Finding Your Niche

 When I first started writing to be published, I wrote this book that really couldn't be pinned down to one genre. Now, looking back, I still can't quite figure it out. Maybe it's contemporary, or magical realism, or suspense magical realism...I mean it was a little out there with what it could do. I ended up moving on to chicklit, then young adult fantasy, and finally young adult romcom.

How did I get from one end of the stick to the other? I write what's filling my head with story, I guess. But what I do know is I feel like I'm in my wheelhouse when writing romcoms. And I think when my writing was more practiced in YA fantasy, though I loved the creativity through world building and magic, the voice was teetering between wanting to be humorous but not doing it so my writing was taken more serious. I even found myself trying to write like other YA fantasy writers that were doing more purple and literary proses. It was like I was trying to fake it almost? 

On my second fantasy, I even stopped to just get away from it and began a random YA romcom. I never finished it, but it did help me to lighten up the fantasy with humor. However, it just wasn't quite there yet for me personally. Like that was fun in all but...

Once that story idea for a camping road trip came to mind, and it was very clearly YA romcom, I was able to just be...me. I was able to add more of my personality into it than before. 

It may have taken a few years and a few tries to find my footing, but I'm grateful for it. I've seen plenty of writers start somewhere and end elsewhere. Finding your niche is progress. Don't give up if you feel you haven't found yours. It'll come to ya! The most important thing to do is to keep story telling until you get there or maybe you'll put your feet in several genres successfully!