photo © 2007 Mark | more info (via: Wylio)From my early days of studying the writing market, I've always heard to write what you know. If you like a certain genre, write in that genre. Since I've always loved to read contemporary romance, I always figured I'd write contemporary romance too. But since my first story I've leaned toward writing historical. I've gained a new appreciation for reading historical romance too.I hated studying history in school. The rote learning of dates made my head spin. I never could understand why things that happened hundred of years ago could be of relevance to things that happened today!
Through the process of researching my past and present books, I've gained a new appreciation for the study of history and often find myself getting carried away with the research of the topic, jotting notes for future ideas, and I have to rein myself in. Sometimes the research can be as much fun as writing the story itself! God does have a funny sense of humor.
I love putting a modern-minded heroine in a historical setting where she can keep the hero on his toes. The hero is always baffled by the heroine's spunk and intellect, but of course in the end he's enamored by her wit and charm and wonderfully fun personality. I also love taking "broken" people and showing that anyone can be redeemed.
Then again, historical writing requires a lot of attention to historical detail, so contemporary stories are refreshing in that they don't have the same research requirements as you have when writing historical. The details still need to be done well, and the setting needs to be portrayed accurately, but the contemporary style allows more focus on the story and less on details. It can be fun to write a story, just for the sake of the story, without all the historical accuracy needed for a historical.
I guess it's safe to say I enjoy writing both styles, and I'm glad to write for a company like Barbour where I'm able to do both.
What do you prefer to read? Those of you who are writers and readers, do you like to write what you read?
I love to read Christian fiction....any kind!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a great book!!!
I tend to prefer historical to contemporary, which is also what I like to write!
ReplyDeleteI'm all about the historicals. :) Reading, writing, and researching. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm with Erica...I am all about the historicals.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you Paige, I love researching and find myself jotting down ideas for future books. I love old west history The idea of knights in shinning armor as well as cowboy hats set my heart to pounding.
ReplyDeleteI like several different genres. I started in my teens with Grace Livingston Hill mixed with C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and just for fun Carolyn Keene. For years I read mostly romance, but now I've spread out into mystery, suspense, historical romance, chick lit, contemporary romance, and just about anything else (can't get into paranormal, even in the Christian field).
ReplyDeleteWhen I started writing my first novel over 8 years ago, I wasn't sure what genre it fell into. I've written two more books and recently settled into mystery. But I also started a historical romance. I guess I haven't found my niche yet. Perhaps when one of them gets published, I'll stick with a genre for a while.