During the pandemic, I started playing pickleball. For the uninitiated, pickleball is a rapidly growing sport played on a smallish court with a hard racquet and a plastic, holey ball like a wiffle ball. Pickleball is kind of like if ping pong and tennis had a baby.
My sports are basketball and lacrosse, neither of which involve a racquet. Years ago, I was an All-American lacrosse goalie. It hadn’t occurred to me before I started playing pickleball that much of what I accomplished in the lacrosse goal is helpful on the pickleball court--angles, anticipation, movement, reaction, reflexes and most of all, not being afraid of having a ball hurled at you.
Which got me thinking how much pickleball is like writing.
If you’re accomplished in your field, it can be intimidating to be a beginner at something. But trying something new can be enriching by building on the skills you already have and creating new ones you can apply. It can refresh how you approach your specialty or start you down a new path.
In a similar way, writing in unfamiliar genres can reboot your writing and challenge you in interesting and inspiring ways.
Sue Bradford Edwards is a nonfiction author and writing teacher with over 600 sales to her credit including more than 30 books for young readers. She has recently begun experimenting with fiction and graphic writing.
“Creatives of all types need to keep growing in their craft…In addition to studying our specialties, it benefits us to try new things,” Sue explains. “After taking a class on graphic novel writing, I am experimenting with a comic, a brief graphic memoir and a much longer memoir that will combine traditional text, graphic elements, experimental essay forms and more.”
I’m really good at procrastinating. I’ve been known to paint entire rooms, declutter drawers, and wash the dog, all to avoid my work-in-progress.
When I signed up for an online poetry class to procrastinate editing a novel, it was actually one of the best things I’ve done.
And it was not a waste of time. Not by a long shot.
Poetry showed me a new way to play with structure, voice, point of view, word sounds, and forced me to carefully choose a handful of words that conveyed what I wanted to say and what I wanted the reader to feel. The class also created an entirely new network of support and friendships. And the immediate, positive feedback and helpful suggestions from a seasoned instructor helped boost my confidence and grow as a writer.
That instructor was Melanie Faith. As a poet, photographer, prose writer, professor, and editor, Melanie explores and excels in multiple fields. She has authored numerous craft books and her latest book, Writing It Real: Creating an Online Course for Fun and Profit came out this month. The many varied online courses she teaches through WOW! Women On Writing range from photography for writers to food writing.
I asked Melanie if she believes exploring genres outside of what a writer typically writes is a good idea:
“100% yes! I love it when my students try new genres, and I like trying new genres myself. One never knows how much learning and practicing one type of writing or creative art will circle back in time to give us more tools for our main writing projects or genres. It all gets spun together in our mental blender, and the resulting writing can be a fantastic and savory combination.”
I love Melanie’s image of our mental blender, mixing and merging different creative juices.
If you find yourself stuck in neutral, it might be your brain's way of letting you know that you need a boost from a different genre. Give it a shot. Try playing in a new field. It could help with your current work and you might have a ball while you’re doing it.