I used to think I lacked focus, because I wrote fiction, nonfiction, and poetry for adults and kids. I determined a year ago that I didn't, in fact, lack focus. I was just a multi-genre author. Thanks for the validation!
Hmmm - you sound like me except with crafts and art. I crochet, have done quilting, play the guitar, dance, sew, journal, sing, knitting, scrapbooking.
You're a versatile artist! When others enjoy and explore multiple arts, I am often in awe. When I diversify, I blame myself for not being focused. Perhaps I wrote this post to be kinder to myself.
Your versatility and ability to adapt to what’s needed is a gift! It seems to be more valued in creative people than in the business world, though I think there are exceptions. It reminds me of a true Renaissance person, Leonardo da Vinci, who was painter, sculptor, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, and architect. If you look at a fraction of his notebooks you can see how wide-ranging his interests were: anatomy, botany, cartography, astronomy…why not? It’s a pretty incredible world and there’s no reason to limit yourself, especially when you’ve found a demand for what you do.
One of the things that drew me to your posts was the varied subjects - I think the first was about your grandmother. I love following your travels with your husband and the adventures you have - your photos next to the huge lizards were amazing, and the video of the donkeys trotting through your yard was sheer delight. Thank you, for not putting yourself and your gifts into a limited box. Enjoy! Your readers sure do. 😄
Diversification imho is a skill, learned through testing out a wide variety of, well, everything that appealed or was needed to make it in life. Plus it makes that person, you, more interesting bc you’ve explored the smorgasbord we call life.
You are not dabbling. My husband was in higher education at the start of his career and wrote academic paper and plays and has a wonderful novel about the Vietnam War which never found an agent- wait I think he found one agent who couldn’t sell it. He left academia and took to writing plays, one of which was performed in Atlanta GA. Now retired we began cowriting cozy mystery stories based on our time in Lafayette Louisiana where I was getting my PHD. He sent the first one to a cozy mystery publisher who had her publishing house in Aurora IL, a suburb of Chicago. Once we got in the rhythm we cowrote 13 cozy mysteries set in a coastal community in Mississippi on the Gulf Coast and had a lot of fun going to mystery writers conferences. Our publisher just retired but if you are curious used copies can be found for sale on Amazon, put there by readers who don’t hold on to every book, like I tend to do. This all happened after we were bare nesters over a decade. I guess I shared our story here to encourage you to write what the muse tells you to write. In Chicago now, retired, as I am a spousal caregiver for my writing partner with Parkinson’s Disease, I have found myself writing poetry like crazy about our Parkinson’s life together. That’s why I joined SubStack- to share my poetry, though I haven’t had the time (or the nerve) to post them yet. I guess this is a long post to say keep writing!!!
Thank you so much for sharing your story! It has the encouraging effect you intended. And I hope you will start sharing your poems soon. I remember writing a lot of short snippets, prose poems maybe, when my mother was ill with Alzheimer's.
Oh, this sounds like something I'm constantly facing, and battling! I'm a generalist as well, except I'm interested in different forms of creativity - writing (of course!), making art, beading, gardening, reading, cooking, traveling, sigh!
A Jill of all trades and master of none has been my trade mark since childhood. My lovely boss once told me she considers me multitalented. That's what I try to remember when I like you feel I need to niche myself and then find it impossible.
It’s interesting how we can see someone else active in multiple areas as multi-talented and ourselves as a Jill of all trades. Let’s change that and grant ourselves that same generosity.
Being consistently varied is the best kind of brand, I think! It’s so easy to conflate “consistency” with “sameness.” Sameness is boring. Consistent variety is delightful—in a lifestyle and in a newsletter!
From one multi genre person to another. Keep going.
Thank you, Beth! ❤️
I used to think I lacked focus, because I wrote fiction, nonfiction, and poetry for adults and kids. I determined a year ago that I didn't, in fact, lack focus. I was just a multi-genre author. Thanks for the validation!
I fear there our many of us multi-genre writers out there feeling secretly ashamed instead of versatile. Let’s change that!
Hmmm - you sound like me except with crafts and art. I crochet, have done quilting, play the guitar, dance, sew, journal, sing, knitting, scrapbooking.
