I Don't Fit Inside This Box Anymore

*If you missed it yesterday, I have an interview up on C.M. Villani's blog. You can check it out here.*

When I was little, I loved playing with cardboard boxes. I'd crawl inside and pretend it was a spaceship, a house, a castle, or even a horse. Yes, I had a cardboard box I pulled around and named Charisma. It was my pony. Is it any wonder I grew up to be a writer? My mind works in mysterious ways. What does this have to do with today's post? Well, as I reluctantly got older, I started to dislike boxes. No, I'm not talking about cardboard boxes anymore. I'm talking about the box people tend to put themselves in. You know, you get settled into one way of thinking, one way of writing. Not me.

Most of you probably know I write for children of all ages. When I started writing, I was sure I loved middle grade the most. I was a middle grade writer. Then I had my daughter, and I started writing picture books. I was fortunate enough to get a picture book published. I thought, "Great, I'm a picture book writer!" Not so fast. Then I wrote two young adult novels and now I love that age group.

But I don't just vary in my age levels. I vary in genre. I started out writing contemporary fiction. Then I moved to fantasy. Then I threw in some nonfiction. And back in late October of last year, I tried horror for the very first time. And I loved it. I recently wrote a creepy YA manuscript, and my amazing agent told me creepy is my forte.

What does all this mean? I don't fit inside this box anymore. I won't squish my creativity to fit into a box or even a brand. I can't. I write the stories that demand to be written. I don't know what the next idea will be, but I'll welcome it because you never know what you can do until you try. Maybe I will gravitate toward creepy now. I'll be okay with that. But if I stray again, I'll be okay with that, too.

What about you? Do you fit nicely inside a box (genre or age level)? It's perfectly fine if you do. There's nothing wrong with knowing what you're good at and sticking to it. Or are you breaking out of boxes like me and letting your creativity take you where it will?