Blog 11: It's a colourful world

Hi there and how are you all today? Did you know that right now, we are slap bang in the middle of Neurodiversity Celebration Week? Myself and my family seem to be quite neuro-spicy, including my daughters who have ADHD and Autism. It means they can struggle with things that won’t even register on other people’s radars. Day to day life can be challenging and a complicated process to help them manoeuvre, however, they have bright, colourful personalities and I can tell you that our lives are never dull.

I remember when my eldest, Ella, was about eight years old and decided to make man-sized spider webs with string across the front room and kitchen of the house. She had tied ends to the doorhandles, table legs as well as less stable objects, like the kettle! I came in from work doing an impression of a cat-burglar, trying to avoid all the crossed over lines of string to get to the other side of the room! And have you seen that Andrex puppy advert, where the cute little golden retriever unravels a roll of toilet paper down the stairs? Well, my youngest, Phoebe, decided to do the same when she was about three, from our attic bathroom! There was a toilet roll pathway running down two floors, leading to the kitchen. She was very proud of herself.

Ella has a fantastic eye for art and has been drawing, painting and even sculpting for years. Her artwork amazes me. Phoebe is full of fun and innocence. She also has a passion for art and computer games and is brilliant at math, she takes after her dad with that one. Wouldn’t it be boring if everyone were the same? It’s wonderful to celebrate how people are different from each other and what they can all bring to the world to make it fun, interesting, and surprising.

Thinking about neurodiversity reminds me of how we are all different in our likes, dislikes, beliefs, and backgrounds. If we take stock of all the different types of books out there, we can see the vast choice represents so many tastes from all the different kinds of people. We all have our favourite genres, because we perhaps can relate more to certain characters or stories than others, or we are wired to appreciate certain things. The puzzle solvers amongst us like crime or mysteries; the deep and meaningful types go for the romance; the adventurers jump into the Fantasies and Sci-fi and the adrenaline-fuelled junkies like to get their hit of a bit of horror. Have you spotted the ones you read and/or write in there? Subgenres open the door to many more, such as Romantasy for a Fantasy Romance, Dystopian, and Courtroom Drama.

I am trying to read as many as possible to find out which I like the most and broaden my editing capabilities. Looking through a list of genres feels like when I was a kid and went into a sweet shop with my pocket money. Glancing up at the colourful options and trying to choose a favourite. However, one I realise I haven’t read, is Comedy, which seems crazy, considering I have a go-to sense of humour that has been handed down to me from my dad, and his dad before him, and his before him, perhaps going back to when we were cavemen and jokes were just bonking each other on the head with clubs, then pointing at each other and laughing. If anyone is working on a comedy manuscript, please get in touch and give me the blurb. I would love to hear about it. Or if you have a good recommendation, please hit me up with it, but you know, not with a club.

However, comedy doesn’t appear to be near the top of the list of books to read. Do you know which is the most popular? Get ready for this? Can you guess? Here we go, the most popular genre to read is … (drum roll please – a little louder – maybe stamp your feet too) … Romance! These include subgenres, such as romantic comedy, dark romance, fantasy and LGBTQ+. Did you guess correctly? I certainly wouldn’t have. And this is predominantly read by women, which really tips the balance on the gender that does the most reading. I have to say I haven’t read a huge amount of romance. Only if it is incorporated into a story. But I have asked for recommendations to dive into it. Again, if you are writing or reading anything in this category, please send me a message about it.

Books also being snatched off the shelves are Thrillers, Young Adult, Literary Fiction, Action and Adventure, and Historical Fiction. But just because you are mad for a particular type, such as horror, doesn’t mean you will adore Stephen King. Again, our tastes differ. It isn’t just the theme or content that we like but also the style in which it is written. I refer to the blog a couple of weeks ago, where I interviewed Rachael Kinner, and she stated not everyone is going to “jive” with it. Some people will all out love authors, yet there are those who just can’t abide them. Demonstrating just how different we all are.

One thing I find troubling is how some people can’t accept others’ differences. It’s okay to have contrasting views, that’s what makes us unique and individuals. And we should celebrate it or at least try to accept it. I love how my children own their sense of self, I’m proud that they aren’t followers and do what's right for them. Can you imagine if everyone wrote the same things in the same way? It would be incredibly dull. So, let’s celebrate the nerdy, the crazy, the impulsive, the dreamers, and the serial killer writers who make us sweat and hide behind the cushions. They all have something to offer to this patchwork quilt we call the world.

Until next time, keep writing, keep editing, and keep being you.