General Angst. I knew him when he was Major Angst.

 Do you love to write but feel pigeonholed into a particular genre?  And do you get a good case of angst  when others label you as that "science fiction" writer or "YA" writer and thereby assume you can do nothing else?


Me too.

The famous author John Grisham has written countless novels about lawyers, criminals, the judicial system, etc.  He has sold millions of these books and became well known and filthy rich for writing legal thrillers.  Good for him.

But then... he wrote a book called A Painted House.  Remember it?  I picked it up on a whim but wondered after examining the cover how on earth lawyers could ever fit into this book.  Well, they didn't and the book was a true pleasure to read.  Of course, it helped that I could relate in a tangible way to the story.  Like the Arkansas family in the tale who picked cotton by hand for a living, my roots extend back to Tennessee where my forefathers likewise picked cotton to survive--by hand.

A Painted House really resonated with me.  But it had nothing to do with lawyers.

You could really apply the same standard to Stephen King, right?  All those horror novels and short stories, then he pops out a gem like Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption.  Nary a ghost or paranormal activity to be found.

So when I examine my work, I dislike the notion of being categorized into one particular genre.  I have written science fiction (http://www.wattpad.com/story/43021473-derelict), as well as literary or general fiction (http://www.wattpad.com/story/42531758-red-white-and-black) and don't really care what the world says.  Of course, marketing myself as an author becomes more difficult.

Ah, the price one must pay for art.