5 Reasons Writers Should Read Outside of Their Genre
Currently, I primarily write fantasy. So, as a (mostly) fantasy author, I obviously must spend my life reading and watching fantasy stories, right?
Right??
Wrong.
Writers are constantly told that we need to read within our own genre. That is 100% solid advice. But what about reading outside of our genre? Is that a good practice? Is it helpful to us?
In short: Yes. But, obviously, I can't just end the post here. Where would the fun be in that?
Let's talk about the many upsides to reading outside of our own genre:
1. It keeps up your mind fresh. While reading in your own genre is awesome, it can also lead to you getting into a mental rut. Take me, for instance. If all I did was live and breathe fantasy stories, I would get very bored, very quickly (also, I wouldn't get to experience Marvel movies, so I think I'd probably just end up dying of sadness). A bored writer equals stale writing. By constantly moving from one genre to the next, you are keeping your mind engaged, thus leading to more creative stories.
2. It gives you new tropes to pull from. Each genre has their own specific tropes. Horror has the cabin-in-the-woods aesthetic trope. Romance has the happily-ever-after trope. Fantasy has the Chosen One trope. Readers and writers alike can get bored with reading the same tropes over and over again in different stories within the same genre. If you read stories outside of the genre that you write, you are going to stumble across new tropes that you can utilize in your stories. This will give your fiction a unique feel.
3. It can help you find your writing style. Similar to tropes, each genre tends to have a prominent writing style. For instance, high fantasy writing often has an almost archaic feel to it, whereas the thriller genre tends to feature faster, choppier sentences. If you read only within the genre that you are writing, you may end up adopting your genre's standard writing style by default. Reading new genres will introduce you to new writing voices, different word choices, and unique sentence/paragraph structures. This will help you find what you like, and thus help you settle on your own special writing style.
4. It can help you better understand your audience. If you only read within your own genre, you won't be able to fully appreciate the uniqueness and nuances of said genre. This means you will have less chance of understanding what exactly it is that your audience expects of you. Reading a new genre provides contrast for your own genre, and this lets you see what is and is not expected of your stories. Understanding expectations allows you to please and surprise your audience.
5. It can help you see and avoid the pitfalls of your own genre. As I mentioned above, reading outside of your genre provides you a unique view of your own genre. This can allow you to more clearly see the downsides of the tropes, writing styles, and expectations within your genre. What do you do with this information? You use it to cut out the boring/harmful/overdone aspects of your genre so that you can build a better story.
Do you like to read outside of the genre(s) that you write? I'd love to hear about your reading adventures!
Related article:
9 Ways to Use Reading to Improve Your WritingA List of Great Self-Published Books You Should Read (Part 2)10 Manga and Comic Books Worth Reading (Part 2)
Enjoy this post? Take a look around. If you like what you see, please don't forget to subscribe by email for a new post every week!
Some links are Amazon affiliate links. Thank you for your support.
Right??
Wrong.
Writers are constantly told that we need to read within our own genre. That is 100% solid advice. But what about reading outside of our genre? Is that a good practice? Is it helpful to us?
In short: Yes. But, obviously, I can't just end the post here. Where would the fun be in that?
Let's talk about the many upsides to reading outside of our own genre:
1. It keeps up your mind fresh. While reading in your own genre is awesome, it can also lead to you getting into a mental rut. Take me, for instance. If all I did was live and breathe fantasy stories, I would get very bored, very quickly (also, I wouldn't get to experience Marvel movies, so I think I'd probably just end up dying of sadness). A bored writer equals stale writing. By constantly moving from one genre to the next, you are keeping your mind engaged, thus leading to more creative stories.
2. It gives you new tropes to pull from. Each genre has their own specific tropes. Horror has the cabin-in-the-woods aesthetic trope. Romance has the happily-ever-after trope. Fantasy has the Chosen One trope. Readers and writers alike can get bored with reading the same tropes over and over again in different stories within the same genre. If you read stories outside of the genre that you write, you are going to stumble across new tropes that you can utilize in your stories. This will give your fiction a unique feel.
3. It can help you find your writing style. Similar to tropes, each genre tends to have a prominent writing style. For instance, high fantasy writing often has an almost archaic feel to it, whereas the thriller genre tends to feature faster, choppier sentences. If you read only within the genre that you are writing, you may end up adopting your genre's standard writing style by default. Reading new genres will introduce you to new writing voices, different word choices, and unique sentence/paragraph structures. This will help you find what you like, and thus help you settle on your own special writing style.
4. It can help you better understand your audience. If you only read within your own genre, you won't be able to fully appreciate the uniqueness and nuances of said genre. This means you will have less chance of understanding what exactly it is that your audience expects of you. Reading a new genre provides contrast for your own genre, and this lets you see what is and is not expected of your stories. Understanding expectations allows you to please and surprise your audience.
5. It can help you see and avoid the pitfalls of your own genre. As I mentioned above, reading outside of your genre provides you a unique view of your own genre. This can allow you to more clearly see the downsides of the tropes, writing styles, and expectations within your genre. What do you do with this information? You use it to cut out the boring/harmful/overdone aspects of your genre so that you can build a better story.
Do you like to read outside of the genre(s) that you write? I'd love to hear about your reading adventures!
Related article:
9 Ways to Use Reading to Improve Your WritingA List of Great Self-Published Books You Should Read (Part 2)10 Manga and Comic Books Worth Reading (Part 2)
Enjoy this post? Take a look around. If you like what you see, please don't forget to subscribe by email for a new post every week!
Some links are Amazon affiliate links. Thank you for your support.
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