Genre | [BTW] : Ben Trube, Writer

Tag Archives: Genre

by Ben Trube | March 2, 2015 · 6:35 AM

Writing Outside Your Genre

I’ve been enjoying Larry Wilmore’s new show, particularly his segment “Keep it 100” as in keep it 100% real. In the segment he asks a tough question and depending on your answer you either get a Keep it 100 sticker or some weak tea. So here’s my question to the writers out there:

“If you could become a successful writer but to do it you’d have to write books in a genre you don’t like. Say you like writing mysteries but hate romance novels. You can be a successful romance novelist, and people will even read any mysteries you write, but only because they like your romance novels. Would you do it?”

If I said “no” I’d be more deserving of the weak tea than the sticker.

The truth is, I’m always looking for new projects to try, even in subjects that are not my usual cup of tea. I pick out romance specifically because it has historically been one of the most successful genres in terms of sales, and is constantly in need of a new stream of talent. I think I could write a decent romance book if I wanted to, though to do it well I’d have to first really familiarize myself with the genre, learn the conventions and the ways people break them, and find out what people want. And that would involve reading a lot of books that frankly aren’t really my taste.

Then again, maybe I’m making an assumption.

I’ll tell you two others that are real turn offs to me: the “period drama” and the “coming of age story”. If I see these phrases in a book description I usually won’t even crack it open, and it’s definitely not the kind of stuff I want to write. It’s not that I don’t like stories about growing up. The particularly wacky and weird Moone Boy series on Hulu could maybe be classified as a coming of age story, but I find it hilarious. And it’s not like I hate every story set during the 40s or the 20s or even the 19th century, I just don’t particularly have a romantic notion about those times.

I don’t think you should write a genre you don’t like if you don’t want to, but I also have the suspicion that there are some things we write off which still have gems. Not every experiment has to be a book. You might try your hand at a romantic short story (maybe something over dinner). You could riff off a particular childhood memory and think about how it formed you into the person you are today. And you could pick a time period that appeals to you and just write a story about how people act in that time.

You look at a guy like Asimov. He never limited himself to a particular subject manner. True, he’s not the guy I’d want writing my romances, but there were a lot of books he wrote that most people wouldn’t have suspected him capable of.

So I might take the bargain some day of trying other genre’s that might get my foot in the door, where others haven’t been working. You just might not know it was me. In case it ever happens here are some pen names for my future days as a romance novelist and other genres:

Fantasy – B. R. R. Trube

Romance – Bennie Roberts

Science Fiction – Benjamin R. Trube

Non-Fiction – Ben Trube

Mystery – B. Robert Trube

Coming of Age – Bob Eburt

Genre Piece – Bennington Wilberforce Cuningham Smythe-Jones Trube

Literary Fiction – Benja Truby

Horror – B. R. Trube

What’s the genre you think you’ll never write? Got any story ideas in that genre?

1 Comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as Books, Genre, Romance, The Nightly Show, Writing

by Ben Trube | June 26, 2013 · 6:35 AM

Challenging your genre

I’m still trying to think of a good story about Zombies.

I’ve never particularly understood the recent fascination with the undead and brain-seeking. Vampires have a personality and a rich history (sometimes replete with gypsy curses) but Zombies are moving lumps. Sure they’ve been used for social commentary of all kinds, but with the possible exception of Warm Bodies, zombies don’t think, don’t feel, don’t even articulate words.

But I’m still working on a story idea nonetheless.

It’s not about bandwagon jumping. Even with such instantaneous outlets as self-publishing and the blog, it’s never a good idea to chase writing trends. You tend to show up late to the party.

Rather it’s about trying to stretch my own limits, to get outside my comfort zone. I like writing sci fi and mystery, but what about romance? or horror?

Monday night I watched the regrettable Under The Dome adaption based on Stephen King’s novel of the same name (which he adapted from The Simpsons Movie 🙂 ). The book begins with something like 50-75 pages of amputations, beavers being sliced in half, planes crashing into invisible barriers, etc. Now horror, even of a more sci fi variety is not my usual cup of tea, and not something I tend to write. But after watching the show last night I began toying around with my own Stephen King like scenario, which has quickly escalated into another potential novella stored up in my head.

I think it’s important to take these steps outside genre for a couple of reasons. Writing horror when you write mystery, or romance when you write sci-fi can get your brain out of a rut. It forces you to think differently about a scene, not only what needs to happen but how you will tell it. Secondly, any good piece of writing is actually a mix of genres. A sci-fi novel can still have romance, mystery, suspense, and horror. Even when we are writing to a single genre, we shouldn’t be writing all one note.

One of my favorite authors, Isaac Asimov, had no genre. He wrote in everything. Even Stephen King stretches his limits from time to time. Or maybe they are their own genre. Asimov, King, Grisham, Heinlein, Vonnegut all wrote with unique voices. It’s probably not something you can consciously create, but I am working on putting the “Ben Trube” touch on anything I approach.

So here’s my challenge: Pick a genre you don’t typically write, maybe one you don’t even like, and try to write a story in that style. If you put it up on your blog shoot me a link. I’d love to read it. Or if you don’t have a blog of your own I’m always happy to have guest bloggers. Good luck and have fun!