xxxviii - Day 09 - What's your favourite genre to write? To read?

Let me answer the second question first.

I've always been a big fan of "speculative fiction". For those who aren't up on current genre definitions, that's what has become of Science Fiction and Fantasy. Sometime in the 90s, they were merged into one all-encompassing genre along with not-quite-Earth stories like "magicians in NYC" or "what if the Nazis won WWII?"

I like these stories because custom-building a setting allows the author to really focus on and highlight specific facets of the human condition. All the while the (would-be) fearless explorer/reader gets to go on safari in exotic locations. I would absolutely love to walk the surface of another planet and science fiction is the closest I'll ever get to that.

In a not distant second, I also like mysteries and thrillers. In smaller doses. And by smaller doses I mean short stories if they're set in the "real world", or if woven into exotic and usually imaginary settings in the case of a novel.

As to which genre is my favourite to write, there are two ways I could interpret that: What genre are you most comfortable writing? Or, what genre would you like to write the most?

At this stage I'm more comfortable writing mysteries. I think this is primarily because writing about stories set "in the real world" allows me to focus more on storytelling and characterization.  The setting's background details can be researched rather than invented. I also quite enjoy the logic-problem feel of researching and constructing a mystery.

When I'm ready, after having had a chance to practice the fundamentals on stories set in the here & now, I'll try to expand my skill set and incorporate more speculative into my fiction. Extrapolation is the name of the game here. Every unknown needs to be justified to a greater or lesser degree, to be made believable. Oftentimes the settings themselves play important roles and need to be fleshed out with the same care that's dedicated to the main characters.