Created and hosted by the Ninja himself, Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writers Support Group posts the 1st Wednesday of every month. Click here to learn more or sign up.
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Optional Monthly Question: What genre would be the worst one for you to tackle and why?
My answer to this question used to be romance, but I’ve tackled it and come out pretty well. Releasing It’s Like the Full Moon, was me proving to myself that I could write romance my way. Since then, I tackled other genres that used to intimidate me, such as horror, mystery, and poetry. I’m still a work in progress but I don’t think these are beyond my grasp. I do think I’d have put a lot of effort, practice, and research into writing something steampunk, as the historical elements might elude me, but still, it’s not beyond my reach. The one niche genre that I’m not even going to try is erotica. If I can’t read it, I have no business trying to write it. The only other genre that I may never attempt is a memoir. I’ve read a few but honestly can’t see me writing that much about myself. No one is that interested in what’s going on in my life- I’m no Kardashian.
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#iwsgbookclub
The books we’ve chosen to spotlight in the month of September are Hero Lost: Mysteries of Death and Life by Various IWSG members (Amazon.com) and Story Genius by Lisa Cron (Amazon.com & Bookshop.org). Please check these out and consider giving one or both of these a read this month. If you’re not up for reading them, no worries, you can still help spread some love for these publications and or participate in the book club activities.
Feel free to share this image on social media to help spread the word.
Also…
We are a week ahead in our festivities this month, so feel free to check out the general book club poll, when the link goes live, on Sep 07, 2022 09:00 PM PDT (midnight EST). Click the image below to see the poll about reading anthologies.
Remember, if you are not currently on the IWSG blog hop list and don’t plan to join, the registry is the only way for your books to have a chance to be spotlighted by the book club. If you are on the blog hop list, please don’t join the registry. We want to be fair and give everyone an opportunity to be featured, which means some of us will have to wait our turns, including me (the book club admin) and the co-mods.
Please click this hyperlink to fill out the form to be added to the IWSG Book Club Spotlight Registry, and please help us spread the word.
Now, on to the personal updates.
August was a very emotional, stressful, and overall taxing month for me, but I made it through. I thought I would lose a family member who is still with us and I count it a blessing. I’ve had a rollercoaster of creativity with some long steep climbing dry spells leading to quickly dropping bursts of inspiration. Still trying to process it all.
My YouTube series, The Read Local Show (Hampton Roads, VA, USA) and The Read All Over Show (global), have been on hiatus but I’m hoping to keep it going throughout the fall and winter.
If you’re interested in being featured: check out the Read Local/All Over Sign-up form here.
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What’s a tough genre for you to write (or read)?
Are you interested in either of the IWSG Book Club selections for September?
It may take some time, but I promise, I will eventually stop by your blog. My response time has gotten slower but I’m still making my rounds.
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After hanging out with Alex, be sure to stop by and visit this month’s co-hosts by visiting this link:
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Click here to visit other IWSG blogs and sites to receive and share more inspiration and support. (This month, I’m #30).
Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords #blacklivesmatter
19 replies on “#IWSG Sept. 2022- That’s a tough genre!”
I’m certainly not going to read or write erotica.
Thanks for stopping by. As a fully mature adult in a committed relationship, I can appreciate a bit of steam in a romantic story, but erotica is a different beast I’m not willing to tackle.
I totally forget about erotica.That’s a genre I could NEVER write!
I think I used to shy away from writing intimacy but not anymore. Erotica seems to be something outside or beyond the notion of intimacy, at least for me.
Not writing either of those!
Thanks for stopping by Alex. Anytime you want to write more Cassa or Dragon stories I’m there, no memoir required.
Hi,
I like your expression : If I can’t read it, then I definitely won’t write it.
All the best.
Shalom aleichem,
Pat G @ EverythingMustChange
I realized that when I decided to try writing romance. I first had to read more of it than I had at the time to be able to write it accurately.
I like to write what I like to read, but I do like to read widely! I once wrote a YA steampunk story that had some problems but a lot of good stuff too. I want to get back to that one day – and to SF. But anything that requires a ton of plotting will not be something I’d be successful with!
I think that’s why mystery is a work in progress for me. I’m getting better at it, but it does take a lot of effort.
It seems we’re in agreement, Toi.
Thanks for stopping by C. Lee.
If you see this, I’m unable to visit your blog. I think there is an issue with your domain.
I think you write romance very well. There’s a wide range of what’s considered romance, from sweet to much more spicy. It comes down to writing something you’d like to read. Your writing definitely resonates with THIS reader!
Coming from you, that really means a lot. Thanks bunches!
I can never! I can’t read, let alone write it. It takes great talent and bravery to tackle this genre.
Sorry for the late reply. I too think it takes bravery to write this genre, but I hope there’s also a level of talent involved. Hopefully, 50 Shades isn’t the norm (by reputation), but I never read it so I don’t know how well or bad the writing is.
Crud. My first attempt to comment failed. I was agreeing with you about erotica being off the table, as I don’t read it and don’t think I want to. I seldom read romance, and have been saying I couldn’t write it, but I do include romance in my mysteries, so…. True crime and thrillers, especially psychological thrillers, are genres I never read and doubt I ever will, so not writing them.
As for your memoir… don’t sell yourself short. What makes a memoir worth reading isn’t the fame of the person (especially people like the Kardashians, who as far as I can tell are famous for being famous, and have no substance whatsoever) but the insights that you’ve gained from what you’ve lived through. And memoirs are good sellers these days!
Sorry for the late reply. I think it would just be weird to write about myself, but I’ll keep an open mind.