Jolly Genre Jubilee Tag

Hello. It is time for another blog tag.

I was planning on starting a new blog tag this week, but when I saw this one on Kristianne Hassman’s blog, I knew I had to jump in on this!

And even though I wasn’t tagged directly, she did say it was open to anyone, so here I am. I’m ready to talk about genres!

The Rules

• Thank the blogger who tagged you and link back to their blog. (That would be Kristianne from whimsicalwanderings.home.blog. Thanks Kristianne!)
• Leave a link back to the tag creator. (https://smudgedthoughts.wordpress.com/)
• Tag at least three other bloggers.
• Include at least one gif of a pelican.

Now onto the questions!

1. What’s Your Favorite Genre to Write?

I love light fantasy/magical realism. I like the stories where it feels like anyone could discover magic at any point.

Some of my favorite stories growing up were the Chronicles of Narnia (C.S. Lewis) and The Fairy Realm (Emily Rodda). In both series, the characters accidentally discover a magical world, either inside a wardrobe or in the secret garden. Those books have greatly influenced my own writing.

Since I’m not too big into worldbuilding, I like writing about magical realism because I can use a real life setting, but I’m not confined to using real world physics. Or if I make up a new fantasy world, I don’t have to create a ton of different magical species, and I can just focus on the human characters.

2. What Genre Would You NEVER Get Caught Writing?

………. Erotica.

As you might be able to tell from my last post, I avoid writing romance most of the time, and I feel really awkward when I try to write about two characters falling in love.

If the characters are already together, it’s a bit easier. I’ll write some fluff, maybe even a kiss or two.

But erotica? Where it’s all just about the steamy sex stuff? No thanks. Not a fan.

3. Which Fictional Genre Feels Like Home?

Honestly, I’m a sucker for good historical fiction. Even though I go through a bunch of different reading “phases” where I try out different genres, I’ve always enjoyed a good his-fic.

Some of my favorite his-fics are Peace Like a River (Leif Enger), The Book Thief (Markus Zusak), and The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini).

When I read, I like to feel so connected with the setting and the character that I feel disoriented when I have to put the book down. And that’s one reason I love his-fic, because if it’s well-written, it feels like you’re a time traveler.

4. If You Could Live in Any Genre, Which One Would You Choose?

I’d probably live in Medieval fantasy. It’s not necessarily my favorite genre to read, but I would rather live in a fantasy castle than in a horror, thriller, mystery, or dystopian scenario.

My second choice would be cozy contemporary, like Jan Karon’s Mitford books. Again, I don’t normally read this genre, but I’d rather live in a comfortable world than a scary one!

5. What Genre Does Your Real Life Resemble Most (at this moment)?

Contemporary romance, but the part before she meets the guy, so it’s just the main character eating take out and binge-watching Netflix and trying to ignore the fact that deep down, she wants to find true love.

PELICAN GIF BREAK

6. What’s a Genre You’re Interested in Writing, But You Haven’t Tried Yet?

There’s so many! Out of my four novels, one is dystopian and three are magical realism or light fantasy. So I haven’t really tried too many genres before.

I’d love to learn how to write a story that’s really high stakes, either thriller or suspense (like A Quiet Place).

Also, I want to learn how to write a screenplay, just because I think it would be fun to try! I just haven’t gotten around to it yet. Keep getting sidetracked by novels.

7. What Genre is Your Most Recent Plot Bunny, and Where Did It Come From?

My latest project is fantasy, and it started as a plot bunny. I actually got the idea while playing Among Us back in October, wrote down the idea on my phone, and forgot about it for a few months.

Originally, the plot bunny was about a pair of assassins who could see and communicate with ghosts.

Now, about halfway through the rough draft, the hero (Merrick) can see ghosts, and he is best friends with a girl named June, who can manipulate emotions.

The country is trying to rebuild after a devastating collapse. Everyone has different opinions on how things should be handled: some say “let the government die,” others say “we can fix it and make it better than it was.” The Elvens take this opportunity to purge any government officials from their communities. Cities are destroyed. Ghosts are scattered everywhere.

In order to find the ghosts of his dead parents, Merrick must take a job with the government and help them start rebuilding. He takes the job, planning to use his position to do good, but his best friend June has other plans. Plans involving sabotage. Anarchy. Fire. And she sees Merrick as her key to destroying the government once and for all.

That’s all I can say about it right now, since it’s only a rough draft at this point and even I don’t know what happens! Lol. But I’m super excited about it so far!

8. How Many Genres Have You Tried So Far?

In the past few years, I’ve tried fantasy (high, soft, and medieval), magical realism, contemporary, sci-fi, and dystopian.

Also poetry and nonfiction, but those are separate categories!

And Now, For My Nominees:

• Emily Elizabeth Teixeira (https://emilyteixeiracom.wordpress.com/)
• Christine Smith (https://christinesmithauthor.com/)
• K.M. Allen (http://kmallan.com/)
• And anyone else who would like to participate!

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So what’s your favorite genre? Do you usually stick with one genre, or do you like to experiment with different stories? Let me know in the comments!

Thanks for reading, and I’ll be back again soon with a new post!