“Don’t classify me, read me. I’m a writer, not a genre.”
― Carlos Fuentes
In one of my earlier blogs (New Year’s Revelation No. 5, “Never, Never Assume!”), I wrote about the unfortunate common practice of making assumptions ― about people or situations. So many of us, whether intentionally or unintentionally, fall into that trap – to our detriment. In so doing, we run the risk of making erroneous assumptions (because we are not aware of all the mitigating factors) and rush to judgment, perhaps too quickly. The same applies to pigeon holing or typecasting someone.
In the acting world, for example, actors are often typecast as comedic, dramatic, character, leading role, action hero, and so on. Yet many actors have proven – time and time again – that they can seamlessly apply their acting talent and skills to any genre. And when they do this, we are always surprised (yet delighted). Why are we surprised? The answer, of course, is that we made an erroneous assumption. Yes, Robert De Niro has played some seriously intense and dramatic roles. However, as “Vitti” in Analyze This and Analyze That (opposite Billy Crystal), De Niro had me rolling on the floor, laughing.
The same applies to writing. Just because a writer publishes a book in one genre, this does not mean he or she is incapable of writing in a different voice, for a variety of target audiences, or in multiple genres.
As for myself, I have multiple book projects in the works. Many are non-fiction. Casualties of the (Recession) Depression is a political and economic commentary and collection of real-life vignettes. This does not mean that the only genre I write is non-fiction editorial. I write fiction, as well as industry-specific pieces and scripts for documentaries.
Whether one is a writer or a photographer, an actor or an artist ― the fact is, we are complex and multi-faceted. Labels are very limiting and should not be assigned so readily.
If we only focus our eyes on the moon, we may miss the beauty of the rest of the galaxy.
Image via trivworks.com.
heatherfromthegrove 
