Is an author allowed to change their genre?

The one in the title is a very popular question in various blogs that deal with writing. The first reaction I had when I found myself in front of it was: of course! An author is free to do anything! And I still agree with this statement.

As a matter of fact the problem is that the question is ill-posed. The right one would be: should an author change their genre?

And here the matter becomes more complex. You have to take into account the external consequences, if an author writes and publishes books of different genres, but also the internal ones, i.e. the pleasure that the author may have in changing genre and the effect of this on the quality of their writing.

I like to read books of almost any genre (except classic fantasy) and, like me, I think there are many authors with various literary tastes. It is normal that they want to experience their ability sneaking in different genres, because, if they like a certain type of stories, it is normal they want to invent some of them.

Theoretically no one prevents them from doing so (of course). I myself have so far published books of very different genres (apparently). “La morte è soltanto il principio” is an action/fantasy fan fiction with an ancient Egyptian topic, “Deserto rosso” (Red Desert, which will be translated and published in English next year) is a hard science fiction/space exploration serialised novel, with elements of introspection. The first one is full of irony and supernatural elements; the second one is dramatic and scientific. After this description these books seem poles apart, but those who have read both of them have often said: “It’s evident that you have written both of them.”

This statement of course makes me feel proud, considering that twelve years have passed between the writing of the first and the second one (although then I have published them during a little more than a year). Twelve years is a long time, in the meantime, my tastes have evolved or simply have changed, and it is this change which partly explains the different genre. But what has not changed is my approach to each new story, that one is mine and remains so in a long time, even if my style has grown, has matured.

More recently I’ve also written a crime thriller (still unpublished) and though its plot is very different from the sci-fi series, the main themes of it are not.

I must also say that the thriller element is always present in my stories, even if in very different contexts

The truth is that when writing a book I start with an idea and from my point of view this is not always easy to label within a genre. In addition, in the development of the stories, often quite unintentionally I refer to recurrent themes, often controversial ones, because I like to create contrasts, interpreted differently according to the type of story, but still recognizable as mine.

The genre labels help to distinguish in broad terms where a certain story does fit, but for the writer it often has little importance. For the writer there is just their way of writing, feeling, narrating. In fact, each writer tends over time to create a genre of their own, which is defined voice of the author. It is something unique and recognizable, and this is what often their readers seek in their stories. They know that, whatever the genre, the author will face it with their own voice.

For this reason there are many writers who engage in different genres (perhaps related, but different), especially very famous writers; e.g. think about King, Grisham, the late Crichton, just to name a few. We tend to define their books as “King’s genre” or “Grisham’s genre” or “Crichton’s genre” rather than using a usual genre label.

By the way, some readers of mine even told me I fit in the latter; because they think sci-fi is not enough accurate (actually I think this is not completely correct as I have a much more emotional approach in dealing with the characters).

Of course, it is said that Grisham has invented legal thrillers, but the truth is that many of Grisham’s books are legal, not all of these are thrillers, and many others are literary fiction, even if in reading all them you realize that he writes exactly the same way regardless of the supposed genre. This is because Grisham is a great storyteller of ordinary life, the thriller or legal part is often just an excuse to tell great stories of ordinary people.

However, we are talking about great writers, who do not normally fear to see their book rejected by a publisher or that nobody buys it.

The situation is quite different for a less known writer, whether they are published or self-published. The one with a publisher, when suggesting a book in a genre different from the previous ones, can risk receiving a rejection. There is no problem for the independent author, but the latter is facing the same issues of the above-mentioned publisher: the reaction of the readers.

As I said, I read almost all genres, but not all readers are like me, indeed the opposite is often true.

Who writes a book in a well-defined literary genre usually targets the promotion of this book in order to reach specific readers of the genre, who, in turn, often, would not read their book if it had been of a different genre. For this reason, if, in the next book, the author switches to another genre, these readers may feel betrayed at the very least, lose confidence in the author and ultimately not buy the book.

At this point, all the work done to make themselves known for the previous book would have been lost forever; the author should start all over again.

Quite discouraging, isn’t it?

This is definitely a big problem, but in my opinion there is something more important to consider: does the author really feel to be able to write a book in another genre?

If the answer is yes, then I think that they should do it.

We cannot force ourselves to write a certain kind of books, only to avoid disappointing readers or publishers. Writing does not work that way. Writing is an artistic creation, and to create a valuable product it needs the passion from the writer’s side. The latter will write much more and much better if they do it following their rules, if they have fun doing it. If they lose readers, they probably will find others.

Or maybe their old readers will realize that the author is not changing at all “their own” genre and that they love to read those books, because of the way they are written and not only because of the subject they deal with.

I’m aware this is just a simplification and things are much more complicated. The point is I like to see the change of genre like a challenge to show your readers (and yourself) you are a good writer, that you can write good stories in other genres and all the same win their appreciation.

And what about you? Have you written stories in different genres? What about the reaction of your readers?

Sources of ideas for authors: inspiration from cinema or TV

How many times, while seeing a movie or TV series, have you imagined carrying the characters into another story? I think almost all of us have experienced something like that, especially if we liked a lot that movie or series.

