Genre and an Author's Worldview

To write fiction, one needs a good imagination. These aren't true stories, after all...or are they?? Kidding, sort of.

For me, it's impossible to not have my own worldview creep into my stories, and I don't even realize it until the story is done and I'm re-reading it. 

I'm not talking about real-life anecdotes, although I've slipped a couple of those into my books, but rather, the way I see the world. I'm not trying to get all philosophical here, but the way we writers approach a story is unique to us. How could it be any other way? We're human. (So, no, AI, I'm not talking to you.)

The whole touchy-feely approach to writing makes me want to gag, but I do believe that for certain genres, we just might be working things out through our storytelling. Maybe that's true for all genres.   

I envy those writers who've lived a perfect life, with no disappointments, no betrayals, no beating themselves up over bad choices. On the other hand, those people must write really boring stories. 

Skimming through my book titles, most seem to follow a basic roadmap. The main character starts out with an open outlook, a naive view of the big, wide world. Then something happens that shatters her naivete. She's shocked---shocked, I tell ya! She'd assumed that all people could be trusted. Even in my novella, Bad Blood, the MC knew, had known all her life, in fact, that her brother was a sociopath. But she still gave him the benefit of the doubt over and over again. 

I thought about this worldview as I began preparing my 13-part series that'll be published here on this blog...soon. I, too, went into my "story" with wide-eyed wonder. I just knew that I'd landed in a situation that held real promise. I'd paid my dues, dammit; it was about time. 

But as the story progressed, I slowly sank into cynicism. Too many bad things happened that I couldn't swat away with the back of my hand. I thought people were trustworthy, and as the truth began seeping in, I felt like a damn fool. In retrospect, the story was more about me than it was about them. (I'm still not granting them dispensation, though.)  

And this is apparently why, whether I care to admit it or not, I write women's fiction.

A roundup of articles from Fiction University distills women's fiction writers down to these traits:

Extreme empathy, high "social responsibility ("writers in this field often score high in...desiring fair outcomes"), observant of relationships, reflective and calmly risk-taking ("they are comfortable with bittersweet endings...as long as the protagonist has found her own agency")

But enough about me. Want to know where your personality fits into the psychobabble of genres? Here you go:

Literary Fiction: sensitive and melancholic, introspective, emotionally intelligent

Fantasy & Science Fiction: openness to experience, highly original

Mystery & Thriller: investigative; planners, structured and logical

Non-Fiction & Academic: industrious, highly disciplined, precise

Romance: highly empathetic, optimistic, supportive, intuitive

Horror: fearlessly curious, highly vigilant, cathartic

Historical Fiction: research-obsessed, detail oriented, imaginative empaths

YA: emotionally honest, adaptable, high energy

Satire & Humor: skeptical idealists, socially aware

I don't know how much of this is true. Some of it, sure. But I could (and have) written pseudo-thrillers, which apparently makes me "logical". I guess I could also write romance, YA, and Humor. We're all too complex to be easily slotted into one neat category. Individual preference plays a big role. 

Maybe the best writers combine different elements of their personality to create something unique and compelling.

Or maybe it's all a crapshoot. 

Anyway, stay tuned for my real-life "story".