I envy writers that have always know WHAT they want to write. Mysteries? Thrillers? Romance? SyFi?

I always been told to “write what you read,” but what if I read a variety of books/articles/genres? I read all of the above with the exception of SyFi, unless you count Stephen King as a SyFi writer (I like his characters).

I most admire literary women’s fiction and women in jeopardy thrillers, both of which seem a little beyond reach for me. I’ve written and started about six mysteries and thought they were cozies (and was told by an editor or two that I had in fact written two “failed cozies.”) Cozies have strict rules, which I found maddening. How can a cozy mystery be such a fast read and be so difficult to write? Same with YA (Young Adult) books; fast reads, hard to write to that audience (for me anyway).

So, I’ll continue to work on writing a cozy or two, a mild “thriller” or two and maybe some non-fiction. I’ve come to realize that while I read and occasional romance novel or women’s literary fiction–I’ll most likely never write one.

Historical mystery? Maybe. We’ll see. My new mantra: get on with it.