SCI-FI - FICTION - NON-FICTION - ROMANCE - WHAT GENRE' DO YOU WRITE ABOUT?

Fortunately for me, I had a mentor to tell me when I began writing, to start by writing about things I knew already. If nothing else, it cuts down on the research! It also allows one to concentrate on writing style, grammar, punctuation, and the mechanics of writing.

My book, "Keechie", was based loosely on my childhood and the setting was familiar territory. I created a character to weave through a very real place and time, thus my genre' fell into the category of"Historical Fiction". It could have just as easily been called "Adventure" or one that I made up called "Autobiographical Fiction". (Think about it)

Whatever you decide to write about, be it a Short Story, Poetry, or a full-length novel, or whatever, decide which genre' your work will fall under. It is one of the first things a publisher will want to know when you submit your manuscript, and strangely, one of the most difficult questions on the questionaire (for me). "Keechie" could have been placed in either Historical Fiction, Native American or Adventure, I had to choose only one. Then, after making THAT decision, the next question was, "What age group is appropriate for your book?" In other words, what age is your target reader? Oh my gosh! Now I have to RATE my own work!

The genre' you choose and the target age group will remain with your work forever, as far as that initial listing goes, and will be used by the booksellers who decide whether to put your book on their shelves, so choose wisely!

Read the first chapter of "KEECHIE" at http://www.freewebs.com/brew99/ and help me decide if "Pre-teen to Adult" was appropriate. (I am concerned about the choice of words I used in Keechie's vernacular not being appropriate for young readers)