What’s Your Favourite Genre? IWSG, October 2022

Hello Writing Community

Welcome to the October 5 IWSG Day. I’ve been away from writing (far, far away) for some time now. Though I have worked on few drafts (poetry & flash fiction) mostly in workshops and have been taking some random notes in the back pages of my diaries but my outings both on the blog and in the submission window have been few. I am close to the deadline for an important poetry submission that I’ve been working on for a while but for some reason it’s not quite taking the shape it had started out with. A kind friend offered feedback and I am trying to incorporate it, with little success. And these, friends, are the bumps in my writing journey – editing, to be precise. I have been struggling with revisiting my work.

But there’s one thing that has been going right – and that happens to be reading. I’ve been happy drowning myself in books and it feels like a good consolation for now. It also brings me to this month’s question –  

October 5 question – What do you consider the best characteristics of your favorite genre?

I enjoy reading an eclectic mix. Yes, there are some genres or forms that I am naturally inclined to pick off a shelf and others like sci-fi that I steer clear of. It is difficult to pinpoint a particular form or genre of writing but I wouldn’t mind talking about two of them.

1. Poetry – I thought I would drift away from poetry when I started my long-form manuscript, but I was so wrong. I still like to start my morning with a poem and linger on with it for the rest of the day, sometimes carrying it to bed with me. What makes poetry tick for me? I think poetry is the most powerful forms of therapy. It is definitely succinct, but only in its length or the number of words used. As far as its implication is concerned, it’s like peeling off layers and layers of hidden meaning. I think trying to discover what lies underneath is the most appealing characteristic of a poem that makes it so fantastical for me.
2. Historical Fiction – This genre has been one of my favourites for many years now, along with literary fiction and coming-of-age stories. One of the most appealing aspects of historical fiction is the setting. Basically, the time and place. It mesmerizes me how the past is brought back to life. At the same time, the world building transports one to another era, which is fantastical. I’ve also been a student of history and maybe that’s one of the reasons I’ve been drawn to this genre.

Which genres do you enjoy reading? And what do you think are their best characteristics?

This post has been written for the IWSG. If you wish to join this lovely group of writers and check out writing resources, click here. A big shoutout to Alex J. Cavanaugh for this amazing group.

The awesome co-hosts for the October 05th posting are:  Tonja Drecker, Victoria Marie Lees, Mary Aalgaard, and Sandra Cox!

                      Don’t forget to visit them and thank them for co-hosting!

Until next month, happy writing!