Categories are useful. They are great ways to organize books or stories or just about anything. People who write tend to categorize themselves too, usually based on what they like to read. In one way this is a good thing because you are likely to be better at writing what you like to read, and you are much more likely to understand how what you like works and be interested in the nuts and bolts of how it fits together. But in another way categorizing yourself is a very limiting thing for a writer to do, because it is a lot like locking yourself in a cage.
Think about it.
When you categorizing yourself, what you are actually doing is giving yourself a set of rules that someone has devised for some reason that has nothing to do with the creation of anything. Think about categories – Science Fiction, fantasy, detective thrillers, and horror novels, romance and of course realism. Try writing an outline of each genre for yourself.
You might be thinking about now that realism is not a genre, but that is only because it is dressed up to look like reality. In truth it is no more real than the stuff of a science fiction story- someone made both up. If you invent an old woman at a bus stop who witnesses a car accident, you are still inventing a person who does not exist, giving them thoughts you have come up with, exposing them to an imaginary situation you have devised. Realism is not reality. And even in real life, people see the same things differently, depending on their interest and angle. Your own interests will shape even your interest in an event.
If you are a policeman responsible for unraveling the car accident, you might rather read the report of the car enthusiast and adult who is a keen driver, since he will likely have the best chance of describing physically how the accident happened. If you are the mother of the girl who was hurt, you might be a lot more interested in reading the report of an interview with the inhabitants about what happened prior to the accident. The best report will be the one that serves you. In the same way, readers prefer different approaches to story – different genre- because it suits their interests and preoccupations. I think that is where genre comes in.
Think about each of the genre and try to come up with a list of rules about that genre. Once you have done that, think about how those rules would affect you as a writer. You will swiftly realize that following those rules is like following a recipe or formula, and that is unlikely to lead you anywhere but where the person who invented the formula went. To find an original path as a writer you must avoid formula and recipe.
I read science fiction and fantasy because the best of it looks critically and philosophically at the world I live in and that is what interests me. So it is no surprise that the writing I do often ends up being labeled fantasy. I am fine with that, but I do not impose that category on myself when I am writing. Ever.
Think about the genre you love most and write down why you think you might be attracted to that genre.
I really love good fantasy and I really hate bad fantasy. I really love detective novels and murder mysteries that are clever rather than bloody because I like that feeling of moving towards an inexorable conclusion. I like science fiction if it is about people and not machines, and I never read books about animals because I am too scared something bad will happen to them.
Think about books you like as a reader and why you like them. Please don’t tell me you write but don’t read much, because that is just silly. We learn from other writers- and writers whose work we admire enable us to strive for the best in ourselves. Ursula Le Guin is my shining beacon. I love her stories and I admire the tight clarity of her writing. Reading her makes me write better.
Find a writer that makes you feel like that and always have one of his or her books close by, for solace and inspiration.
As writers, what we want is the point of view and style that allows us best to tell the story we want to tell. For Ursula Le Guin the main character is often a person on another world and sometimes an alien only loosely connected to humanity, because she is all about looking at humanity with a steadfast, critical eye. I want to figure out why people do the things they do- the wondrous, radiant things as well as the terrible atrocities- and I find I can best do that in other or alternative world settings, or by imposing some twist in reality on the characters.
Although I am advising against putting yourself in categories, trying them out can be a great way to find writing tools that work best for you. You might be surprised to find that a story about racism is a lot more powerful because it has a sneaky impact on the audience who don’t realize that is what they reading about because it is happening on another planet.
Read a lot and read a lot of different categories. Don’t judge a book by its category. Judge it by whether it works or not. Do not let yourself be locked in to believing only one sort of writing is legitimate because that will stop you trying something that might allow you to excel. Next time you are stuck, try reading a page of a book you love. Just one page. Then see how it energizes you for your own story.
May the force be with you!
Isobelle Carmody
