You’d be surprised how many people make assumptions about authors’ personalities based on their works’ genre. Horror writers have dark, twisted minds and are capable of committing the atrocities they write about. Erotica writers are perverts. Writers of romance tend to be like their heroines—beautiful women who are lavished with flowers, candy and romantic dinners by more lovers than they can handle (and who all resemble Ryan Reynolds, Zac Efron, Gerald Butler, or Idris Elba) And comedic writers––well, they’re all clowns who don’t take life seriously enough. Really? Come on, people!
I have lost count of how many times friends and acquaintances have been shocked when they find out that I write horror and dark fantasy. “But you don’t look like a horror writer,” they say. So what is a writer of horror and dark fantasy supposed to look like?
Is this what I’m supposed to look like?
We writers are unusual creatures, no doubt. We’re in our heads a lot. We often like to sit apart from everyone and just observe. We have outsized imaginations and we can be inspired by almost anything: a picture, a movie, someone’s smile, a word, a laugh . . . anything! But––we are not what we write. Think of us as actors. A great actor can play the role of a psycho, chef, cyborg, monster or saint and be very believable doing it, but that doesn’t mean he or she is any of those things.
Check this out!
Ramsey Campbell. Look at this guy. Doesn’t he look like he can play Santa Clause in the next remake of ‘Miracle on 34th Street’?
Yet, he has written his share of nightmare inducing horror stories like: Demons by Daylight, Alone with the Horrors, and Told by the Dead. I’m getting goosebumps just thinking about them.
Meet these lovely ladies of Horror
Mehitobel Wilson
Read all about Mehitobel here.
Kathe Koja
Read more about Kathe here.
Angela Graham––Writer of erotica. Does she look like a perve to you?
Nicholas Sparks is a Romance writer. Does he look like a romance writer?
Nicholas Sparks
The comedy writer’s job is to make people laugh. That is serious business.
Read this article from WebMD: Give Your Body A Boost––With Laughter
Dr. Seuss
Learn more about Dr. Seuss here.
Diablo Cody Academy Award Winning Comedic Screenwriter
Read more about this comedy writer here.
There are many genres of writing and even more writers, and I’m not saying that some of us don’t have a few peculiar quirks and habits. What I am saying is that we are all individuals, and the genre we write has nothing to do with who we truly are. So don’t judge a writer by his or her genre. I guess you’ll just have to get to know us.
Check out these links:
Weird Writing Habits of Famous Authors
The Odd Habits and Curious Customs of Famous Writers
8 Strange Rituals of Productive Writers
Vashti Quiroz-Vega writer of horror, suspense, thriller and dark fantasy
What are your thoughts on this? What’s your favorite genre? Have you learned anything new with this post?
The Writer Next Door | Vashti Q 
A great post. Something unique today in my reader.
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Thank you! Unique is good! 😉
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I like this Vashti and you said it very well. All writers are complex and rarely look like the genres they write. People always have preconceived notions. I’m going to check out some of the links.
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That’s great Sunni! Thank you, I’m glad you liked the post. 😀
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This is creative and professional. You deserve a Gold Medal!
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Ha,ha! Thank you, but I’m satisfied with the fact that you enjoyed it. 🙂
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Loved this post, I will have to check out the other links when I am at home.
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Yay! I’m so glad! Yes, do check out some of the links, they’re fun. 😉
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Excellent post! You’re right, Vashti. Never judge an author by his/her genre.
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Thank you, Ashwin! Many people do, and even I did long ago, but we shouldn’t. No two writers are alike.
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Yeah, I agree with the fact is that ‘no two writers are alike’. It’s just that ‘every individual is unique’, and that’s what makes it interesting about Humans. It won’t be exciting if everyone around us are one and the same. We can’t learn anything from them if that’s the case. Agreed?
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I completely agree, Ashwin. I’m glad we’re all different. 😀
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Brilliant post Vashti – you’ve just made me realise that I do exactly that and had never realised it. ha! 🙂
Except I always think of romance writers as slightly dumpy, frumpy ladies of a certain age with a perm and a twin-set, who write romance precisely because they haven’t been whisked off to dinner by Idris Elba (or anyone else) for several decades. Does that make me a bad person??
The only place I disagree with you is Mehitobel (who, by the way, I hadn’t heard of but wins the newly-inaugurated Coolest Name Ever contest) – I think she looks exactly like a female horror writer should. In a very very good way, of course.
Thanks for brightening up a grey and damp Friday morning!
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Ah, ha,ha,ha,ha! Really? I guess you do have a point about the dumpy, frumpy ladies of romance, but I was thinking the other way around. I used to think romances were written by beautiful women who were writing about their own experiences. Where would dumpy, frumpy women get their information? Then I realized that not all writers of crime thrillers are cops or cons, and not all sci-fi writers are mad scientists. Ha,ha!
