Welcome Readers!

I have been writing seriously for several years now.  I write mostly novel length fiction, with the occasional short story or novella thrown in.  This past summer, I began to dabble into writing poetry.  I’m not sure how that came about, but it did, and as I always do, I welcomed the inspiration to try it with open arms.  The jury is still out on whether or not I’ve got what it takes to be a poet, however, inspiration is inspiration, and a writer’s got to write.

As I was looking back on my output, I was a little bit shocked.  Last week, I wrote about Learning From The Master’s, and how a writer should seek out and study the works of others in order to perfect their craft and discover their own unique author’s voice.  I believe in that whole heartedly.  It’s great advice for any artist.  But what surprised me as I looked at my own writerly output? There is a lot of different stuff in there!  That “a-ha” moment leads me to ask:  Is there value in diversifying our writerly portfolio?

I would like to believe there is.  One of the great joys I get in life is learning.  Whenever I am tasked with teaching a new course at school, I love to seek out the information needed to become proficient in that area.  I think that with writing, I enjoy the challenge of stretching my wings to embrace a new form or genre.

Last week’s “Learning From The Master’s” post, however, points out the importance of taking the time to perfect one’s craft.  This might account for the amount time it actually takes an author to get from first draft to publication.  It takes a lot of time to create something, let alone keep it true to a style, and further, to develop you voice.

Earlier, I mentioned the variety of styles which my writerly output embodies.  I did notice there are a couple of commonalities, though.  One commonality, for me, is the age of the MC.  It turns out that most of them are in their twenties.  Not all, but most.  Another trend in my writing is Speculative Fiction.  Again, not all, but most.

So what is my take-away from this discovery?  Well, I think it’s that even if someone’s writing output seems very eclectic, there are probably common threads that tie their Writerly Portfolio together.  For me the common threads are age of MC and genre.

What do you think?  Is there value in diversifying a writerly portfolio?  Do you feel it’s better to focus on one style and stick with it?  When you look at your own writing output, what common threads do you find?  What differences?  I’d love to hear about it in the comments!

Thanks for stopping by today!