Discussion: Some Genre Drama

I love it here at L&LB. Our community has a nice mix of artists and writers who embrace all sorts of styles and mediums. We all bring something a little different to the table each prompt, be it fiction or poetry, memory or song. And I love that. But I got to thinking today. Thinking about prompts and how I was planning to respond to a few. I wondered...will I write a memory that lives on within my mind? A weaving tale of fiction? A poem full of imagery and rhyme? The choices were endless and beautiful. Writing is an art, and as writers, we can choose many different directions to take with our words. Like an artist choosing a particular brush or paint or canvas, we choose the genres of our pieces carefully. But if we were forced to choose a genre, forced to only write a certain genre for the rest of our lives, which would we choose and why?

In researching this topic, I found the following brief (ha!) list of writing genres:

A Brief List of Genres:

• Journal Entries
• Personal Letter
• Greeting Card
• Schedule/Things to Do List
• Inner Monologue Representing Internal Conflicts
• Classified or Personal Ads
• Personal Essay or Philosophical Questions
• Top Ten List/Glossary or Dictionary
• Poetry
• Song Lyrics
• Autobiographical Essay
• Contest Entry Application
• Business Letter or Correspondence/Persuasive or Advocacy Letter
• Biographical Summary
• Critique of a Published Source
• Speech or Debate
• Historical Times Context Essay
• Textbook Article
• Science Article or Report/Business Article or Report
• Lesson Plan
• Encyclopedia Article
• Short Scene from a Play with Notes for Stage Directions
• Short Scene from a Movie with Notes for Camera Shots
• Dialogue of a Conversation among Two or More People
• Short Story
• Adventure Magazine Story
• Ghost Story
• Myth, Tall Tale, or Fairy Tale
• Talk Show Interview or Panel
• Recipe and Description of Traditional Holiday Events
• Classroom Discussion
• Character Analysis or Case Study
• Comedy Routine or Parody
• Liner Notes
• Picture book
• Chart or Diagram with Explanation and Analysis
• Brochure or Newsletter
• Time Line or Chain of Events
• Map with Explanation and Analysis
• Magazine or TV Advertisement or Infomercial
• Restaurant Description and Menu
• Travel Brochure Description
• How-To or Directions Booklet
• Receipts, Applications, Deeds, Budgets or Other Documents
• Wedding, Graduation or Special Event Invitation
• Birth Certificate
• Local News Report
• Pop-Up book
• Review and Poster for a Movie, Book, or TV Program
• Board Game or Trivial Pursuit with Answers and Rules
• Comic Strip or Graphic Novel excerpt
• Power Point Presentation
• Informational Video
• Web Site
• Future News Story
• Letter to the Editor
• Newspaper or Magazine Feature/Human Interest Story
• Obituary, Eulogy or Tribute
• News Program Story or Announcement
• Tabloid Article

So, let's have it. Would you write tabloids? Obits? Poems or speeches? If your creative repertoire were suddenly limited, which genre would you embrace as your one and only?

PS - There are about a million other genres and sub-genres out there. Feel free to expand the list above and add your own.