Why You Should Read (and Write) in Different Genres
Photo by Christin Hume on Unsplash
I recently signed up for a poetry class, or rather a series of classes. I don't think of myself as a poet, but a prose writer. I like this because it’s self-paced, but with an opportunity to connect at some live sessions if I want to. In other words, I can write bad poetry without comparing myself to others.
It’s an old writerly adage that in order to write well, you have to be willing to write badly. The fact is, most of us write badly whether we want to or not, as we’re learning our craft. Then we get to a point where we feel self-conscious. We feel we should be (and maybe are) pretty good at this by now. And we start thinking of publication. And then the pressure comes in… it has to be GOOD. It becomes harder to write that messy, terrible draft that only slowly becomes what you see in your imagination.
Writing in a totally different genre helps. There’s no pressure. You can do it badly - or you may surprise yourself with an unexpected nugget of gold.
Too often we’re pressured to pick something too soon. Fiction. Nonfiction. Poetry. Scriptwriting. Then, the subgenres: serious literature? Romance? Science Fiction or Fantasy? Travelogues? Memoir? Writing for stage or screen? (Poets seem to have it a little easier in terms of trying different poetic forms, but boy, there can be just as tough an insularity - a strict line between “real” literary poets and "others").
In my MFA program, we took seminars from faculty in all the different genres. Poets taught us about sharpening imagery and lyrical language. Those who wrote children’s books taught us the value of humor. Playwrights taught us how to create an undercurrent with dialogue. And so on. Some faculty wrote fiction and nonfiction. Some students attended the Dylan Thomas Summer School in Wales and met writers who simply thought of themselves as “writers” and wrote in whatever form seemed to fit what they wanted to say.
Which isn’t to say specializing is bad. Having a deep understanding of craft and genre is necessary. But if you are stuck, or looking for new inspiration, learning more about a different genre can open you up in all kinds of ways.
Writing in a different genre helps us pay attention in a different way. We notice new things about our environment, or about how people interact.
We go back to “beginner’s mind.” We don’t make assumptions about what works and doesn’t work, because we don’t know yet. We’re willing to play and experiment, which is the essence of creativity.
Hopefully, we’ve learned to “read like a writer” in our main genre. Now we can learn in the same way in a different genre. Reading like a writer means to read not just for enjoyment, but to figure out how the writer achieves certain effects. For example:
How does the poet use white space or line breaks to create a particular mood? How can you do the same in prose?
How can you show what is unsaid in dialogue to create tension?
How can you create compelling scenes in memoir through dramatic action?
What can you learn from mysteries about how to subvert expectations and create twists and red herrings, without losing your reader?
It also helps prevent burnout, or feeling stale or in a rut with your writing. If you’re bored, you will struggle to find motivation. Writing in a new genre becomes an adventure.
You might find that a different “voice” emerges in different genres. You might be drawn to explore new topics, or the same topics in new ways.
These are some of the benefits of cross-genre reading and writing. You may think of more. If you decide to publish in more than one genre, that’s fine too! Plenty of authors have done so, despite all the advice out there that insists you must stick to your original genre in order to build an audience. It’s not wrong advice, but it’s not a reason to avoid writing in other genres.
Last year I published a short nonfiction book. Next year I’m publishing a novel. I’ve been exploring more poetry. I’ve thrown off the constraints that say you can’t do that, and writing what I feel moved to write at the time. It’s freed up my creativity. I’ve thrown off the literary snobbery that says, that is not worth your time and attention. I refuse to put myself in a box because it makes others more comfortable.
What about you? What do you write? What are you secretly drawn to play with? Is there a voice inside you that says, I can’t? Or, What would happen if…? Examine why you write what you write. Think about what you can learn outside your comfort zone. That is where growth happens.
That is where magic happens.
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