G is for ... Genre

According to the online edition of Merriam-Webster Dictionary, genre is defined as:
a category of artistic, musical, or literary composition characterized by a particular style, form, or content.

I think a difficult thing for writers when they start out is to determine what genre they are writing. It seems like an easy question, but I can tell from my own experience that one needs to put thought into it.


When I decided that all those characters that continued to show up in my head needed to go someplace else, I started writing their stories. I knew I wasn't writing romance because there wasn't any hot romantic scenes. I was confused if I was writing women's fiction or literary fiction geared toward women since my stories were character-driven rather than story driven. In the end, I figured out I was writing women's fiction and queried agents who represented that genre. 


But a funny thing happened after securing representation - my agent told me to write something new in a different genre. It wasn't very hard for me to decide on middle grade (it helps have two young sons), although I did try my hand at YA for one manuscript (I quickly learned I didn't know how a YA character spoke or acted). I feel like I've found my voice - although some of those women's fiction characters tend to show up now and then and I have to tell them "later".


Have you ever switched genres or do you write in multiple genres?

Writer Limbo

I'm not currently working on any project.

There. I said it. I'm being brutally honest, here, give me a break. : )

And, it's not because I have writer's block or anything. Far from it. I'm bursting with ideas for the next book in a new series I started writing.

But as my newly-nominated "Agent of the Year" agent has told me, don't waste time on the next book. Actually, I think her words were not to waste time on writing a new book 1 for this series (I had mentioned doing this in the event that the current book 1 that she is shopping around isn't picked up.) She doesn't like wasting anything, especially time. I'm with her on this one. Why write a new book 1 or even a book 2 in the event that the original book 1 doesn't even sell. Then, I would end up writing a new book 1 because I love these characters and the concept I've come up with in telling this story.

Okay, I'm rambling. Sorry.

Do you ever feel like you're in writing limbo? Wanting to work on something, actually itching to plop down in front of the keyboard and let your fingers fly? This time of year --with the cold winds and bright, snow-covered trees--makes me want to curl up and read. Not write. (Honesty, remember?)

How do you deal with the stop-wait-and wait some more part of this industry? Do you just charge along, working on new projects? Or are you like me -- inching my way through book ideas, but only working on them when given the go-ahead?