Yeah, Mehitobel does have a mysterious, witchy vibe, doesn’t she? Damn! Oh well, she’s such a great writer I had to mention her. I’m so happy you enjoyed the post! 😀
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All those heaving bodices and lusty farmhands are the stuff of pure imagination from those frustrated spinsters 🙂 Mind you, that just shows I don’t read romance novels doesn’t it? It’s probably all porn and post-modernism now!
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Ha,ha! Well, I don’t know. I don’t read romance novels either. Never been into them. I do know one thing, whether frumpy or fabulous those romance writers are smart, and they’re laughing all the way to the bank, since romance novels are the #1 selling genre. 😉
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I guess it happens in many other walks of life. I’m a psychiatrist and I remember showing my cousin photos of colleagues of mine I was working with and he told me they didn’t look like psychiatrist. I guess he thought all psychiatrists should look like Freud.
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Ha,ha! You’re right! Many have preconceived notions of what people in different fields should look and act like. You don’t look like a psychiatrist . . . just kidding! I bet you get that a lot. 😉
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Great post, Vashti! I’d be thrilled if someone said to me, “You don’t look like a romance writer.” But I’d be happier if they just said, “You don’t even look like a writer.” 😉
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Hi Dave! Ha,ha!I think we need to establish a better image of writers. Movies like The Player, House by the River, White Lie, and 2012 don’t help in that regard. 😉
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Great post! It’s so easy to be put in a box by others, but the only thing is we never fit. It’s funny in that I get more strange looks for being an author than when people learn I write mostly epic fantasy. lol
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You know now that I think about it, you may have a point there. Ha,ha! I remember when I would tell people that I was writing my first book––they’d look at me as if I had 2 heads. 😀
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Boy, you got that right. Most of my friends wonder why you’d do such a thing like write a novel. I can’t imagine going through life not writing.
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Hi Sunni! I can’t imagine going through life without writing either. It’s right up there with breathing, eating and drinking. Ha, ha! 😉
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Reblogged this on The BiaLog and commented:
Awesome post. So happy I found this blog. 🙂
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Hello! I’m glad you found this blog and that you enjoyed my post! 😉 Thanks for the reblog! 😀
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My pleasure. 🙂
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Thanks so much for sharing with the Let’s Get Real Party.
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It was my pleasure! 😀
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Well, I had written a longer comment, but seem to have lost it! I do make the kinds of assumptions you wrote about in this post. That’s probably isn’t fair to the authors.
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Hi Gaye! I’m sorry you lost the comment. I think we’ve all done this at some point in our lives, but since I am now an author and have also befriended many writers of different genres I have certainly learned my lesson. 😉
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Reblogged this on West Coast Review and commented:
Interesting article… and oh so true.
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Thanks for the reblog, Juliette!
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Oh so true Vashti, but Stephen King… 🙂
And I loooooove King!
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Ha,ha! I love him too, but I did think he was kind of creepy when I was younger. 😉
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I know! Me too! 🙂
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You asked a question I have never considered. Interesting post, that has given me something to think about! I’m glad I found this post at #TurnItUpTuesday!
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Hello Susan! I’m so glad you found my blog and that I gave you something to think about. Thank you!
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Haha! This makes a lot of sense. I can see both sides of it. I feel like we never truly know what people are capable of so being shocked that they are one way or another is just because of our preconceived judgments about what we are able to see about them from our small window of a perspective. But so many people are out of the boxes that we categorize people into. I guess as you live, sometimes you learn this.:)
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This is such a great post!
Thanks for joining the Link Up this week!
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Thank you Jess! 🙂
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I remember people in the 80s saying Stephen King worshipped Satan. People are stupid. Some people anyway. 😉
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Yep! There will always be people that demonize everyone and everything. What can we do? There’s never a shortage of dum dums, that’s for sure. 😉
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Humorous in a realistic way! I’m a Sparks fan and he indeed doesn’t look like a romance writer. Nice! ~
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Thank you Rose (or is it Rosemary?)! I’m glad you think so. 😀
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It’s Rosemarie actually. 🙂
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Rosemarie is a very pretty name. 😀
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Really enjoyed reading this – thanks for an interesting post Vashti.
#readwithme
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You’re very welcome Catherine! 😀 Thank you for visiting and leaving an awesome comment. Have a great day!
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Love this post, what you are saying is so true and goes back to the saying that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover!! thanks for sharing with #readwithme
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Hi Chantelle! I’m so glad you enjoyed the post. Thank you for hosting the Read With Me Link-Up Party and allowing me to share. 😀 xx
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I think we all make judgements based on peoples professions or hobbies. I know I do. For example I went to a mode railway thing this weekend and had made all sort of judgements about the type of person I expected to be into model railway stuff. I was so wrong. interesting isn’t it the judgements (and mistakes we make!) #readwithme
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Hello Sarah! Yes, I believe we’re all guilty of this. But more often than not our judgements turn out to be wrong. 😉 Thank you for stopping by and for your comment. 😀
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