writing outside the box

First off, I’m pleased to announce two new events I’ll be reading at in the next month or so:

On Monday, October 26, I’ll be participating in a poetry book launch and reading event in London ON. Hosted at Mykonos and featuring Andreas Gripp, Penn Kemp, and John B. Lee, I’ll be sharing some selections from stains: early poems and possibly a new piece or two. More information will soon be posted on my website, but feel free to email me if you require directions or other details.

On Friday, November 20, I’m the feature author at the Poetic Travelers series at Lawrence Street Gallery in Ferndale MI. There’s an open mic at this event for those that are interested. More info about this event will be posted on my website after the weekend. Of course I’ll be reading poetry selections, but I just might share a small piece of non-fiction.

Which brings me to my thought for the day: writing outside our dominant genre.

While I do write a good deal of freelance articles, my creative writing focus is generally poetry and fiction. However, as part of a workshop I’m in right now I have been experimenting with creative non-fiction and I have to admit… I love it.

What’s interesting to me is that I haven’t spent much time writing creative non-fiction. After all, I love the art of the essay. I love first person narrative. Nothing draws me in to a book like a personalized experience. Considering these points, I am perplexed at my own level of ignoring the genre as an option for me. It’s just not something I fully considered. Until recently.

In the past few months, I have found myself truly enjoying this genre as an outlet for expression. I am fascinated with the craft and techniques I am exploring. The attention to language usage and sentence formation is drawing me in. Yes, these are all aspects that are explored in writing poetry and fiction. There’s just something different about the craft of non-fiction, in a creative capacity.

Perhaps that has something to do with the level of personal involvement. In my fiction, I – the writer - don’t exist. In poetry, while it is easy to assume the narrator is the writer, that is not always the case and usually is not with my own recent poetry. But with creative non-fiction? I play a role. An active role. I am the narrator, the voice, the reason the piece exists. I become a character in my own story. And I’m finding it… liberating.

As a writer, I think there is so much value in trying new forms and techniques. There is something to be said for writing outside the box. As writers, it pushes us. Removes boundaries. Challenges our routine. And even when it’s not something that we commit to full-time, it’s a lesson in writing and in understanding ourselves better, as writers.

If you write, what do you usually write? Do you ever write outside your genre? What is that experience like for you? What have you learned?

books & films: do you genre hop for fun?

Earlier today, Dear Spouse and I were strategizing our line-up for Netflix. We’ve just finished watching Frost/Nixon and The International, with Blindness up on deck, so he suggested we get something lighter next time. I moved Confessions of a Shopaholic to the top of the queue. Both of us have the same habit when it comes to movies and books: we genre hop, leapfrog style.

As a writer, I don’t always have the leisure of switching genres. Yes, I write fiction and poetry, but within those areas my work lines up in similar manners. Regardless of if I am writing for adults or the YA audience, my style is still my style; in poetry, my voice is always my voice. While I never want to be predictable, I don’t stray too far from my roots.

When it comes to reading books and watching movies, however, my tastes vary widely and I enjoy going from one extreme to the next. My husband does this in reading, mostly because he reads about 50-60 books a year. Maybe he’ll read two crime thrillers in a row, but he’ll make a point of picking a satire the next time and then a light drama after that. He does this to ‘keep the genres fresh’ and to not mix up characters or plots, but also to keep from being bored.

I do the same thing with what I read. I’ll go from reading a small press poetry book to a best-selling household name drama to an easy breezy summer read. It allows for the unexpected, keeps things interesting, and usually provides enough variety for my writing brain that when I get back to working on my own material, I feel refreshed.

Of course, there are some who prefer the tried-and-true, whatever that may mean to them. I have heard readers say they only read sci-fi. Or they only read thrillers. Then there are folks who only watch comedies or dramas or spy flicks. We all have our preferences, but I find it interesting when I hear about someone “only” being interested in one finely defined genre. I think there are so many great stories out there – in print and in film – that I would be afraid of missing something if I limited myself from such pleasures.

Yes, in writing I keep to a certain realm within my chosen genres that work with my style and voice, but as an audience member or reader? I want to enjoy it all. And by letting each of them take turns – now a mystery, then a family drama, next a silly comedy – I appreciate each one for its own style and open myself to discovering something new.

What about you? Do you read only certain genres of books? Do you narrow down your movie options to one or two categories? Or do you watch all kinds of films and read books from all areas of the bookstore? If you’re a writer, how does enjoying genres different from your own enhance your own creativity?