Should author stick to a single genre?

[TheLobster]

the story will come off as just the writer's over-sexed imagination

You say it like it's a bad thing.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

I write in multiple genres, on Lit and in mainstream publishing. So far, I have submitted stories into seven different categories here. (N/N, I/T, C/FF, EC, HT, R, LW)

It has been my experience that readers here who favor my more literary stories, usually in the Novels/Novellas category, cringe away from the smuttier stuff, but surprisingly, it hasn't been the case the other way around (based on reader feedback and comments).

 

[8letters]

To me, the pros and cons of sticking to one category.

Pros:
* You develop a better idea of what your audience's likes and dislikes
* You can explore different facets of that category
* You'll build a name with that category's readers and they'll get to know you better. Readers then will more be likely to comment and read the other stories in your catalog
* You might be able to convince some readers to become a beta-reader or an editor

Cons:
* It's very easy to fall into the trap of writing the same story over and over
* You can't take advantage of story ideas that don't fit your category
* You miss out on the challenge of writing for other categories
* You miss the opportunity to see what categories you do better in

 

[alohadave]

Writing to a single category or genre is only important if you are trying to monetize your work. If you do this for fun, write and post whatever you want.

 

[KittyOfSteele]

I respectfully do not agree. Imagination is more important than experience. I don't think one should ever feel inhibited from exploring a kinky interest in a story despite lack of experience or research.

This. While researching is good practice, I will always insist on my thesis: realism is the most boring thing you can ever do to fiction. You don't even need to read erotica to know that.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

How boring art would have been if Michelangelo had limited himself to one medium!

 

[SimonDoom]

You say it like it's a bad thing.

You made my day. Love that.

 

[FidelityBoss]

I wrote first 3 of my stories in different gener namely transgender, erotic horror and lesbian. So my question is do you as writer prefer to stick to a perticular gener or like me love to explore different different.

At first sticking to one genre is necessary to build focus and consistency in getting perfect then once you've fully mastered one you can now look into others as well, this should be the best approach unless you just wanna wing it and give everything a try. It can still work but not for everyone.

 

[FidelityBoss]

Sticking to one category has its perks, building a loyal audience and mastering the genre but it can also box you in creatively. Exploring other categories keeps things fresh and challenges your skills. Balance is key just stay true to your niche, but don’t be afraid to dabble elsewhere. You might surprise yourself!

 

[FidelityBoss]

I don't know. I've been writing for as long as I can remember, yet I started erotica slightly more than five years ago, even though I've written a couple of eroticas up to ten, and even twelve years ago. I begun within the realms of Cyberpunk and Urban Fantasy before going into to Police Procedural and Neon-noir, which is where the Cyberpunk got its DNA from... then I found erotica, and I realized how all of those things I started with stacked up with erotica comfortably, and even went beyond what I used to do... though that realization was fairly recent.

Writers, like other artists, do evolve, enjoy to experiment, and we're always going for new things. To stick to one genre, or category, is more of a personal choice. Some people say authors should stick to one genre, others say they don't. Some authors do stick to one genre, others don't. Some authors make a bunch of different pennames, others don't.

I like to focus on lesbian and transbian stories because I'm comfortable with those pairings. That's just my thing. There are other tropes that are common in my work, but I can crank a neon-noir tale, a high fantasy story, and with enough research and time, a deeply philosophical Hard Sci-Fi Cyberpunk story (think more Shadowrun [even the way it explains magic works under theories and dogmas presented by actual mythos, religion, witchcraft, and other magical practices], Deus Ex, and Ghost in the Shell rather than the Cyberpunk TTRPG, though that's not to say it's bad, but rather just a little off of the genre's roots about the dangers of unchecked technology and power) with as much finesse as I can write smut. Hell, among the piles of unfinished stories in my junkyard, you'll even find Space Operas, and even fake Sacred Texts that never saw the light of day...

What I can sum up this to is simple: write what you like. Whether you want to stick to a genre, or spread your wings, is up to you. Some will stop following you if you spread your wings, that is true, but that just means you're not stuck in one box, and their vacancy might open up new spots for better followers who are interested in what you have to offer, regardless of genre.

Love this perspective! Writing what you’re passionate about is what matters most. Whether you stick to one genre or explore many, your voice and creativity will shine through. Evolution and experimentation keep things fresh both for you and your readers.

 

[YmaOHyd]

I'd say just write what you want to write and let the chips fall where they may. Don't overthink it. Categories are fluid.

April's Fool has a footjob, a bit of impact play and two oral scenes that approach a spit fetish. Is it a Fetish story? The core of the sex is two or three MFF scenes. So it should be in Group Sex. It's about a guy and his girlfriend, so Erotic Couplings could work too. And the primary sex fantasy that the narrator's having is about getting to do Anal, so maybe that's the appropriate category. The reality, I think, is that I could have dropped it in Group Sex, Anal or even Erotic Couplings and it would have been fine in any of those places.

Categories describe sex acts, sex participants, sexual orientations, setting and storytelling form. I think it basically works like a pyramid.



At the top, if what you're producing is illustrated, audio or nonfiction/non-erotic, it belongs in that category, no matter what else is going on. Letters and Transcripts belong here too, I think, and Humor and Satire; whatever else is described if it matches the form it goes in the appropriate form-based category. I'd put Erotic Horror up here too, and Celebrities and Fanfiction. There's an exception in my mind for Novels and Novellas, which can live in other categories in addition to Novels and Novellas.

