Musing on Genre

So no surprises here: I like the genres I like. Everyone has a personal favorite. Or favoriteS. I have several that I love– Fantasy, Romance, Sci-Fi, and a dash of Literary. Every once in a while throw in a dash of Cozy Mystery.

Most of those genres have sub-genres from within. Some stories smash things together, some subsets are directly related to tone. You wouldn’t want to confuse a Dark Romance with a Rom-Com for instance. Two VERY different types of stories.

I’ve talked about being on a reading tear. It has almost all been romance. Personally, for me as a writer, I normally read in a different genre than I am currently writing. Or trying to write. 

Right now I’m writing dark and twisty fantasy right now and that’s ok.

I’m reading romance. A lot of romance

And I just found an author (Pippa Grant if you’re curious) who has nailed the Rom-Com. We are talking howling. Laughing so hard I had to put the phone down because I was crying. We had 2 painful crotch shots, a scene that made me think the hero had eaten some special brownies, him getting puked on, falling in deer poop… And reminding me that Rom-Com is specifically supposed to be funny.

That’s not always the case. Some Romances are light, but not necessarily funny yet they are called Rom-Com for want of a better name. Chick-Lit sounds bad, like an insult. That’s a te.fr way back yonder, and I probably used it too.

It’s not that the books are bad at the comedy aspect, it’s that the comedy isn’t part of the DNA of the book.

It’s probably just me. But I really wish there was a team to come up with names for these sub-genres that were a little bit better at hitting what it really is.

Because if it says Rom-Com I should at least giggle

Right?

Ta, my Lovelies. I’m off to write something dark and twisty before I go back to reading the real funny shit

The DNF Dance

At what point do you put a book down and not finish it because of poor editing? I’m not talking about a story that doesn’t click for you, is outside your realm of interest or anything to do with taste

I’m speaking of straight up poor editing. Even down to the sentence level.

I believe I mentioned I’ve been on a reading tear. For this month I am at 15 books completed, not counting the 3 books I reread. (All by Zapata, I really really like her books!) Not all the authors I like are on KU which is where I’m getting most of the books I’m reading. And with 35 books under my belt for February and March, I had to branch out. Found some thru TikTok, and some through recommendations on Amazon.

I’m going to put a few caveats here. 1. I know, I KNOW my writing here could use a good editing or even proofreading. I come here to get things off my chest. When I send things out for “Submission” it has been proofread & sent to my writing partner (Hi Sis!) for editing help. 2. I will not name this author here. She has done something not everyone can do– completed and published not one but 3 books (in the series). 3. To whomever left the Amazon review of how she could get her money back from her editor… I howled. Also felt bad, but snickered too. BUT there is a possibility she didn’t have the funds for an editor, or resources. However, some of the problems could have been spotted with a set of beta readers.

The first hiccup I encountered was the tense. Writing in present tense is hard on the reader, but I could roll with it. Not my first rodeo lol. I don’t generally like the pacing, but the book was under 300 pages so thought I could handle it.

Then there was the missing word. It bothered me enough that I  went back a few times just to see that Yup ! Really missing a word there.

Chapter four rolls around. We, the reader, are still with the couple on the first meeting. It’s been going back and forth between male and female character for point of view, but I’m chapter four we get.. Past tense.

No. Just no.

I know that fore personally, if I continue reading it I will be doing so in order to find more hiccups. But there’s no reason for me to do this. I am not in a class, needing to give feedback. I am not her editor. I am not a beta reader.

And at 15% in, I’m not that invested in the characters. Which wouldn’t be a problem (taste) but I figured it was short. I could rip through it. Maybe it gets better. But when that chapter bounced the tenses, I hard bounced out.

So my lovelies, at what point do you DNF a book due to technical errors?

If you write and self publish, please know that there are people rooting for you and willing to be beta readers for you.

Update on goals

So February was a good month for my goals. I posted more here, wrote more words and read a heck of a lot more than I did in January.

READING: Read 20 books (oh my gosh!!!) and DNF’d 16. I am really enjoying what I’m reading, even if I’m picking up tics in the writers. I’m ripping through different authors on KU, which makes those things jump out. Some things I love, like the no 3rd Act Breakup and others, like popping shoulders and using husked instead of…. Said. Whisper. Rasped. Anything other than husk lol. But I’m also learning to jump over those bits. Not having to wait for titles means that I can read an authors backlist or a whole series in one go. If I had to wait a year for the book to come out it probably wouldn’t even be a blip.

WRITING: I’m writing more, and coming to terms with the fact that longer forms aren’t for me right now. Poetry, prose poetry and flash fiction are what I’m able to sustain and that’s ok. Also, I submitted something in February. Maybe a little too honest, too raw in my cover letter but it happens. I have another story I’m getting ready to sub, one that’s more of a humorous story.

I’m hanging out here more too, keeping up with the blog. I’ve dropped off of scrolling aimlessly for hours on the clock app, and I gave up the book face a long time ago– it wasn’t good for my mental health. Instead of social media I have been turning to reading and writing.

So. As check-ins go, February was a good month. Here’s to hoping March is even better!

Ta, my lovelies! Hope you find great books to read and if you’re of a writerly bent may the muse bless you.