Let's Ask - Question 10

This week's Let's Ask question was for the talented Rena J.Traxel.

RJT- Thanks Jenn for having me on your blog today.


Me- Hi Rena! I'm so glad you agreed to help me out - thanks so much for the fantastic answers.

Me- You are a writer of more than one genre. Would you advise others to try to write in a totally different genre to improve their craft ? If so, why would that be constructive? 

RJT- YES! Take a look at the books on your shelves. I bet you that some of the books you own mix genres and form.  The Wolves of Mercy Falls by Maggie Stiefvater mixes fantasy with romance with a dash of poetry. The Hunchback Assignments by Arthur Slade mixes historical fiction with fantasy. Frankie Pickle series by Eric Wright mixes the graphic novel with the chapter book. Hugo Cabret by Brain Selznick mixes the art of the picture book with the art of a novel.  I could go on. The point is all these books are bestsellers.  Perhaps that picture book, or whatever project you are working on, needs a touch of horror or romance to make it stand out to publishers.  Perhaps your picture book would be better if it was a novel. Studying other genres will help you add in dashes here and there and will likely make your writing better.

Plus dabbling in other genres will help you assess your strengths and weakness. I can’t write romance to save my life unless of course it’s a satirical piece or a poem for a loved one. You will learn what you like to write. Maybe you have knack for writing humour or romance, but you’ll never know if you don’t give it a try.

Me- Which genre do you find to be more challenging to write for? Why?  

RJT- Every writing project comes with its own challenges.  One of the challenges I face is switching between projects. Most of the picture books I write involve animals and pre-school age kids while the novel I’m working on is for eight-and-up and is a fantasy novel/graphic novel hybrid. Going from the mindset of a three year old or a dog, to a mindset of a thirteen year old, or going from a picture book where you don’t typically tell the illustrator what to do to writing a graphic novel where you are suppose to give instructions to the illustrator can be disorienting.  Recently I was working on a concept series involving sounds. While I was writing this series, my novel set on the sidelines because I was stuck in non-fiction mode and couldn’t get into fantasy writing mode.

Writing for adults is much harder than writing for kids, at least when it comes to writing fiction. I find that there is more room for creativity when writing for kids versus adults.  Trying to find the balance between what a parent wants and what a kid wants to read in a picture book can be difficult versus MG novel where I’m only thinking about the kids.  Writing fantasy is much easier than writing non-fiction. I can stretch the truth when writing fantasy, but in non-fiction you have to stick with the facts.

Fantasy of the fairy tale variety is my preferred genre with poetry coming in second. Writing anything outside my preferred genres presents a challenge for two reasons—1) I don’t get enough practice writing in other genres. 2) Most of the books I read fall under the fantasy or poetry genre.

Me- Where does your inspiration come from while writing for children? Older audiences?


RJT- My inspiration comes from three places. 1) From the material I read. I generally like to spend a bit of time reading in a particular genre before writing in it.  I mentioned above that I had a hard time switching from non-fiction to fantasy well this usually doesn’t happen because reading in a genre before writing in it helps get my head in the game.  2) My husband. He is my muse.  I’m constantly bouncing ideas off him, which usually sparks new ideas.  3) Being challenged. Writing to me is about solving a problem akin to algebra (I know I’m one of the few writers out there that actually likes math).  Recently a writing friend posted a picture of basket full of socks. She said something along the lines of I bet you will think of some sort of monster story. Sure enough a week later I had produced a poem about a sock monster.  

Bio: Beware of the fiery haired writer that calls herself Rena J. Traxel. She spends her days brewing up a batch of fantastical stories. She also blogs about writing, shares poetry and downloadable activities @ www.renajtraxel.com

Thank you for your visit today!