“What Do You Write About?”

A Confession From an Unfocused Writer

Cartoon image of a confused writer — image generated via MidJourney

“What do you write about?” Well…

That answer depends on the day I happen to be writing.

Conventional wisdom is that writers are essentially a brand and they become known by whatever niche they write in. For example…

• Stephen King? Horror
• Brandon Sanderson? Fantasy
• Nora Roberts? Romance
• Ann Leckie? Science Fiction
• Patricia Cornwell? Mystery
• James Clear? Personal Development
• John Maxwell? Leadership
• Robert Kiyosaki? Personal Finance
• Yuval Noah Harari? History
• Walter Isaacson? Biography
• Elmer Towns? Christian Theology

I could keep going!

When we see author names like Angie Thomas, Kevin Kwan, J.K. Rowling, John Grisham, David Baldacci, Lee Child, Janet Evanovich, Raymond Feist, Michael Connelly, Jordan Peterson, or … (name your favorite author)… there are certain assumptions and expectations attached to that name.

Each author is known for one, maybe two (rarely more) areas of interest or expertise. And when they write, they (mostly)…