What genre do you write?
I struggle to define what I'm writing. It takes place in a zombie apocalypse, but I wouldn't say its about zombies. Its about people, relationships, and hardship. Its a road trip, a tragedy and a comedy. It just happens to have zombies as a hardship to endure. How to I pick a buzzword to describe a whole story that isn't really about the thing you would define it by?
@DanIsWriting Hmm...I'm focusing on horror.
Do you know your authorital voice yet? Once you find your voice in your writing, you'll be able to nail your genre.
@awrene Hmmm, I'm not sure. Do you have any examples?
@DanIsWriting hmmm….when you write is your writing close? Or far? For example my voice is close narrative proximity with a linguistics tone.
Here’s a link to read a little bit more.
https://nybookeditors.com/2017/06/find-writers-voice/
But your voice is distinct to you as an author
@awrene thanks for this, I'm going to have to think about it. Writing is something that just happens, for me. I've never considered that beyond the content of the writing, that my writing itself could be analyzed. Maybe I never found my writing itself very important, only the story I'm telling. This will require a deep dive, I think.
@awrene I still have no idea. 😂
I think my perspective is far, as I write about groups of characters, and then focus on one or two and jump from character to character
My tone is dark. I like to lead character unwittingly to tragedy
And I write informally, ignoring the desire for smart language and choosing simple if not profane ways to describe things.
There is so much information out there about this, but so little that anyone agrees on. I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I'M DOING!!!
@DanIsWriting LOL. That's a super solid start. And yeah, there is a lot of stuff out there regarding authorial voice. But now that you have an idea, don't let it drive you crazy. Just keep that little nugget at the forefront. And as you explore your writing more, your voice will evolve.
Also, leading characters into tragedy is amazing. I'm a huge supporter of kill 'em all off.
@awrene Me too! One of the best parts of having multiple characters is that I can kill them off at any moment. In general, I lose interest in stories when I realize the MC has plot armor. I want my characters to be naked and vulnerable. I want the reader to be wary of becoming too attached for fear that I will rip their heart out... and then I trick them into doing it anyway, then I betray everyone, especially the reader.
I should just call the book "Everyone dies, except the bad guy"
@DanIsWriting let me know what you come up with! I’d love to hear it