I finally remember what I wanted to post about the other week. And this week's theme is soul, so it's the perfect time to discuss this.For a novelist, genre is of key importance. Indeed, it seems you must choose one main genre such as Romance or Horror and forget about writing a children's book unless you use a pen name for something else you'd like to do. This limitation harkens back to putting your books on a shelf. It's all about branding yourself as a novelist.
But I'm a free spirit and I don't want to write a specific genre.
This is what I love about screen writing. If I feel like writing a horror today and a romantic comedy tomorrow, I can.
Now, I mostly write horror, fantasy, and sci-fi anyway, but every now and then I get an idea for a kid's TV show, an action movie, a thriller, a sports story, or a historical fiction piece and I want to be able to write it all.
My plays tend to be more dramatic works that have a specific goal beyond entertaining. My movies aim to entertain while subtly saying something about life.
I think the whole idea of being shackled to a specific genre is tragic, though I do understand the why. If Stephen King wrote a normal children's story, most would have in their mind an idea that it is inappropriate for children. Under a pen name, he's free to explore that idea, but it would be like a brand new writer on the scene instead of an almost prolific and well-known one.
Today I'm pitching a dramedic TV show about retired life and tomorrow I'm pitching a small creature horror film to local industry experts. I'm nervous and excited about it all. We're getting closer to the end of the year and my future is still murky though it's filled with positive potential.
In closing, I write just about every genre and I love it!
And that's how life's river flows today.
R~