Feeling Stuck

I saw a recent interview where the person being interviewed said, “You’re going to be stuck writing a series or a genre for quite a while.”  In fact, the entire tone of the interview was that you should pick a genre and stick with it.  I’m not sure I agree with that.

Don’t get me wrong – a writer shouldn’t write something he or she sucks at.  I’ve long criticized George Lucas for trying to write romantic dialogue in Attack of the Clones because he just wasn’t up to it.  It felt forced and campy and the kind of thing you’d see in a love note written by a 4^th grader.  If the writer can’t pull it off, then he or she should learn a lot before trying to do so(or at least before showing it to the general public).

But I think it’s possible to pull off different genres if you have enough skill.  I’ve written science fiction, paranormal, and political/military thriller.  I think each of my stories work because it’s the story that’s compelling rather than the genre.  Beyond that, I feel that limiting yourself to a genre is confining.  The world’s best don’t do this, and if you want to be the best, you have to find ways to break out(Harry Turtledove’s Great War saga may be an alternate universe, but it reads like military fiction; he also branched out into true science fiction with his WorldWar series).

I think it boils down to knowing your strengths and weaknesses.  Maybe you aren’t yet up to the task, but that doesn’t mean you brush it off forever.  If you want to write Americana or Crime Drama, then figure out how.  Even Stephen King doesn’t only write horror, so find out if you can translate your strengths to other areas.