It's the first Wednesday in April so it's time for the Insecure Writers' Support Group!
This month's question is intriguing...
Are you a risk-taker when writing? Do you try something radically different in style/POV/etc. or add controversial topics to your work?
Are you a risk-taker when writing? Do you try something radically different in style/POV/etc. or add controversial topics to your work?
I'm not really sure if I'm a risk taker. I don't really consider myself to be, but when I look back at my work, I wonder if maybe I am. I certainly don't shy away from difficult and controversial subject matter in my stories. I've never really considered that risky though. I just like to write about parts of the world and society that may not have been fully examined before, especially not in YA.
But I guess tackling sex and disability in such a frank way in Stumped was risky. And writing about drug addiction the way I did in The Sidewalk's Regrets. Or even euthanasia in An Unstill Life.
In terms of style or POV, again I'm not sure if I am a risk taker. I have a series of short stories about a family and their beach house where the POV character is never named or gendered. Is that risky? I like these stories because whoever is reading them can put themselves into the "I" character and read with their own experiences coloring the narrative. Is that risky though?
Perhaps I don't quite understand the meaning of risk in this context...
What about you? Do you take risks in your writing?
Sounds like you take risks to me! Bravo!
ReplyDeleteSounds like you take risks to me! Bravo!
ReplyDeleteSounds like you take risks to me! Bravo!
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteYou are an explorer that doesn't mind getting out there and writing what you see. I call that risk taking.
All the best.
Shalom aleichem,
Pat G @ EverythingMustChange
I definitely don't understand the meaning of risk in this context. I mean, it's writing. You just go with what works.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I take any real risks in my writing, either in subject matter or in storytelling techniques. I just try to go wherever the story seems like it should go.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of POV characters who are never named or gendered. It makes for interesting reading. We read one such story in one of my writers group & the following discussion was great.
If you write about parts of the world and society that haven't been examined by most people, I would say that's taking risks. And the greatest writers, in my opinion, are often the ones who take risks in their work.
ReplyDelete