Do you really think about the reader?

I think we may overfocus on genre. Like, we may think the differences between them are more profound than they really are. One of the things I really like about writing romance is that I can combine it with just about any other genre, and I absolutely do. I've written SciFi, Fantasy, Contemporary, Action/Adventure, quasi-Historical, etc. They're really just different settings.

If you were asked to write a romance, you could still write about gritty military stuff. Soldiers fall in love, don't they? You could also write gritty military SciFi, Fantasy, Action/Adventure, Historical, Mystery, or anything else.

Genre influences the setting, and sometimes the structure. But I don't think it affects the actual writing. Or at least it doesn't have to.

 

I can definitely see the point that you're making, but it seems to me that each story can be part of two (possibly more) genres. Your examples of a military romance, Fantasy romance etc all include romance. Absolutely nothing wrong with that, but do you think that you, as someone who primarily writes romance, could successfully write a story without any romantic elements to it and have it come off as saleable? Not saying you couldn't, but for me, horror creeps into everything I write. I tried to write a straight-up romance short story once, and I think it's pretty good, but my betas (and my aunt, who isn't a writer) said that they could see that I was a horror writer first just from the pacing of the story.

p.s. if you're ever bored and would be willing to do a light beta on a ~4k attempt at romance, let me know. I'm still trying to figure out how to implement some of the changes suggested by my other betas, but I really hope to get that story worked out someday.

 

I've written non-romance and I think it's as good as my romance. It's harder to sell because I have no name in the other genres, but not harder for me to write.

 

Fair enough. I'm not that good though, I'm limited to horror and its surroundings.

 

I am a singer/songwriter and I am always surprised at what people consider my "best song" to be. Often times they do not choose what I consider to be my strongest number. I think the artist often tortures themselves with self- criticism because we are so attached to the material, where the reader can just enjoy the ride without over-thinking the mechanics like I almost always do when I read my own writing. This allows them to enjoy something that seems weak to me. I seriously have no idea if my work is good or just a solid block of cheese.

 

Ever heard of "Your your own worst critic"? No matter how much praise your work gets,
you will never be satisfied that have managed to create something that is worthy of that praise.

Cut yourself some slack, otherwise you are going to grind yourself to nothing. You are only human.

 

I often think about the reader but not as the single most important part, but I do think that I should present my story so that it can be understood by the reader and the reader can gain something from it, if only entertainment.

 

Hi. I like what I create. I create everyday, but the question was, how do respond when people like the parts that I myself believe is not my best work. I think that the definition of "good" vs "bad" lies in the ears and eyes of the beholder. The parts that they love will not be the same ones I would choose and sometimes that parts that excite me the most do not resonate at all with readers. I have not been able to transfer the excitement I feel for that scene properly from my mind's eye to paper.

 

Personally, I do pay some attention to the reader because one of my purposes in certain creative pieces is to evoke emotions in my reader that they may then explore on their own.