you should not force yourself to do so merely for the sake of diversity. If you don't have a passion for what your are writing, it is doubtful a reader will, either.

Write in one genre or many, as your own preferences dictate. There is nothing wrong with either path.
 

JCFarnham

Auror
Another reason to stay in one genre is simply interest. That is, if as an author you have no interest in writing outside of one genre, you should not force yourself to do so merely for the sake of diversity. If you don't have a passion for what your are writing, it is doubtful a reader will, either.

Write in one genre or many, as your own preferences dictate. There is nothing wrong with either path.

I'm with you 100% :)

Though sometime I can't help but think.. if you don't try at least one or twice how will you know you don't have passion for that genre?
 

Devor

Fiery Keeper of the Hat
Moderator
I would say it most definitely isn't best for a writer to stick to one or two genres. Why? Because how ever will you grow as a writer? I strongly believe that one can benefit greatly from writing in as many genres as they can manage. Something about eggs and baskets...

Don't get me wrong, I read other genres much more than I read fantasy. And the first story I posted/wrote on this site was a non-fantasy challenge entry. And you make some great points. But there are other ways to grow as a writer, and you can easily risk over-extending yourself as a writer as well. To me, it's more important to figure out how to incorporate, for instance, the deep and normal characters you see in regular fiction into the fantasy worlds I want to write in. I even consider nonfiction, such as the decision making strategies JFK used during the missile crisis. Knowing elements of those genres helps me grow within the confines of what I want to achieve as a writer. But spending too much time with them can hinder my primary focus.
 
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Xanados

Maester
I personally don't seem myself writing anything other than fantasy. I could try another genre, but I find it hard to even summon the energy to do so. It's strange.
 

JCFarnham

Auror
Don't get me wrong, I read other genres much more than I read fantasy. And the first story I posted/wrote on this site was a non-fantasy challenge entry. And you make some great points. But there are other ways to grow as a writer, and you can easily risk over-extending yourself as a writer as well. To me, it's more important to figure out how to incorporate, for instance, the deep and normal characters you see in regular fiction into the fantasy worlds I want to write in. I even consider nonfiction, such as the decision making strategies JFK used during the missile crisis. Knowing elements of those genres helps me grow within the confines of what I want to achieve as a writer. But spending too much time with them can hinder my primary focus.

I think we may have to disagree on the over-extention part. Maybe it's just me (and my over analytical mind perhaps haha), but I can't think that way, isn't over extention just an excuse for not wanting to for fear of failing? In reality though - like with all things it seems - "it depends". such a cop out answer I know and I hate using it, but some times you need to focus on one thing, other times its worth trying The Other. "Your Mileage May Vary" and so on.

Research is different of course. We all absorb knowledge from everywhere in our life (whether we listen to it/act on it or not is a different matter altogether) it would surely be impossible to write without drawing on something.
 

Devor

Fiery Keeper of the Hat
Moderator
I think we may have to disagree on the over-extention part. Maybe it's just me (and my over analytical mind perhaps haha), but I can't think that way, isn't over extention just an excuse for not wanting to for fear of failing? In reality though - like with all things it seems - "it depends". such a cop out answer I know and I hate using it, but some times you need to focus on one thing, other times its worth trying The Other. "Your Mileage May Vary" and so on.

Over-Extension isn't a simple fear of failing. If you're published, you need to build an audience with your work. If you switch genres, your additional work will lose most of the audience that you've gained in the first genre. Attempting to maintain separate audiences, with separate interests, and often separate needs from you as a writer, is what we call over-extending yourself. Stretching yourself thin. I think someone or another had a line about butter. It's a real occurrence. I mean, certainly some people can do it, but I would imagine they look for places where an audience will overlap between the two genres, kind of like Sci-Fi and Fantasy.
 

JCFarnham

Auror
Over-Extension isn't a simple fear of failing. If you're published, you need to build an audience with your work. If you switch genres, your additional work will lose most of the audience that you've gained in the first genre. Attempting to maintain separate audiences, with separate interests, and often separate needs from you as a writer, is what we call over-extending yourself. Stretching yourself thin. I think someone or another had a line about butter. It's a real occurrence. I mean, certainly some people can do it, but I would imagine they look for places where an audience will overlap between the two genres, kind of like Sci-Fi and Fantasy.

So we shouldn't try?

I read Marketing at university, so I more than anyone understand the way you're using the term over extention in this case (thank you for the clarification there by the way). And still, despite this, I will never stop myself from writing whatever I wish to write and trying to get what ever piece of literature I want published. If this in a practical sense means that I have to use psuedonyms for work that doesn't fit the marketing view then that's what has to be done.

Right?

I could rattle off any number of marketing theories and academic papers but in the end almost anything can be marketed to anyone. Issues can only truly be viewed on a case by case basis in my opinion. If a marketing department really, I mean really tried to they would almost certainly find a way to get profit out of a writer who exists in multiple genres and disciplines. I sometimes wonder whether its an issue of "being bothered to" hehe ;)
 

Devor

Fiery Keeper of the Hat
Moderator
So we shouldn't try?

I didn't go that far at all. My first post on the first page said that writers can cross genres. Some will get more from it than others. I was only saying that they risk over-extending themselves, and responding to your suggestion that it would be best universally if we did.

It's cool to see someone else who's studied Marketing, though. Hats off to you.
 
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