Every week we’ll ask the Confabulators a question that may further illuminate the blog question or give you some further insight into our working minds. This week’s question is “What’s your favorite genre to write?” Sometimes a writer is better at writing one kind of story than the kind of story she likes to read. Below, look for what this group of writers likes to write. For purposes of comparison, feel free to go back and read our bloggers’ thoughts on what books are their favorites to read.
I consider myself a Jack of all Genres. I try to challenge myself to write something different every time I start a new project. Horror, haiku, memoir, metaphysical, fantasy, fiction – a new adventure awaits in every genre. My favorite, though, is the increasingly popular urban fantasy genre. I started writing it when I was a kid, before I even knew what genre meant.
My favorite genre is young adult fiction. After having spent 34+ years in secondary classrooms, I have a huge stock of character traits to use in YA novels, and even if I come up with an endless supply of plots, I’ll probably never use up my stock of characters.
I’ve also written science fiction, although that was about 35 years ago when technology was simpler – no Internet, no “instant communication devices” (cell phones), no AIDS, etc. I’ve also written radio-oriented articles and columns for various radio hobby magazines, especially “Monitoring Times”.
I love writing science fiction because instead of telling people “wouldn’t it be cool if…” and then watching their faces as they try to imagine what I am talking about, I can just describe what would be so cool as if it already exists.
I’ve joked that my genre is Rural Gothic Tragedy, but I think that explains a lot of my writing as well as anything. I tell myself I’ll write in any genre, but there tends to be elements of Gothic or tragic literature no matter what genre I try to write. If I wrote a picture book, the hero would probably die in the climax.
I love Young Adult fiction. It’s almost all of what I read and it’s entirely what I write. More specifically, I prefer to write paranormal YA, even though my current WIP is contemporary. (I have a sneaking suspicion that it’ll turn into a paranormal story during revisions.)
I love YA because I think it’s the most fun genre to write. I get to let the little boy in my head go crazy with dirty jokes, sexual innuendos, and awkward situations. Not to mention almost all YA books have a love story. Teenage crushes/first loves are sweet, pure, and full of hopes, dreams, and potential. I’d rather write a teenage love story than an adult one, any day of the week.
Writing for teenagers is also my favorite because I feel like I could really make a difference. Being a teenager is tough, confusing, and full of challenges. I know that there were a few books I read as a teenager that made growing up easier. I hope that at some point, I can write a book that will do the same for someone else. Impacting someone else’s life like that would make all the stress, the late nights, the craziness, and the blood, sweat, and tears that go into writing worth it.
I tend to write Science Fiction adventures with a romantic angle. I’m interested in relationships more than anything else and that’s what makes my stories Romantic if not exactly Romances. Maybe it’s ticky-tack of me to draw such a distinction between Romance and Romantic, but hey – I blame my reading of Michael Moorcock as a teenager. I’d like to write Horror and Fantasy, but no matter what I write it’ll always have a Romantic element to it. It can’t be helped.
Contemporary fantasy is the best. Nearly everything I write happens in a slightly skewed version of our world. I love the juxtaposition of reality and fantasy. High fantasy that takes place in a fictitious land is fun to read, but what I love best to write is crazy, nonsensical things happening to real people within the context of their regular, everyday lives. The challenge I like to tackle is to take the most outrageous, ridiculous, or extraordinary, throw it at an unsuspecting, ordinary human, and somehow have it come off as completely plausible.
I love to read and write about worlds that may never exist. When asked, I usually say that I write “weird stories” — and follow that up with “science fiction, fantasy and horror.” Though I love some stories of hard science fiction or high fantasy, I prefer worlds that mostly mirror our own. I prefer telling stories of the strange and improbable (nothing is impossible), that take place next door, around the corner, or in the closet. I am currently writing in the superhero genre.
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