One level down is setting, which to me includes the Sci-Fi and Fantasy and Nonhuman categories. It's more important to tell your readers that your story takes place in a different world, one with magic and vampires and laser guns and interstellar travel, than it is to tell them it's going to have lesbians. Mind Control can live here too, if it includes elements that affect the entire world or are fantastical in nature.

Below that, the sexual orientation categories trump everything else; that's Gay Male, Transgender & Crossdressing and Lesbian Sex. It's not strictly speaking a sexual orientation category but Incest and Taboo belongs here too. I place it here mostly because it's about protecting yourself from audience expectations; a story in Erotic Couplings about a brother and sister is unlikely to do well.

One level down, the categories are about separating vanilla readers from fetishy content, if that makes sense. I'd put Fetish, Mind Control, Loving Wives, NCR, BDSM, Mature and Interracial Love in here. If your story is about race play, you want it in a category where the readers are likely to be receptive, and so on.

The bottom of the pyramid is basically stuff that describes vanilla sex -- something that's not likely to scare a normie if they stumbled upon it. First Time, Erotic Couplings, Exhibitionist and Voyeur, Group Sex, Toys and Masturbation.

But, again, it's not an exact science. That's just how I think about it.

 

[OffNSFW]

My process is that I write what I've got. I figure out the category later, or, at least, I try to. Sometimes, it's obvious, like my cis/trans romance "The Virgin Islands." Sometimes it's less so, like the experimental short I did called "12 Short Stories About Sex," which was in turn inspired by the genre-busting movie 32 Short Stories About Glenn Gould.

 

[Cagivagurl]

All the focus on mastering the genre, building a core of fans, Pros and cons...
It's not a science class. There is no magic spell....
It is creative writing, so create...
It's fiction... Fantasy... A story waiting to be told. The characters are figments of imaginations released...

Unless you're in this to become a famous writer, one who makes money from it.
Forghet about what the audience wants...
You're not getting paid.... Who cares if more people hated rather than loved your work of fiction...

Yeah, I get it. You have an ego... We all do...

Write what you want. Put it where you want. Just be happy with it, be proud of it. You created it.
It is art, not a competition...
Scores... Who cares...
Readers.... Who cares.... You wrote it because it called to you... In the dark of night, it appeared as a vision and said. "Write me."

Stop worrying about other people...

Cagivagurl

 

[Not2Pervy]

All the focus on mastering the genre, building a core of fans, Pros and cons...
It's not a science class. There is no magic spell....
It is creative writing, so create...
It's fiction... Fantasy... A story waiting to be told. The characters are figments of imaginations released...

Unless you're in this to become a famous writer, one who makes money from it.
Forghet about what the audience wants...
You're not getting paid.... Who cares if more people hated rather than loved your work of fiction...

Yeah, I get it. You have an ego... We all do...

Write what you want. Put it where you want. Just be happy with it, be proud of it. You created it.
It is art, not a competition...
Scores... Who cares...
Readers.... Who cares.... You wrote it because it called to you... In the dark of night, it appeared as a vision and said. "Write me."

Stop worrying about other people...

Cagivagurl

Just a couple tweaks here and there and that post could be a poem

 

[StrangeLife]

It's fun to try different genres.

 

[madelinemasoch]

No. You should go where the ideas take you. You should remain firmly true to the ideas and your personal artistic vision, that being the vision the ideas show you how to follow. This means sometimes mixing and crossing over from one ‘genre’ to another.

 

[MillieDynamite]

I'm actually working in two different genres right now. I have a novel about a 1/4 done in Horror and a long short story about a Transgender in the Old West. The western is inspired by the story of One Eyed Charlie. A man who was a Civil War veteran, who drove stage coaches. When he died, to the shock of the undertaker, he had no penis or testicals but a vagina and bound tits.

 

[THBGato]

he western is inspired by the story of One Eyed Charlie. A man who was a Civil War veteran, who drove stage coaches. When he died, to the shock of the undertaker, he had no penis or testicals but a vagina and bound tits.

Do you know the story of James Barry/Margaret Bulkley? They rose to a high rank in the British Army Medical Corps (Inspector General) and also wasn't discovered until being laid out for a funeral.


In response to the OP.... do what you feel.

I've published thirteen Lesbian Sex stories, but of those:
- all thirteen could have gone in Romance
- four could have gone in First Time
- at least two could have gone in EC
- two are over 80k words so could have gone in Novels & Novellas
- two could have gone in E/V
- one is Science Fiction
- one is I&T
- one could have gone in T/CD
- one is arguably Fetish

But, at their core, they are all stories about women falling in love with women. I'm not going to stick them in different categories just to tick boxes (though I did consider putting my latest in N&N).

Write what you want. If that means switching category, great (I've also published in Gay Male and Non-Erotic). But unless you are taking part in the survivor challenge, nobody is keeping score.

 

[MillieDynamite]

No, sorry I don't.

Do you know the story of James Barry/Margaret Bulkley? They rose to a high rank in the British Army Medical Corps (Inspector General) and also wasn't discovered until being laid out for a funeral.

 

[THBGato]

Don't apologise! I was just thinking you might be interested, as it sounds similar to your One Eyed Charlie (who I hadn't heard of). James Barry performed the first (recorded) caesarian section where both mother and baby survived.

 

[MillieDynamite]

For a moment, my mind thought of the James Bond Composer. But that's John Barry, and I doubt he ever held a scalpel in his life. It wasn't actually an apology, it was more, I'm sorry that I didn't already know that.

Don't apologise! I was just thinking you might be interested, as it sounds similar to your One Eyed Charlie (who I hadn't heard off). James Barry performed the first (recorded) caesarian section where both mother and baby survived.