You're a versatile artist! When others enjoy and explore multiple arts, I am often in awe. When I diversify, I blame myself for not being focused. Perhaps I wrote this post to be kinder to myself.
Your versatility and ability to adapt to what’s needed is a gift! It seems to be more valued in creative people than in the business world, though I think there are exceptions. It reminds me of a true Renaissance person, Leonardo da Vinci, who was painter, sculptor, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, and architect. If you look at a fraction of his notebooks you can see how wide-ranging his interests were: anatomy, botany, cartography, astronomy…why not? It’s a pretty incredible world and there’s no reason to limit yourself, especially when you’ve found a demand for what you do.
One of the things that drew me to your posts was the varied subjects - I think the first was about your grandmother. I love following your travels with your husband and the adventures you have - your photos next to the huge lizards were amazing, and the video of the donkeys trotting through your yard was sheer delight. Thank you, for not putting yourself and your gifts into a limited box. Enjoy! Your readers sure do. 😄
Thank you so much, Doc. Comments like yours truly help me to embrace what I do and keep going with it. Limited boxes be gone!
It's fascinating to see where the road takes us, isn't it? Mine is pretty similar as yours!
Yes, fascinating indeed!
I think it's great that you stretch -- to different styles, genres, art forms. In essence, too, it's survival.
You're right, it's survival, too. Perhaps that's why I feel this shame, this weight of failure: My diversification was never a pre-planned choice.
Diversification imho is a skill, learned through testing out a wide variety of, well, everything that appealed or was needed to make it in life. Plus it makes that person, you, more interesting bc you’ve explored the smorgasbord we call life.
Thank you! That’s a great approach to this subject!
You are not dabbling. My husband was in higher education at the start of his career and wrote academic paper and plays and has a wonderful novel about the Vietnam War which never found an agent- wait I think he found one agent who couldn’t sell it. He left academia and took to writing plays, one of which was performed in Atlanta GA. Now retired we began cowriting cozy mystery stories based on our time in Lafayette Louisiana where I was getting my PHD. He sent the first one to a cozy mystery publisher who had her publishing house in Aurora IL, a suburb of Chicago. Once we got in the rhythm we cowrote 13 cozy mysteries set in a coastal community in Mississippi on the Gulf Coast and had a lot of fun going to mystery writers conferences. Our publisher just retired but if you are curious used copies can be found for sale on Amazon, put there by readers who don’t hold on to every book, like I tend to do. This all happened after we were bare nesters over a decade. I guess I shared our story here to encourage you to write what the muse tells you to write. In Chicago now, retired, as I am a spousal caregiver for my writing partner with Parkinson’s Disease, I have found myself writing poetry like crazy about our Parkinson’s life together. That’s why I joined SubStack- to share my poetry, though I haven’t had the time (or the nerve) to post them yet. I guess this is a long post to say keep writing!!!
Thank you so much for sharing your story! It has the encouraging effect you intended. And I hope you will start sharing your poems soon. I remember writing a lot of short snippets, prose poems maybe, when my mother was ill with Alzheimer's.
Oh, this sounds like something I'm constantly facing, and battling! I'm a generalist as well, except I'm interested in different forms of creativity - writing (of course!), making art, beading, gardening, reading, cooking, traveling, sigh!
Is it something to battle, though? To me you sound like a versatile creative person.
Thank you for saying that, Claire! The old adage, ‘Jack/Jill of all trades, master of none’ is usually on repeat mode in my brain.
A Jill of all trades and master of none has been my trade mark since childhood. My lovely boss once told me she considers me multitalented. That's what I try to remember when I like you feel I need to niche myself and then find it impossible.
We are curious and creative beings!
It’s interesting how we can see someone else active in multiple areas as multi-talented and ourselves as a Jill of all trades. Let’s change that and grant ourselves that same generosity.
You are absolutely right!
I’m so glad that you write in various genres; you are large, you contain multitudes. So happy to see the quotation from Merleau-Ponty.
Thank you, Robin! So happy that our recent conversation reminded me of how much I love Merleau-Ponty!
I’m happy about that too Xx
Being consistently varied is the best kind of brand, I think! It’s so easy to conflate “consistency” with “sameness.” Sameness is boring. Consistent variety is delightful—in a lifestyle and in a newsletter!
I love how you phrase that: consistent variety!