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Post by Alatariel on Oct 6, 2020 0:19:04 GMT -6
I've been thinking about tackling different genres, trying to branch out and exercise my writing chops on something new.
But there are genres that terrify me.
Not horror. I like writing dark, gritty, disturbing things (mostly because I hate watching or reading horror, but if I'm in control it's much more fun).
I'm scared to write historical fiction (people might yell at me for getting something wrong, like the type of clothing worn during those times, or the food eaten, or the customs, or whatever), or relationship drama (easy to live it, hard to write it), or procedural mysteries (can I get the atmosphere right? The actual procedures? Argh.), or hard science fiction (math!).
Honestly, I'd love to be able to write any of those types of stories. I admire anyone who can...but whenever I try, I walk away from it. Research alone feels daunting. Especially into a subject I know nothing about. I listen to writing podcasts and sometimes the authors speak about books they've written on a complex subject and the time dedicated to research, digging deep and talking to people in those fields of expertise. I'm impressed but also intimidated.
So, what are you afraid to write? Maybe we should challenge each other to take on a short story in a genre or style we fear? Or maybe start smaller- pick a subject to research for character development and learn all we can about it. Maybe that will lessen my intimidation.
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Post by StarGirl06 on Oct 6, 2020 5:44:24 GMT -6
I don't think there's a specific genre I'm afraid to write but anything that needs a lot of fact checking stuff would stress me out, the same reason as you brought up. I love making things up, my stories are all held in my own settings, even if it's on Earth which most of my stories are, it's my own place I have made up. I would worry about little things if I wrote about a certain place, was I describing it right. Will my readers get annoyed if I hadn't. Anything with a non fictional aspect may give me a stressful time with my writing.
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Post by bilance on Oct 6, 2020 6:53:04 GMT -6
There isn't a genre I'm afraid to write. But what I fear writing the most are the paragraphs used to fill between the scenes I'm passionate about writing. Will it make sense what would happen between this scene till I reach the next one. Does it make sense or it completely screw up the plot. Those thoughts haunt me when I try to write. The worst is that the more I try the more bleak and dull the scenes I want to write look.
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Post by pelwrath on Oct 6, 2020 11:04:28 GMT -6
Horror. The few times I tried it was down right horrible and so far from scary it was almost a comedy of errors.
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Post by doublejay9 on Oct 6, 2020 15:10:43 GMT -6
Hard science fiction and historical fiction, for the reasons many of you stated. The fear of getting anything wrong stops me cold.
I don't enjoy horror because I REALLY don't like getting scared. Yet I've been (very, very) slowly dipping my toe into Lovecraft-inspired stuff. So maybe I'll start mixing in supernatural creepiness and psychological weirdness into more my stories.
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Post by bilance on Oct 6, 2020 19:31:23 GMT -6
Horror. The few times I tried it was down right horrible and so far from scary it was almost a comedy of errors. Horror comedy is a great thing in its own right. I love those kind of stories. Like a parody shows of horror, those are really enjoyable. If you want, check out 'ghost stories dub' it was a failure of a horror story but the english dub team made it really funny to watch. |
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Jib
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Post by Jib on Oct 6, 2020 20:13:52 GMT -6
I get kind of obsessed with things being accurate and logical, so I get afraid of things that could potentially be disproved. So stories that involve a lot of potential fact checking, like hard science fiction or historical works make me nervous.
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Post by Bird on Oct 6, 2020 21:02:44 GMT -6
Historical fiction I'm afraid to write mostly because of the extensive amount of research and the backlash books in that genre tend to have. If it's historical fantasy, there's a lot more leeway for things, and I have no fear of writing that (I just aren't interested in it).
I've dabbled in most forms of writing.
My big fears when it comes to writing is writing traumatic scenes. And that's not that I'm afraid to write it per se -- it's more I'm afraid it will bring up my own trauma as I try to write through the characters' trauma.