From this desire arises what actually is a literary genre, and also among the most prolific ones, i.e. fan fiction. These are short stories or novels, which draw setting and characters from a movie or a series and use them to tell an original story. The skill of the author of fan fiction is to remain true to the spirit of the story that inspired it, so that readers and fans of the film (or series) recognize it, but at the same time to develop a new plot, which seems a natural continuation. Clearly, such an approach is always very personal, because we tend, however, to make such stories our own and interpret them individually. It is not said therefore that the other fans will appreciate the author's work, but the truth is that writing fan fiction is first and foremost a personal gratification, an extension of our love for a particular character, actor or saga.

As you maybe know, I've written fan fiction in the past. “La morte è soltanto il principio” (translated: “Death Is Only The Beginning”, inspired by “The Mummy”) is just one example, the only completed one and then published for free 12 years later. I had, however, already ventured into the genre with a fan fiction of Star Wars written together with other fans between 1998 and 1999, but never finished. I tried to develop other ideas, but then I had run aground. This is because at the end writing about a world created by others has limitations that trap the author's creativity and at the same time make the result of all that work something which you cannot take all the credit of. In a sense, I found it an unsatisfactory experience.

I had come to fan fiction because of my love for cinema, which at first led me to write screenplays. Then I gave up both types of creative writing and years later I gave birth to my first science fiction original novel (“L'isola di Gaia”, i.e. “The Isle of Gaia”, for future publication). I wanted to create a universe of mine, with my rules coming from my personal way of seeing the future, in which moving my characters. Yet this did not make it entirely free from the influence of cinema and TV.

In fact, in everything I've written so far and in other projects to which I will take care of in the future there is always some element, usually an actor and/or a character or even a situation, an image that can be traced back to a movie or a TV series. The connection, however, is by no means obvious, since often refers to the manner in which I have internalized such a film (or series), and is then put upside down as during writing.

And so in “Deserto rosso” (“Red Desert”), believe it or not, there is the influence of the TV series “Caprica” (spin-off/prequel of “Battlestar Galactica”). You'd say, what has that to do with a novel set on Mars? Absolutely nothing. It's just that one of the main characters, Jan De Wit, in my mind is Eric Stoltz (but in a younger version, photo 2), starring in “Caprica”, which I was watching at the time when I wrote the first draft of “Punto di non ritorno” (“Point Of No Return”, the first episode of “Red Desert”). He has crept into the story without that I wanted to and now he is there to be quietly part of it, almost unsuspected. The only similarity with Stoltz is his physical appearance, for the rest there is nothing, but this is enough to define him in a certain way in my mind.

Even in “The Isle of Gaia” is something of “Battlestar Galactica” (you can tell I'm a fan, right?), again in a marginal way. The story has nothing to do with the series, but there is a character who has the body and behaviour of Tricia Helfer (Cylon Number Six, photo 1), in a version revised by my mind (a younger one), while they are diametrically opposed on an emotional level (emotions almost absent in the first one, very passionate the second one).

In November-December, as part of NaNoWriMo2012, I wrote a thriller entitled “Il mentore” (“The Mentor”). The original idea, including the title, appeared in my mind two years ago and was no doubt aided by the fact that in the period from September to November “CSI: NY” is broadcasted on Sky TV in Italy. The result is that the protagonist, Detective Eric Shaw, is a Gary Sinise (photo 3) of ten years ago (what can you do? Actors get older, but in our heads we can rewind time as we please), which clearly refers to Detective Mac Taylor, but in reality has nothing to do with him.

To be honest the good Sinise was also included in “The Isle of Gaia” as Dr. Gabriel Asbury, which has been described by thinking about him. The few people who have read the first draft of the book (two) have certainly not noticed that, because it only exists in my mind.

I have another example, that of the novel “Sangue” (“Blood”; at present it is only a set of notes). It is a gothic science fiction thriller. The basic idea behind it developed from a purely visual glorious fusion between some elements of “Underworld” and a character from the film series on “The Avengers” by Marvel. While the link with the first may seem obvious (but I assure you it is not so), the one with the latter might seem puzzling. Well, I'll explain it: the protagonist of “Blood” (as yet unnamed) looks like Tom Hiddleston (photo 4), that is the actor performing Loki, the evil brother of Thor. The connection is purely visual. When I saw him in a specific shot (only one!), I said to myself: it's him. That's about it.

The beauty of this mechanism is to take from external visual sources (a film, a TV series) elements, which have an important meaning for us because of their ability to move us in a personal way, even if only for a brief moment, and try to channel this emotion to create something completely new, that conveys an original message which can move our readers. Moreover, in doing so, in our mind what we are writing becomes in turn a movie with the best cast we might want, within which we can move actors and characters at will. And, once put on paper, it like as if that movie really exists.

For someone like me, who grew up with a love for cinema, especially from Hollywood, who as a young girl dreamed of working in that field as a director, this mechanism becomes a perfect substitute for that dream, where the only limit is my imagination.