I’m one of the most discontent writers I know, in that I’m always trying to learn how to write differently. Specifically, to try different styles and genres. Among the types I’ve been successful at, so far are:
- Long and short form non-fiction
- Promotional videos
- Bible studies
- Videos for Bible studies
- Documentaries
I’ve even tried my hand at terrible poetry. But there’s a lot more out there. And a lot more I want to try. Seeing two friends write (really good) children’s books recently reminded me of this. A dinner conversation with a new friend in California only affirmed this. So what do I want to try sometime, even if no one sees it? Here are three types of writing that come to mind:
- A song. I’ve never done this. I’d probably be terrible at it, but I still want to try it. I’m, to borrow a line from one of my favorite films, a professional critic. I have lots of opinions about music, so maybe it would be good to try to put my money where my mouth is eventually.
- A children’s story. I’ve actually tried this once, and I got stuck. I couldn’t crack where I was going with it and it turned into a meandering mess. But I still want to try again. I just have to get the direction set from the beginning.
- A piece of all-ages fiction. This is probably the most fascinating to me, to the degree that I don’t know if I can pin down just one aspect of it to explain why. I mean, how do you tell a story that captures the imagination of children and adults? How do you write something that makes you not care how old you are and just invest yourself? I only know a few authors who do it really well. I really enjoy their work, and I don’t write like them. That’s probably a good thing.
Will I get around to these? I hope so. I want to. Will any of them see the light of day? Who can say? They might only be for me. They might be for my family. Or they may be for your you all to enjoy as well. Only time will tell, I suppose.