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Post by RAVENEYE on Oct 7, 2020 8:15:21 GMT -6
Hehe, I was terrified to write historical fiction for ... a couple decades. But that also means that I'm old enough to remember the era of research before the internet was populated with almost all the research one might need (not counting in-person interviews/observation) Historical fiction is actually the first genre I tried to write (age 14) and what I desired to write from the beginning. (In my conservative family, fantasy was thought to be the "fiction of drug-heads and cults.") But then TERROR set in when I couldn't even drive my-little-kid-self to the libraries and get my hands on the research I needed, then I lived too far away from libraries. I made a best guess while writing, knew I was falling waaaaaay short, so I broke the rules and switched to fantasy (while managing to remain sober and cult-free). Then a couple years ago, I realized the world had caught up to my need for fast/immediate research at my fingertips, so I got to return to my first love, historical fiction. Currently writing on a novel that takes place in Egypt in the 19th Century.  However, I'm terrified that I can't keep it from becoming a "governess" novel -- or boring. Fighting to prevent that. * I'm still scared to write HARD SCI-FI. I simply don't have the savvy with innovative science stuff -- nor do I really care. I love reading it tho.  * HORROR is the one I wish I could write naturally and well. I commiserate with you, Pelwrath. Most times when I try to write horror, it's just not scary or full of dread. I think I managed it once, but I still can't sell the damn story, even if it's one of my personal faves. * I refuse to touch EROTICA. Kinda like horror, when I've attempted even regular non-porno romance scenes, they come off sounding so cheesy and cliche. And it takes me days to write a single paragraph. UGH!!! So not even going there.  * Murder MYSTERIES. Love reading them, cannot figure out how they're plotted without giving the whole thing away on page 1. This sounds fun! I bet we could do a challenge in Prompts & Challenges for Hard HP, since it might be cruel to judge members' attempts with a contest. |
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Post by Aubrey on Oct 9, 2020 19:01:43 GMT -6
This sounds fun! I bet we could do a challenge in Prompts & Challenges for Hard HP, since it might be cruel to judge members' attempts with a contest. I also like this idea! And would find it fun to maybe run "themed" challenges in a sub-forum with things like this. (I'm also a big fan of organizing things in subforums... but its a me thing.) I'm afraid of writing anything factual. Be it "factual" pagan herbs, factually historical events, factual... Anything that needs extensive research to 'get right' in the brave hope that I don't sound like a fraud. That kind of research takes out all the fun out of the project I'm writing, which is often why I lean to write with a fantasy twist with a smoke and mirrors view on the details. Sci Fi is fun for me, but I lean into more of the RPG aspect like Cyberpunk in Space feel than a more scientific approach. I love Murder Mysteries. I also am only able to contain so much mystery in my writing, but at the same time, I'm not great at the reveals in the appropriate timelines. (I save too much to the end.) |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 9, 2020 19:28:10 GMT -6
I think the reason I enjoyed writing Fantasy so much at first was because I could just make it up as I went. I didn't need to do any research. It was all up to me.
As I go, I find I CAN'T write anything that doesn't have some kind of weirdness in it. I enjoy exploring the human condition through the lens of supernatural stimuli. I just can't write about mundane things. It's boring. Even when I know it's not. But even so, when I've tried, I get hung up, because now I have to write about REAL LIFE, and I know next to nothing about REAL LIFE. I guess I'm afraid I'll write something completely not accurate and it will be used against me in some way. Cause we all know how accurate every other work of fiction is.
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Post by RAVENEYE on Oct 10, 2020 12:43:02 GMT -6
I think the reason I enjoyed writing Fantasy so much at first was because I could just make it up as I went. I didn't need to do any research. It was all up to me. As I go, I find I CAN'T write anything that doesn't have some kind of weirdness in it. I enjoy exploring the human condition through the lens of supernatural stimuli. I just can't write about mundane things. It's boring. Even when I know it's not. But even so, when I've tried, I get hung up, because now I have to write about REAL LIFE, and I know next to nothing about REAL LIFE. I guess I'm afraid I'll write something completely not accurate and it will be used against me in some way. Cause we all know how accurate every other work of fiction is. Right??? Like, I enjoy reading slice-of-life stuff, b/c it usually conveys beautiful heart-wrenching truths about the human condition in its natural setting, but how the heck do people sit around writing it all the time?  When I start to write something like that, it usually feels like I'm fictionalizing a blog post, or I want to throw in ghosts or fairies or alternate universes or something. Like, we LIVE real life, so let's write and read to do something we DON'T normally get to do WHILE exploring those heart-wrenching truths. That said, I've still had to do a bit of research for fantasy fiction: blacksmithing terms and methods, horse care, how long it takes to travel on foot or by carriage, armor and swordsmanship stuff. Heh, I think it was penpen who called me out on an armor thing once. I did have a workaround for the faulty detail, but that workaround existed only BECAUSE I hadn't done adequate research in the first place. The story was already in print too. Yikes. |
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Post by doublejay9 on Oct 10, 2020 18:01:40 GMT -6
I see many of you aren't confident writing mysteries. Hmm....
Thanks for giving me a blog post idea!
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Post by Alatariel on Oct 12, 2020 18:03:34 GMT -6
I see many of you aren't confident writing mysteries. Hmm....
Well, not confident writing a good mystery. I could easily write a crappy one! Or one that ends predictably. I struggle a lot with making interesting plot choices, finding ways to get my characters out of stick situations that doesn't involve physical skills or magic, and coming up with twists that are plausible and yet stunning. I hate twists that are just there for shock factor. I just finished a show (one of my favorites, finally had its last season) and they completely ruined a character. After spending 7 seasons allowing this character to grow and evolve, they shredding his dignity and made him the opposite of everything he grew to become. I'm very angry...but those kinds of twists are cheap. I'd love to be able to craft a mystery story that was actually suspenseful and ended with minds blown. |
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Post by longhand.hearted on Oct 16, 2020 12:53:18 GMT -6
Was it Agatha Christie that used to plot backwards? I used to always find that idea quite interesting to try, especially for *a mystery (even though that's not my usual thing).
First when I read this thread, I was completely along the same lines with hard sci-fi and historical (the sheer amount of research you'd have to do to get those things right?! Nuh-mate) but I guess that's what it would come down to- research. And I guess you could do that if you had the time and inclination.
So then I tried to think of what else is there? And I think the next genres for me would be horror and erotica which are very much feeling based. I guess you can research monster evolution or porn statistics, but that's still completely subjective and so would probably turn out better if the writer was able to put some heart behind it. So those (haha).
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However, I'm terrified that I can't keep it from becoming a "governess" novel -- or boring. Fighting to prevent that.
When I start to write something like that, it usually feels like I'm fictionalizing a blog post, or I want to throw in ghosts or fairies or alternate universes or something. 
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