Where Genres Collide Traci Dowe YA Author

Have Our Writing Lives Expanded from the Narrow Genres There Used to Be For the Better?

Traci Kenworth

Have our writing lives expanded from the narrow genres there used to be for the better? By which meaning, has moving away from the strictly action, horror, science-fiction, romance, thriller, and fantasy opened up the possibilities for all? Can we explore stories further? Go in new directions? Open those characters up in ways that weren’t possible before?

I think so. Who doesn’t love a little horror in their fantasy? A little action-packed romance? Some thriller with high stakes on another planet? Well, maybe that’s a stretch there. Or it just hasn’t been written yet to my knowledge then again, it might prove a great idea. You never know.

Maybe that’s when reading got more interesting: when the lines started getting blurred between genres. It brings surprise. It brings possibilities. A way for things to unravel. And that’s fun! Not many people like to stick to the dusty stacks of books (although sometimes you can find treasures there!). They’d rather explore the neat, unexpected path of things.

As we branch out in the smudged genres, we learn what works, what doesn’t. We push further. Other ideas occur to us. Other areas open up to us. It becomes a flirtation of sorts to see what goes together. Like different puzzles. Its just like how we test different characters for stories. One might work here, but not there. And so on.

It seems so restrictive to think of keeping a story fitted to one genre in today’s market. Peeks of other genres thread through the majority of what’s out there. Those threads are what keep readers coming back for more. Long after a book’s been read, the story simmers in the reader’s mind. Tantalizing them with visions of other outcomes, that’s often what becomes the seed for the next writer’s session.

The pick of the string and sew it into another story. Over and over, thousands of ideas become more stories. That’s why you don’t have to worry about someone “stealing your idea.” They’ll never have “the same” idea as yours. How many serial killer versions are out there? Killer clowns? Apocalyptic endings? Zombie scourges? Romantic movies? Fantasies on other worlds involving dragons, swordsmen, endless armies, sorcerers and so on?

Have our writing lives expanded from the narrow genres out there for the better, or for worse? You be the judge on your next read!

Happenings: Still, just the swelling going on here otherwise, things are looking better. The HVAC in my car went out and we had to replace that. Oh, what a nightmare it was to drive in the winter storm a day before that because well, work for one of my adult children. With the windshield frozen, there were three near-collisions on one route. Getting home was a tad better but the trauma of the drive left me so shaky. Needless to say, I was willing to get that fixed the next morning to avoid future incidents. We’d already been getting sick because of no heat.

Blog posts around the web you may like:

