Juggling Genres

I haven't yet settled into a genre and I'm not really sure I ever will. I like reading and writing too many things and like a lot of writers, I'm not always great at identifying exactly what it is that I'm writing. It's fun, it's interesting, and I'm enjoying it so I don't think too much about it.

But one thing I've definitely identified is my habit of juggling genres. Right now I'm writing a novella (which I fear will turn into a novel) and a short story (that's not even halfway through its plot and over 5k words) from opposite ends of the genre spectrum. Back and forth, back and forth. I spend half an hour here and there, on one then the other. In the background, the parts of my brain that aren't engaged with these stories, I've got those three serials plotting away.

I can't say whether or not this is a healthy way to write. I can't even say if it's effective or if it's killing both stories. I'm not sure I'll ever know. But I can tell when I've been writing too long in one 'genre' or the other. I get bored and antsy and I don't want to write. My last novella took three times longer than it needed to because I'd been dabbling in the same pool too long. But then I remembered the juggling.

I'm not a great multi-tasker but I sure love the juggling. And I wonder just how many other people keep themselves engaged this way. Probably a lot more than I hear about.