Every writer knows that literary genres are like types of cake—all with different flavors, structures, strengths and weaknesses. And, just like cakes, everybody has their preferences. For example, I think about chocolate Doberge cake every time I close my eyes. (And if you’ve never tried Doberge, I encourage you to get yourself down to New Orleans and buy the most life-changing slice of cake you’ll ever have.)
But if you stick to one flavor of cake for your entire life, someday you’re bound to get bored. You’re bound to want to try other things, new flavors. And you’re bound to see how those new flavors can make your favorite taste that much sweeter.
Genres are the exact same way. In this month’s Third Thursday, we invited Reyes Ramirez, Nick Flynn, and Courtney Maum—all writers with very diverse, impressive resumes—to explore how writing in multiple genres has shaped their creative careers.
Reyes Ramirez approaches writing in different genres like translations between different languages, which is a common theme in his work. He views genres as vehicles for him to deliver the same truth. As he put it (in the quote of the night): “Poetry lets me explore the truth, whereas fiction lets me play with the truth, and nonfiction lets me deconstruct the truth.”
Flynn began his career the same way many of us do; by writing what he was reading at the time. He started out writing collaboratively on anything that he found interesting, which allowed him to see the value of different mediums. He’s now written screenplays, short stories, memoir, and poetry. He says that “putting something in different modes allows you to see it differently, like turning something 3D.”
Courtney Maum’s story is very similar. After a very successful stint in fiction writing, she felt like she needed to challenge herself. Pivoting away to memoir and nonfiction was her way of ensuring she didn’t feel like she was “copywriting for the man.”
All three writers had an abundance of wisdom to share regarding genre-hopping, both on the creative side of things and the industrial. Switching up your style of writing when you’ve already been published in one sector can oftentimes be a ginormous financial risk, Maum stressed. It takes courage to make the switch—courage, luck, and financial know-how. However, a diverse portfolio can also be a huge asset in the literary world. Ramirez said working on lots of different projects has allowed him to spend different amounts of attention and energy on each, and that each project has benefited the others, whether through marketing or from the myriad of creative skills he now possesses.
Speaking of creative skills, the panel also discussed how different craft techniques can be helpful across a myriad of works. Flynn and Maum took their journalistic experience and applied it to their nonfiction writing, using it to create sweeping narratives grounded by fact. And Ramirez uses his familiarity with poetic experimentation to imagine different, incredible formats for his fiction works. Of course, across all different genres, mediums, and projects, one thing remains the same: the best thing a writer can do for their writing is to read.
As someone who loves every genre on earth almost the same (romance wins out, of course, but everything else is equal), this panel was a great opportunity to explore the similarities and differences between writing them all—how the cake is made, so to speak. It was awesome to see three writers so passionate about their unique crafts. Reyes Ramirez summed up the evening in another poignant one-liner: “Writing didn’t owe me anything, but it’s given me everything I have.”
Be sure to catch our next Third Thursday on August 15!