Welcome to My Official Web Page!

Welcome to My Official Web Page!

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Yes, This Post Is About Squirrels

Most of us have a genre we feel most comfortable with. Some like historical fiction, some like middle grade, and others prefer fantasy. And there are others who aren't so sure, but are working it out.

We're like little squirrels, trying to find a nice comfy hole to burrow into. (I tried to figure out a way to work some nuts into that analogy, but it's just not working.) Regardless, we each have our own little niche. Sometimes we pop out and try a new hole, but it's usually on the same tree.

But sometimes there's this other tree that looks like it would be so much fun. Maybe it has extra high branches or a super-tasty stash of nuts (yay!). Maybe it even has a water slide.

Okay, maybe no water slides for the squirrels.

But it looks like it's too far to jump. We're not flying squirrels, after all.

My point is, there are genres out there that we don't write that look like fun, but for whatever reason we don't write them. I would love to write something contemporary and fill my manuscripts with hyperbole about Picasso (yes, that's a Picasso squirrel you're seeing) and metaphors about Twinkies. That just doesn't fly when you're writing ancient Egypt. But Egypt is my thing. The closest I could imagine coming out of my chosen niche would be to write about some other historical time period.

Do you have another genre you've always thought sounded like fun to write? Do you think you ever will?