The Experiment Begins...

It is often said that everybody has at least one good novel in them, one story worth writing down and sharing with the world. Now, I don't know if this is true or not (I highly doubt it is) but I thought I'd give it a go, and a go I did give it. 

I had thought about writing a novel for a while, fantasying about how I'd love to introduce myself to people as a published author, preferably one who pushed the boundaries of social normalcy and stood out from others as somebody of spunk despite not having any discernible talent. And so I picked the genre of romance, thinking the almost formulaic plots of romances would make it simple to write. I devised a story, developed characters, wrote a sizzling sex scene, had over ten thousand words of (borderline) literary brilliance, and in one half hour of crippling self doubt, deleted it all. All of it. Every. Last. Word. 

Devastation doesn't even cover how I felt when I realised what I had done. It had taken 5 seconds to delete over 4 weeks of hard work. Now, you might ask, "Why did you do it, Alex? Was none of it salvageable?" The simple answer is, no, it was not. The main reason for this is truly embarrassing to me, something which I wouldn't admit to anybody as freely as I do here if it weren't for my practical anonymity: 

I deleted all I had written because I was simply too lazy to edit it in a way that would be acceptable or satisfying. Twelve thousand words into my novel and I just couldn't write anymore. I knew where the plot was going. I knew how the characters would relate to each other. I knew what they would say to each other at the end when they explained their previous actions before declaring their undying love for each other and falling into the nearest bed and consummating this love in a maelstrom of feeling... but despite this, I just could not do it. 

It took me a while to figure out why. Despite my love of the romance genre, it was not something that came naturally for me as a writer. It had taken so much effort to write those ten thousand words that the exercise was no longer enjoyable. It was then that I decided that I needed to know what is.  

This is where this blog comes in. Using the List of Literary Genres found at http://www.cuebon.com/ewriters/genres.html, it is my intention to write a snippet based on each genre in an attempt to discover where my literary heart lies. 

In each post, I will explain the genre in question, discuss my initial reactions to the genre and present my own attempt(s) at the genre, before closing with my conclusion. This conclusion will discuss any problems experienced and my final thought on the genres as a whole. 

It is going to take me a while (there are over 250 genres listed), but I will persevere. At the end of the day, if it all fails terribly, at least it will make a great story to tell in years to come.

Then perhaps I'll write it down...