Writers: How to Find Your Ideal Genre

How to find your ideal genre represents a challenge to every writer. Your passion with respect to writing is going to be your genre.

A person who chooses to write and is practicing the art of writing, can attempt to write in more than one genre, at any time. He or she may write much better in one genre, than in another. Many writers write fluently in multiple genres, particularly if they are well educated.

Historically, the word genre was coined in the year 1816, to mean kind or sort. It was derived from the French word genre, which referred to gender. Going back even further in time, the word gender dates back to the fourteenth century, where it is used in a Latin context and has to do with birth, race, kind and gender. In this context, it reveals classes and subclasses, which have distinguishable characteristics. (1)

Note that in terms of attempting to find one's own genre of preference with respect to writing, it is always advisable for any new writer to explore many different genres. After writing for a while, it will become increasingly evident what the writer's passion is, in terms of the kind of genre that is the most suitable for him or her to use.

Why would any serious writer choose to write in a genre that does not flow for him or her? When that writer finds his or her own unique passion, the writing will flow more freely. The writer will feel more comfortable about writing and his or her works will be much easier for any reader to read.

Some writers choose to write in terms of fiction, while others find their niche in non-fiction. While there may be a preference with respect to writing for adults by one person, another may prefer to write for children. Some can write well for both. It does not matter what genre one writes in, as long as one writes well in the genre of his or her choice.

What is written will fit into a distinct category with respect to being a literary composition. It may have an historical or non-historical perspective. It may also depict real, everyday events or those that do not bear any relationship to anything previously documented, at any time or place in history.

Academics have the distinct advantage of having a broader literary base to draw from than non-academics, although some non-academics are well read and write well because of it. Those who have traveled extensively, tend to write differently than those who have not taken the time to travel.

Suspense may be a genre of preference for one writer, but not for another; the same is true of horror as a genre. Some people do well with journals, logs or travel documentaries, while to others, that might seem mundane. Science fiction may become the passion of one person who loves to write, but repel another writer.

Writing in any genre, will be examined for style, form and content, by the critics. Critics can be hard on any writer and rejection by publishers is the hardest thing for writers to deal with, as it is often taken as a personal assault.

Writers can do research and overcome obstacles, but not always. Writing from research, may be awkward for one writer, but appear to be the perfect solution for the next one. Medical or non-medical research might be or become, one's forte after extensive research has been done. The same is true for law, horticulture, agriculture, music and artwork.

Some writers prefer to write brief articles, while others choose to write longer manuscripts or books. Some authors thrive on writing full length books and will choose serious topics, while others might tend toward writing something lighter, or more humorous.

E-books, on a variety of topics and online writing, in terms of daily blogs are becoming increasingly popular, in our era.

Whatever you choose to write, your passion is going to be your genre. What you love to do, say, think about or work on, is what you are going to be the most excited to write about. The important thing is that what you are doing is something that you want to do, rather than just need to do. So, do it well.

Find your passion and you will have found your genre, but explore all the options. You may be amazed at what you discover, about yourself and your writing world.

(1) Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., Springfield, MA 1983