It’s the 1st Wednesday of the month again. That’s when I take part in Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group. The awesome co-hosts for the March 3 posting of the IWSG are Sarah – The Faux Fountain Pen Jacqui Murray, Chemist Ken, Victoria Marie Lees, Natalie Aguirre, and JQ Rose! I’ll be talking about genre, specifically, what genre I read and what genre I write, as I answer this month’s question:
Everyone has a favorite genre to write. But what about your reading preferences? Do you read widely or only within the genre(s) for which you create stories? What motivates your reading choice?
To be difficult, I am going to change the question just a bit. But trust me, the original questions will get answered.
- What do I write?
- What do I want to write?
- What do I read, and why do I read it?
- Bonus question: Why am I not writing what I want to write?
What do I write?
In my 9-5 professional life, I am an SEO content writer. I write the content for websites: the pages and blog posts for businesses who want that service. It’s a fun job for someone like me who likes learning about a variety of industries. It involves a lot of research and interviewing, both things I enjoy. Best of all, I get to compile what I learn into content that helps each business reach its ideal customer.
I’m also a published author of two non-fiction books. They are part of a series on living with cancer. Rather than being exclusively for the patient, they are for the people surrounding the patient.
Facing Cancer as a Friend: How to Support Someone Who Has Cancer and Facing Cancer as a Parent: Helping Your Children Cope with Your Cancer.
I have another in the series that I need to finish writing, but since my husband died, it has been difficult to return to at that depth.
What do I want to write?
I want to write fiction. My dream would be to write a bestselling suspense novel—and then another one—and another. You get the picture. I wouldn’t turn my nose up at writing a bestselling literary novel and having it turned into a film with all the rights retained by me, either. It doesn’t seem like too much to ask, right?
I’m also fascinated by the idea of writing historical fiction— or true crime, written so well you might think it was a novel.
What do I read, and why do I read it?
I read nearly everything—at least I want to, and you can tell by the number and variety of books in my Kindle. I’ve got way more in my account than I will read in this lifetime. I hope there is an Amazon app in Heaven to finish any books we don’t get to read before we die.
Because my time isn’t that easy to come by these days, I have become fussier about the genre I read. I love the vividness of noir, and the justice met out in a good mystery. I tend to read suspense and true crime because I like a mystery that’s a little extra scary. That’s also why I like dystopian novels, although sometimes they seem a little too close to real life for my comfort these days.
I’m a sucker for books that teach me things in exciting and memorable ways. I always think, “I could write about that someday!” This is especially true of fascinating people and moments in history.
Bonus Question:
Why am I not writing what I want to write?
The honest answer is that I’m afraid of failure. I know all of the logical arguments like, “never trying is the only sure way to fail,” but it doesn’t change the fear within me. I have a therapist. She has a to-do list that’s a mile long. All of it stems from insecurity, so I guess I’m in the right place.
If you’re an insecure writer (or the one writer in the world who isn’t insecure but could inspire the rest of us), feel free to join our support group. No one will bite. I promise.
What Are YOUR Thoughts?
Please share how your writing world is doing in the comments below. I appreciate my readers as well as the writing community. To show that appreciation, I use Comment Luv. Just leave a comment below, and your latest post will get a link next to it. Thank you!
About Heather Erickson
I am an author and full-time writer. My books are available at Amazon.com:
Facing Cancer as a Friend: How to Support Someone Who Has Cancer
Facing Cancer as a Parent: Helping Your Children Cope with Your Cancer
I also blog about living with cancer at Facing Cancer with Grace.
One comment on “Genre I Read & Genre I Write: #IWSG”
Liz A.
March 3, 2021 at 6:27 pmI think all books live in heaven, so you can read to your heart’s content.