Welcome to Week 8 in Friday’s Marketing for Romance Writers 52-Week Blog Challenge.
Reading outside your comfort zone—what is it and why?
As a rule, I stay within a handful of genres—my comfort zone. Reading rules are meant to be broken, though, and I have broken them because I like to believe I’m not small or close-minded or prudish. I believe in “never say never.”
However, there are areas outside of my reading comfort zone. Like fiction with Injustice and cruelty to humankind or animals, or aliens, or dragons. Oh, I wanted to see if you were paying attention. Sorry! I get enough of it in the news.
And SOME, I repeat, SOME taboos that publishers say we can’t submit if we want to publish with them–some are out of my comfort zone. Look it up if you don’t know what isn’t allowed in some or many publisher guidelines.
What you write and like to read is your choice. I admire people who fight for what they want. Thank God, we still have a choice.
Let’s turn this around. “Why” should we read out of our comfort zone? Can we stay in one little box and never experience what other authors have to offer, or experience different and new to us, stories and genres we might love? To experience emotions that words give us whether uncomfortable or not?
Can we read and still be a “little” uncomfortable? I think some of us can.
With so many genres to choose from, we have a choice.
We’re blog hopping so that means other authors are responding to this topic too. I’m curious to see if I replied to the topic the way it was intended, or did I get it all wrong. So, I’ll be hopping over. You can find participants with a click of the mouse to this LINK.
I’m glad you stopped by today.
I’m still making my rounds visiting this and Book Hooks blog hop.
Credit image: Pixabay – Pexels
Mary J. McCoy-Dressel 
8 thoughts on “#MFRWauthor 52-Week Blog Challenge Week 8: What Are You Reading?!!”
Teagan R. Geneviene
Sorry to be late, Mary. This is a thought provoking post. I had not thought of it as my comfort zone, but I see that is true. When I was young, I read whatever caught my attention, regardless of genre. From Nancy Drew to Victoria Holt, to the occasional grownup novel (our local library was tiny). Then as I grew up Harlequin type stories, then more mysteries — then fantasy (“high fantasy”). And that’s where I stayed for a long, long time. It went from “like zone” to comfort zone without me noticing. Project Gutenberg helped me stretch that zone. There were free books and I was on a budget. I had to let random chance come into play, because it was hard to tell what was what (at first). However, that let me discover a fondness for Victorian novels. Types of fantasy are still my comfort zone, but I really enjoy stepping outside that with your stories. 🙂 Hugs.
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Mary J. McCoy-Dressel
No problem, Teagan. Oh, I love Victorian novels too.
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deesknight
I enjoyed your thoughts on this Mary. I’m also we still have a choice to read what we want. We forget that in history we have examples of when that wasn’t true. Fortunately, I’ve come of the age where I can say go tamp sand! I can stay in my comfort zone and not feel guilty about it. Sort of. 😉
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Mary J. McCoy-Dressel
I love “tamp sand” and true! However, I do feel that guilt sometimes too like after this topic brought our comfort zone to light and I was forced to think about it.
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Kate Hill (@katehillromance)
With me it’s usually the opposite. I enjoy stories that push boundaries, but calmer or cozier stories usually aren’t my thing, so every now and then it’s nice to try them. You’re right that if you don’t try something, you usually won’t know if you’ll like it.
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Mary J. McCoy-Dressel
I don’t mind pushing boundaries as long as they aren’t scaring me to death. Same with what I watch in TV or movies. Suspense is fine and exciting, but not blood and guts. LOL
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Cathy Brockman
Great post. Where I read some taboo there are still limits but to each his own. As long as no one gets hurt and reading is a safe outlet.
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Mary J. McCoy-Dressel
Thanks, and I agree with everything you said, Cathy, including reading some that are considered taboo, but with limits.
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