I’ve been thinking a lot more about form lately. Primarily how writers experiment to develop their style and preferences. I saw a recent instagram post advising people to ‘stay in their genre lane’, which made me wonder if a writer focusing on One Thing was responsible or realistic.
In a random twist, I received an alert from Tumblr congratulating me on my blog of 11 years! Yes, an old (and now very defunct) blog I ran purely for fun (think buzzfeed lists and reviews of everything from the British Bake Off to a weekend in Vienna). As I scrolled through old posts, I reflected on my ‘writer’s journey’ from blogger to the traditional page.
For years, I was certain that I was a non-fiction writer, but then in late 2018, I took a screenwriting course on a whim. My job at the time was boring and thought I’d try something new. Instead of becoming deterred by this new and strange form, I became fascinated by the process. I learnt about formatting, minute-to-page timings, how to arrive at a scene ‘late’ and the likelihood of your script being actually made into a film (spoiler: it’s low unless you do it yourself). Several years and one script ‘optioned’ later, my passion for trying new media moved to a new realm: audio fiction.
Audio fiction, podcast drama, radio plays etc. it’s basically storytelling using sound. This was new. This was uncharted territory, and after seeing a competition to enter a podcast series, I gave it a shot. The prize was that your script would be made into an actual show. Despite not winning the competition, I came away asking myself a new question: could I make the podcast?
I set to work listening to everything I could. Kind folks who made audio drama gave their advice, I joined forums and newsletters, social media contacts gave knowledgeable tips, and my now-husband volunteered to help with the sound engineering. After a lot of work fundraising, script revising, doing endless social media promo, casting and soundscapes galore, it was done. I’d made my first ever podcast: Darkstead.
Now, I’ve turned my attention to traditional written fiction and have developed a taste for short stories and novellas. I’ve also been fortunate to join The Writers Studio at Simon Fraser University (SFU), and am part of an incredible writers group who offer feedback and encouragement. An excerpt of my main project, Hunting Season, will be published later this year alongside my classmates’ work in emerge. For the uninitiated, emerge is an anthology of literature covering genres like poetry, speculative, non-fiction and fiction. It’s an exciting time.
Therefore, when I hear that writers should stay in their lane and stick to one specific genre, I am adamantly against it. By experimenting, a writer learns what their preferred genre is, how they like to write and what works best for them. Form is part of the practice, part of growth and how a writer develops their own voice. To ask someone to stick to what they know is counterproductive and frankly, bizarre advice.
All this to say, have faith in your own interests and don’t be swayed by what the hegemony may say.
No-one knows what they’re doing anyway.