Sunday, March 15, 2009

Spring Break

Spring Break is a week away. Now depending on who you're talking to, saying that might elicit either a groan or a cheer. From a parent's point of view, that might not be good news. The kids at home. For an entire week. What to do? From a student's (or even a teacher's) point a view, the news might be met with a resounding round of applause.

Our world is viewed through many lenses. People have different opinions about things. They are drawn to certain things. Have very specific likes and dislikes.

As a writer, we try to appeal to as many people as possible. After all, we want them to buy our books! But that's often difficult to do.

Even within the romance genre, there are dozens of sub-genres lurking. Contemporary, historical, paranormal, and within that even more...sweet, spicy, erotica, inspirational...the list goes on and on. How do we figure out what people like?

Many writers write within a specific genre and/or sub-genre. I, for example, write spicy contemporary romance. That's what I'm comfortable with, that's what I like. Others are able to branch out and write with more diversity.

What works for you? Are you devoted to a specific kind of writing or reading...or do you branch out? (And how do you feel about Spring Break...shivers of excitement, or shudders of dread?)

Don't worry, there's no right or wrong answer. Everyone has their own opinion...which makes the world an interesting place to be. Just imagine if we all thought alike...

Until next time,

Happy Reading!

Debra

www.debrastjohnromance.com

3 comments:

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Well, I jumped from contemporary, inspirational YA fiction right over to non-fiction/self-help. So that would probably be considered branching out.

No kids, so spring break no longer matters to me. Except that here in the South, it doesn't happen for four more weeks - always coincides with Easter. (Although I grew up in Oregon and spring break was always the third week in March.)

L. Diane Wolfe
www.circleoffriendsbooks.blogspot.com
www.spunkonastick.net
www.thecircleoffriends.net

Morgan Mandel said...

I'm into contemporary romance, suspense and am also working on a children's book about my dog, Rascal, so I'm all over the place. It's a fun way to be.

Morgan Mandel
http://morganmandel.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Hey Debra -- enjoyed your post; as for my writing career, it has been all over the place. Some advantages to that, mostly of a persoal nature, and some disadvantages to that, mostly of a career nature! Ouch! But one has to go with his or her gut and ENJOY what one does -- a writer's instincts tell him a lot.

rob