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They do things differently here. |
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This is my first, or inaugural, blog post. I have already introduced myself in my bio, so I see no need to elaborate further here. I actually want to talk about genres. I decided to start writing again only very recently but admittedly, with no clear goal or aim in mind. I had, and still do have, a plethora of half-baked ideas swimming around in my head but absent of any clearly defined target towards which to drive them, I fear that they will stay there and remain unbaked. I read a lot of advice columns and articles all of which were along the lines of "how to be a professional writer" and, in every case, they emphasised the importance of choosing a genre in which to write. I kept dismissing this advice, largely because I resented the notion of having to stuff myself into one particular pigeon-hole rather than explore the endless horizons of the written word. But now I have succumbed and chosen a genre because after much cogitating and soul-searching and beard-stroking I found that the endless horizon leaves you without any place to hang you literary hat: in other words, having everything to choose from actually leaves with nothing to choose at all. I could not allow myself to simply drift and dream of being a writer when the gold rule is that "a writer writes". Still, I felt that I had to be true to myself. I suppose that I could try to make a fist of writing romantic fiction. This is a wildly popular genre and, if I was thinking in purely commercial terms, I would be wise to give it a go. However, I just don't think I have a voice there. It is not that I don't believe in romance but, the older I get, the more cynical I grow, and I don't think I could write any sort of romantic story and be true to it rather than myself. I had to ask myself what kind of things I enjoy reading and the one name that shone through was that of Stephen King. I have enjoyed many of his books (along with millions of others, of course) and I happen to regard him as one of the great story-tellers of our age. And that is when it hit me that what I really want to be is a good story-teller rather than a great literary success. Furthermore, I strongly believe that good writing is writing that does not engage the reader but also takes them on an emotional journey. So, with all that settled, I decided to give it a go in the paranormal/mystery/horror genre. I would be lying if I said that I was not motivated by the thought of spooking people and making them look nervously over their shoulders from to time. To me, there is a kind of power in that. So that is where I have started. But I will keep things under review. |
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