1. Life in the Realm of Fantasy https://conniejjasperson.com/2023/03/24/fineartfriday-under-flowering-trees-by-adolf-kaufmann/ Artist: Adolf Kaufmann (1848–1916) Title: Under flowering trees Date: before 1916 Medium: oil on canvas Inscription: signed A. Kaufmann What I love about this painting: Kaufmann gives us a beautiful spring day with apple trees and cherry trees in full bloom. The weather is misty, cool and damp the way spring mornings often are here in the Pacific Northwest. Chickens roam the orchard, and two women are digging, breaking the ground for a spring garden. To the left is a weathered building. Is it a barn? Is it their home? It’s hidden behind the shrubbery so it’s difficult to tell, but it has no window, so I think it may be a barn. Nothing is romanticized—we see it the way the artist did on that spring day over a century ago. I love to see her views on paintings. It just brings the piece to life, much like the artist’s brush.
2. Entertaining Stories https://coldhandboyack.wordpress.com/2023/03/26/i-tried-negative-word-count/ This is an odd one for me. Basically, I’ve switched to watching almost exclusively Korean shows on Netflix. I like them because they present new ways of looking at things, but still retain a semblance of plot and character growth. They have a lot of fantasy and supernatural tales, and aren’t afraid to dabble in sophomoric humor, so you can further see the appeal to me. I started watching a new one last night involving a fantastic creature trying to become human. At one point he said, “I don’t think like humans.” This stuck with me. When we write, even our aliens and fantastic creatures have to be presented for human readers. We have to put things in their language. However, this could be a relatively cool plot point in itself. I’ve gotten negative growth when I go back through to fix something or I’m stuck on something all together and have to figure a new way to go. It’s tough but sometimes it breaks open the doors.
3. A Delectable Life https://adelectablelife.com/2023/03/25/weekend-writing-prompt-304-mail/ A word prompt to get your creativity flowing this weekend.  How you use the prompt is up to you.  Write a piece of flash fiction, a poem, a chapter for your novel…anything you like.  Or take the challenge below – there are no prizes – it’s not a competition but rather a fun writing exercise.  If you want to share what you come up with, please leave a link to it in the comments.  Love me the short ones.  Thanks for hosting, Sammi!
4. Roberta Writes https://roberta-writes.com/2023/03/25/roberta-writes-thursday-doors-and-cffc-things-people-drive-cars-trains-planes/ Welcome to Thursday Doors! This is a weekly challenge for people who love doors and architecture to come together to admire and share their favorite door photos, drawings, or other images or stories from around the world. If you’d like to join us, simply create your own Thursday Doors post each (or any) week and then share a link to your post in the comments below, anytime between 12:01 am Thursday morning and Saturday noon (North American eastern time). If you like, you can add our badge to your post. You can join in Thursday Doors here: https://nofacilities.com/2023/03/23/some-fun-leftovers/ Cee’s prompt for this week is Things people drive and seeing as most things people drive have doors, I am combining the two prompts this week. You can join in Cee’s challenge here: https://ceenphotography.com/2023/03/21/cffc-things-people-drive/
5. Syl’s 65 blog https://syl65.wordpress.com/2023/03/26/soulfulsunday-%e2%98%80%ef%b8%8fsmokie-norful-god-is-able/
6. Charles French Words Reading and Writing https://charlesfrenchonwordsreadingandwriting.wordpress.com/2023/03/25/17607/#like-17607
7. Angel Messages https://annetterochelleaben.wordpress.com/2023/03/26/angel-messages-mar-26-2023/
8. Smorgasbord Magazine https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2023/03/26/smorgasbord-blog-magazine-podcast-poetry-flash-fiction-seasons-and-murmuration-by-sally-cronin/ Seasons the seasons of life as in nature are defined from cradle to grave each marks the passage of time to the place we are today. In the spring of my life I was hopeful and eager. In the summer sun I blossomed and thrived. The autumn still offers bright days, but they are tinged with chill winds created by the evil humans can do. I am wary of what winter will bring. It threatens to dilute the hope I still cherish. I question myself can I still find the desire the words and the will to foster warmth in the hearts of those who ride icy winds Murmuration
9. The Leaning Pile of Books https://www.fantasybookcafe.com/2023/03/the-leaning-pile-of-books-418/ The Leaning Pile of Books is a feature in which I highlight books I got over the last week that sound like they may be interesting—old or new, bought or received in the mail for review consideration. Since I hope you will find new books you’re interested in reading in these posts, I try to be as informative as possible. If I can find them, links to excerpts, author’s websites, and places where you can find more information on the book are included, along with series information and the publisher’s book description. Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org, and I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. Some of this is a little late since things have been busier than usual (my husband has been recovering from surgery), but better late than never! This weekend’s highlights include two books in the mail, an ebook purchase, and a digital ARC, but first, here is the latest post since one of these features in case you missed it:
10. Chris the Story Reading Ape https://thestoryreadingapeblog.com/2023/03/26/what-is-freewriting-6-steps-to-unlocking-your-creativity-by-the-write-life-team/ If you have been lacking creativity in your writing and your work, freewriting might be a technique that gets you back on track. You might have wondered what is freewriting, how it works, and how you can use it to unlock new levels of creativity in your brain. The main idea behind freewriting is that you have all of this creativity hiding behind your conscious brain. Our conscious brains can be a mental bully, telling you that your ideas are silly or that what you have to say is not interesting, so freewriting is a technique that moves your conscious brain out of the way so you can tap into your inner creativity and flow. We so often want the writing to be perfect, but we never focus on getting started. If you relate to that, freewriting might be perfect for you. We will go through all of the above so you can use this helpful practice to bring some creativity back to your writing. I’ve used freewriting before to breakthrough when stuck with my writing. It works wonders.
11. Entertaining Stories https://coldhandboyack.wordpress.com/2023/03/25/cant-whine-about-2200-words/ I got up really late this morning. I think my weeks are getting longer and more difficult. Probably a result of aging, but there it is. The morning was loaded with interruptions. I took a call from my daughter, and we have to make some plans for a serious road trip very soon. On top of that, the dogs needed… everything. Seriously, squirrels, the neighbor dog that always leads to a game of chase up the fence, someone walking by the Ring doorbell. If it could interrupt, it did. They’re out there barking at some other dog right now. Still, I’d reached a point in my story where things could just flow. This was Jenny’s interview with the fallen network anchorman, and you can think of it like a mini-mentor scene. I need to put some thought into how the next step is going to unfold, but now there are some tips from this mentor.
12. Meeka’s Mind https://acflory.wordpress.com/2023/03/24/little-miss-tukti-caught-in-the-act/ The Tukti are vegans, and a staple of their diet is the seed of the plains grass. Unfortunately, the delicate purple flower of the plains grass contains sweet nectar that the little ones love. The nectar is fine for a special treat, but too much can make you sick. Tell that to the kids though! The Little Miss in the image is being naughty… and knows it. She’s so creative!
13. Fiction Favorites https://johnwhowell.com/2023/03/24/friday-johnku-aka-tgif-fri-yay-good-news-37/ Europe’s love of train travel is about to transform the continent’s solar energy production as the Swiss are set to begin installing solar panels in between train tracks. The startup called Sun-Ways is waiting for a sign-off from the Federal Office of Transport to start installing their panels between the tracks near Buttes Station in the west of the country. With the Swiss national railway network stretching beyond 2,000 miles of track, estimates place the amount of power generation at potentially beyond 1 terawatt hour or 2% of the entire gross annual consumption. “There are over a million kilometers of railway lines in the world,” co-founder Baptiste Danichert tells SWI Swissinfo. “We believe that 50% of the world’s railways could be equipped with our system.” A great way to incorporate solar panels into an economy is to find a place where the flat ground is used by other industries, like canals, pastures, or warehousing. Some companies use solar panels to generate power over agriculture, a strategy called “agrivoltaics” while India and California use their massive canal networks and hot sun to generate power while saving land.
14. Rosie Amber https://rosieamber.wordpress.com/2023/03/25/%f0%9f%8c%b7spring-forth-into-bloom-from-my-hampshire-garden-for-sixonsaturday-gardeningtwitter-gardeningmakesmehappy/ This is the last weekend of March and in the UK we move our clicks forward an hour on Sunday morning. We had our time change in the U.S. on Mar. 17th. Ugh. It’s such an exhaustive occasion.