Last month we talked about reading. That every writer should read…widely. And then we shared some of the books we love the most, or that have made an impact on our lives.
This month, let’s talk about what we write.
For years, all I wrote was fiction. Long fiction. I found it difficult to keep up a momentum, to create a goal, because it’s such a vast venture. The result was that I often felt bogged down, and the books took much longer to write than they should.
When I decided to create a website , I committed myself to communicating once each week. I devised a separate blog theme for each week and made lists of ideas and titles to keep me going. This was a challenge, to say the least. These words would be non-fiction, a direct connection with readers, instead of the indirectness of a novel. How would I manage it?
But there’s something to be said for commitment. I’d made a promise to myself and to my readers, and with God’s help, I maintained the once per week blog.
The surprise was that I enjoyed it. I was able to develop my writing voice to a greater degree, and had the responsibility to do it weekly. Remember the old adage, variety is the spice of life? That’s what I’m talking about!
The next opportunity for variation in my writing came from my publisher at the time. He requested that I write a short story for Christmas that year (I plan to re-release this story nearer to Christmas. I’ll let you know), and that it be contemporary instead of my usual historical. Another challenge, to be sure, but this story proved to be a ton of fun once I created my characters.
I’m still working mostly on historical fiction, but I have a number of other irons in the fire, and now I know there are many other avenues available to connect with readers. The variations have given a boost to my writing.
So…
What do you write?
Why?
What led you to that genre or style?
Do you have any plans to try other genres?
I’d love to hear from you in the comments section below.
Janice L. Dick 
Leave a Reply