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Some days I wear stripes. Others solids. But I never, ever wear the same thing two days in a row, even if it's clean. Why? Variety. The same ol' same ol' grates on my nerves like when I'm shredding potatoes for hash browns and I accidentally get my finger in the way. Yep. Cringe worthy.

But should the identical high regard for mixing things up a bit apply to writing as well? Should a writer be able to publish a mystery and then go on to write a historical? Can a non-fiction writer breach the wall over to the fiction side?

Before I go into what others say, here's my two-cents from personal experience. If one of my favorite authors ventures into a different genre, I will follow them.

Case in point, Travis Thrasher. I started out on his YA horror series. Followed him over to his contemporary adult story, 40, and am now reading his latest about a baseball player. I don't even like baseball, but I do love Travis Thrasher's writing. The dude pens some killer prose, whatever the genre. Here's his perspective on multi-genre writing:

Early on, Travis made a deliberate choice of not wanting to be boxed in by a brand or a genre. Instead, Travis has chosen time and time again to write the stories that mean something to him at that moment.

Travis is a success story but it's not easy. Lets be realistic, here. It takes a considerable amount of dedication and work and you can't necessarily expect readers to follow you from one genre to the next unless your voice is strong enough to carry over. And even then it's iffy.

You also should know ahead of time that this off-the-leash kind of writing is frowned upon by agents and publishers. Why? Because it's hard to market.

But it can be done, and done well. J.K. Rowling went from YA fantasy to adult drama. Even Nora Roberts ventures out into other genres besides romance under the pseudonym of JD Robb. Did you know Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond, also penned Chitty Chitty Bang Bang?

So, in a nutshell, here are my
Top 3 Reasons to Write in Multiple Genres

1. Growth. Keeps your mind active and your writing fresh because you're exploring a new area for which you hold interest.
2. Freedom. You're in control of what you write, not the market.
3. Adventure. Good-bye writers block!

If you'd like to read more about multi-genre writing, I came across a great blog post by Women Writers, Women Books.