Making the Leap of Awesome, OR: A Genre-Switching Misadventure

You're standing on the edge of a cliff. Jump across the gap, and there's no guarantee you'll make it to the other side - heck, there's no guarantee what's there is worth jumping for. But something won't let you back down. Something inside you keeps urging you to try. Do you jump?

You guys. I've been holding this in, hiding this away, for too long. I HAVE A SECRET.

This secret has been sucking my time. It's been sucking my brainpower. It's been sucking my will to live! No, it hasn't actually been doing that last one (I just can't resist a Wayne's World reference). In truth, it's been injecting me with such an uncontrollable fervor to live and write that it's making. Me. Wonder. If. I'll. Survive!

The secret is: I've started a new YA book. And it's not contemporary.

WHY HAS THIS BEEN A SECRET? I don't even know. Okay, I do: I've been scared. Ashamed, even. Why? That's a good question. I mean, what happened was, I was working for a while on that other book about the beach town and stuff, and man, I still love that project and hope to return it, but then - then - this new idea came along. Well, it less "came along" and more "slapped me in the brain, whooped beach-book's ass, then started moving its furniture in without permission."

Brain-slapping ideas = good. Right? So what did it matter if this idea was different from anything I'd ever written or dreamed of writing? Why should I be such a wuss in the face of a genre-switch?

Oh, genre. Some writers define themselves by theirs. Technically, if you're published, that's the advisable thing to do. It creates an identity for your readers to come back to when they want X and Y. Of course, writers of all breeds can genre-hop: whether you mix everything together or create a separate pen name for each hop, it's all fine and fun. That's what I've been telling myself these past few weeks. But...

I adore contemporary/realistic YA, guys. It is what I've always written. So when I realized I needed to write this Idea, I felt a little like I was betraying something at my core. Plus, I was probably going to fail miserably. Contemporary: that was my place, my heart, ma gangsta hang (never let me say "gangsta" again)!

Or so I thought. As this new book has grown and flourished at a crazy pace, leaving me wide-eyed and breathless, my perspective has begun to shift.

For any writer, switching to a new genre - or literary format, or POV, or [insert Big Thing here] - can be a little like leaping over a canyon. That's a canyon filled with uncertainty, inexperience, and possibly some worry. For all anyone knows, you could fall flat on your face and have to crawl back to where you came from.

But part of being a writer means being brave. Being fearless. In the case of that question at the start of this post - it means jumping. In the words of George Prince, "Creativity is another word for courage."

So I invite you to try and live that job description with me. Failure is possible - I know I'm wary of it - but without the possibility of failure, there would be no possibility of awesomeness. Some people call it a leap of faith. I call it: A LEAP OF AWESOME.

So what the heck is the subject matter of this new book I keep rambling about, anyway? I'm not set to spill that info just yet. But I can tell you I'm absolutely in lesbians love with it, and I can tell you the title, and I can tell you what it's not about, under the umbrella of "non-contemporary"! Pumped? The title is... 

HYSTERIA

And it does not involve in any way...

Zombies, werewolves, vampires, vegetarian vampires, a dystopian or post-apocalyptic world, fairies, mermaids, elves, angels, reapers, demons, possessed dollies, a historical setting, a futuristic setting, precognition, postcognition, telekinesis, time travel, dream travel, ghosts, witches, spells, gods, superheroes, chatty animals, dragons, monsters, other assorted fantasy creatures, mind control (sort of), OR unicorns (I tried, I tried)

Maybe that will give you a hint. Or maybe I'm just being super annoying, hee, hee... Love you all like always! Have you ever made a leap of awesome? What was your experience like? Everyone have an amazing week, and I wish you all the best of luck with your writing projects, new and old! XOXO!