Thursday Thoughts: Why that Genre?

 

Growing up, I was always reading something. Basically, whatever I could get my hands on. I used to love the Sweet Valley High series, and I read almost all of them. Then I moved on to V.C. Andrews -- Flowers in the Attic and whatever else she'd written. I was hooked by the twisted, often horrific stories she told. From there, I graduated to Dean Koontz and Stephen King. As a teen, I would watch The X-Files with my dad every week. I realized early on that I had a penchant for the dark and scary stuff, which has carried on through adulthood. Now, I find myself gravitating toward teen and adult thrillers, spooky / haunted non-fiction, horror movies, etc. The spookier and creepier the better. 

Yet, I write romance. 

I've had people ask me why. Why write romance when you seem to love all the scary, spooky, haunted, twisty thriller type stuff so much? And my answer is: I don't know. Honestly. I really don't. Maybe because I do read and watch so much of it that I worry I won't be able to come up with anything new or unique. Or maybe I'm just suffering from severe imposter syndrome and worry I won't be able to pull off a good thriller or horror novel. Though, I have started to shift toward more spookier stories, with my paranormal series. And I have started (and stopped) working on a few thrillers. 

But I'm coming to another realization: The more scary stuff I read, the more post-apocalyptic books I read, the more horror movies and shows I watch, the stronger my urge to write within this genre. And so I've decided I'm going to really put some effort into finishing a new book in one of these genres. 

Will I completely abandon writing romance? Absolutely not! Even within these other genres, there will be romantic subplots -- I can't not write romance into my books. I'm looking forward to this challenge!

Anyone else read or consume media that's outside of the genre they write? If so, what's your reasoning? Is there a genre you've always wanted to try writing? Got any tips for anyone just branching out? Share in the comments!