Dirty little writing secrets

So, since last week I aired out my dirty little secret...

...wait, before you jump to any strange conclusions, what I mean is that I occasionally write some seriously creep-tastic stuff... now put down the phone. You don't need to call 911...

We good? Okay.

...so now I'm interested to know how far you stray from the genre you usually write.

Granted, all my stuff has a slightly twisted flavour, but since I usually write YA/MG, it's pretty toned down compared to the 1st Challenge. Rarely though, I do write short stories which I find are a good way to stretch my muscles a little and enjoy sinking into a drastically different kind of perspective. It keeps me fresh 'cause I dump out all the overly-dark stuff in my head that wouldn't fit into my YA/MG stories.

...cause those are dark enough as it is...

Actually, short stories are where I started. I didn't do the whole emo-poetry phase as a teenager. I went straight to stories which usually involved murder of some kind. And often the main character was just slightly short on sanity, but like emo-teenage-poetry, some were pretty melodramatic and overwritten. Yup, I can admit that. One of the first stories I wrote as a teenager was for Social Studies class. We had to choose a partner and do a project that showed our deep knowledge of different political setups. Like, Communism, Socialism, Monarchy, Democracy, etc.

...I think ours was Communism, but honestly, it really didn't matter a whole lot.

My partner and I ended up writing a mini novelette about witch trials in Salam. Why? I'm sure we were just really overtired... It was probably between 10-15,000 words and the main character died at the end. We literally waited until the day before it was due, then I spent the night at her house and we made it up as we typed. We finished around 6am, fell asleep, then were up at 7am to catch the bus to school. We handed it in and, well, let's say the teacher was less than impressed. After all, we were supposed to show we knew all about Communism, right? ...not a story where the main character gets betrayed and burned at the stake.

...let's just say my BS skills were highly developed, even at age 14. Because he was ready to fail us for not doing the project correctly, I wrote a "How 'The Burning Cross*' Relates to Communism' essay, and we ended up getting one of the top marks in the class.

I'd probably turn purple with embarrassment if someone pulled that story out and waved it in front of my face right now... I've still got my copy, buried somewhere in my parents' storage room under the stairs... but I have no plans to dig for it anytime soon and it would probably go through its own trial-by-fire if I ever did find it...

But yeah, writing about witch burning is what started me off on this twisty dark path, so occasionally I go back to my roots and slip into the skin of a death-row inmate, an escaped murderer, or in the case of the 1st Challenge, a stalker who just wants to connect to the one he loves.

So what about you guys? Do you moonlight as a romance writer, tinker with steampunk, or draw goofy children's stories when you need a break from your usual genre? Maybe tap out a zombie comedy with slap-stick humour or a cozy murder mystery with a ghoul & ghost as the detective pair?

*see what I mean about melodramatic? I mean seriously! We thought that was a great title at the time...