Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Going Against the Grain

I recently wrote (and sold) an erotic contemporary romance. Not really earth shattering news when you think about it. However, I'm normally a fantasy/sci-fi erotic romance author. So, in a way, it is earth shattering for me. I wrote a story where none of the characters had any sort of supernatural ability and it didn't take place in a galaxy far, far away.

It's kicked off a new facet of writing for me. It's not usual for me to work on several things at the same time - in fact, I have three works in progress going at the moment. One paranormal/urban fantasy, one science fiction and one contemporary. Three completely different worlds where each have their own sets of rules, do's and don'ts and character personalities. How do I keep them all straight?

Meticulous notes!

But, just to make things even more complicated...the paranormal/urban fantasy is a m/f/m, the science fiction m/f and the contemporary m/m/f. While it's not the first time I've written m/f/m and certainly not the first with m/f it is a new adventure to undertake the m/m/f. I've written f/f and worked through the sex scenes with no problem whatsoever. However, the m/m scene I've been working seems to be more complicated.

Have had a few people ask me why I would undertake contemporary, not to mention m/m when it's not something I'd usually do. I respond with why not? I read it and enjoy it - I read a lot of things and enjoy it, not that it means I'll write in all sorts of genres just because I love reading it. But why not stretch my writing chops and make myself grow as a writer? I've never been someone who did "the norm".

What about you, writers? Anything you do out of the norm with your writing?

Readers, have you tried anything lately that was out of the norm for your reading habits?

4 comments:

Kayelle Allen said...

I wrote a contemporary Christmas short story. Like you, I usually write Science Fiction Romance, so this was a big change for me. I've written m/m, m/m/m, m/f, and even one f/m/f scene. Does a romantic kiss between two women count as f/f?

I generally don't have more than one thing going -- I have to focus in order to produce. But, I am constantly writing down ideas for stories, and could write a dozen books easily with notes I have now. If only I could write faster!

Sandra Sookoo said...

I always write across genres. It's fun as a writer and as a reader, I always read across genres. Besides, it keeps the brain active :-)

Christa Paige said...

Right now I have 6 documents open. Two are related Regency romance novels, book 1 and book 2 of my Scandal series. I hope to someday finish and find a home for them. Two are my vampires, book 3 which is nearly done and a break-off of the series that I would love to make into a longer novel. Right now, that one is getting most of my attention because I am flirting with the idea of using it in some contests. The last two are new cop stories.

I never set out to write contemps until the holiday call for subs at LSB. I still struggle with getting the technique down. I love words- adverbs especially, lol, and I have found turning off the flowery Regency or Old World paranormal voice is tough for me to do.

I had a crazy idea for a couple YA novels but put them on the back burner because I am not sure I can dial down the naughty bits and replace them with angst. HEHE

I can't wait to see your contemp (Hardware-right?) release. It looks like a ton of fun.
Christa

Savanna Kougar said...

Like Kayelle says... if only I had time to write all those stories, worlds, that live inside my mind... lol...

I'm constantly challenging myself in one way or another, especially with POV. My latest release is written only from the hero's POV... while my next release is a menage where the heroine and her heroes all have chapters devoted to their POVs. I have to say writing menage is a challenge simply because of all the different viewpoints and experiences of the heroines and heroes.