Write whatever you want.

Genre doesn't define your book. You do.

In the months following release of my novel Vaguely Human Figures, one of the most frequently asked questions in my comments section has been “what genre is your book?” This is a question I’ve struggled to answer from the first time I came up with the idea and that I still struggle with today. The issue (if you want to frame it as one) is that I never start a project with a specific genre in mind. I simply write whatever I feel like writing, combining elements of reality and fantasy, disregarding genre conventions that might get in the way of the vision I have of the story. For a while, I was very concerned about this. I wasn’t sure how I would promote this book when so much of book-related content online relies on tropes and quick descriptions. “Vaguely Human Figures is a music-inspired literary fiction with fantasy elements taking place in the 1980s” is much wordier than simply calling by a pre-established genre label.

This is why so many writers feel the pressure to categorize their writing. Whether they plan to self or traditionally publish, it’s the same deal. The publishing industry demands categorization, limiting the narrative and word count and demanding comp titles (other books that are similar to the one you have written). You as the author must market the book on social media using catchy, trendy buzzwords that are instantly recognizable to the average TikTok user who will give you about 1 second to pique their attention before scrolling. Because book marketing has shifted almost completely to the digital world, it has become exceedingly difficult for writers who escape conventions and tropes to find an audience.

If you are a genre-non-conforming writer, I beg you not to let genre-ification stop you from writing what you want. Please do not let standard conventions dictate how you write your story or what themes you let yourself include in it. Don’t think about how you’re going to market your book before it’s even done, because that will stop you from writing the way you truly want to. If a friend wants to know what your book is about, you don’t need to give them a straightforward, easy-to-understand explanation. The best art, in my opinion, is made when artists disregard what’s expected of them and compltely lean into their innovative spirit. If you have an idea for a scene but it doesn’t fit the “vibe” or “genre” of your book, it doesn’t mean you should cut it. Every story has been told a million times, so doing whatever the hell you want with your manuscript is all you’ve really got to be as original as you can.

If I ever become a successful writer, one of my biggest fears will be the expectation to continuously write the same kind of story. I would hate to have one book pop off and have everyone expect the next book to be for the same target audience. The 9 novels I’ve written so far have greatly differed, and it’s unfathomable to me to be stuck writing the same kind of book for the rest of my life. Writing, from my perspective, is a vessel for your life, thoughts, and experience, and since those are constantly changing, why shouldn’t your work? Why shouldn’t your style and voice develop and differ between projects as you get older? I don’t think I’d be able to write anything like my earlier projects now, because I’m not the same person I was at age 13 (and honestly, it would be awful if I were).

One of the best pieces of advice I’ve heard recently is to stop acting like you’re famous. Stop anticipating the reception of your book before you’ve even written it. Stop imagining some phantom audience looking over your shoulder as you put words down on a page, criticizing and questioning every choice you make. Turn off the voice in your head that tells you there’s a certain mold you need to fit into and that there’s a script you need to follow. As human beings, it’s pretty natural to want guidance and to crave a solid sense of what to do next. But as artists, it’s imperative that we learn to be comfortable within ambiguity and pave our own path when we can’t find one. Creativity is, by definition, a departure from expectations and preconceived ideas of what something “should” be, and an exploration of what “is.”

Please write that crazy, unmarketable novel idea you have. Please blur genres. Don’t get caught up in fears of marketability and branding when the story doesn’t even exist yet, and even when it does, don’t let it stop you from letting it be what it is. The beauty of an uncertain future is that it’s malleable. You can make your project be whatever you want it to be, and that’s what makes you your own writer rather than just an average of the authors you’ve read before.