Dear Geist,

How does a young writer know what genre is the best one to work in? I've written poetry, some fiction and some journalism. Nothing published yet. I love writing and I suppose all writing is good for me. But I have to get down to business.

—Lucas Foringer, Etobicoke ON

Dear Lucas,

You're doing exactly what you should be doing to find the genre(s) that will sustain you. Work as much as you can in all categories of writing. Read everything, not just stuff you wish you'd written. Take notes on your reading and writing explorations. Go to readings. Talk with other writers. It's tempting to focus on a certain genre and produce like crazy, but specializing doesn't always pay off, for the heart or the wallet. Here's more from the writer John McPhee: “It is so easy to misjudge yourself and get stuck in the wrong genre. You avoid that, early on, by writing in every genre. If you are telling yourself you're a poet, write poems. Write a lot of poems. Maybe you're a novelist...”

—The Editors