Why do you write in ___ genre?

I'm just curious as to how other people came to gravitate toward one genre or another. I usually write fantasy, but the few people I know in real life who know about my writing are surprised because I'm a fairly logical, science-minded person. But there's a good reason:
When I'm reading say, science fiction, I always want a good explanation for why something is the way it is, and I will automatically compare any given explanation with what I know from real life. For example, when I was reading a particular science-fiction series (I won't name it because I can't remember if this is a spoiler or not), I actually caught myself thinking "What kind of receptor is that virus binding to that lets it infect literally every species it comes in contact with? There's no way that could really happen. The aliens' cells would be so different from human cells...and then it also infects plants? What the heck?" And then I thought "Shut up, brain! I'm trying to enjoy the story!" but it was too late. I can usually set these feelings aside when I'm reading, but when I'm writing it's a lot harder to do. In fantasy, I don't have to worry about that. Things are allowed to not work in the real world, because the whole point is that it isn't the real world. And then I can just write.

So what's your story? Why do you write what you write?

I have the story in me to tell. The genre tends to come later.

I don't think I'll ever be able to stick to one genre, but most of my stuff does wind up being some weird kind of science fiction. Like Dennis, I tell the story and then figure out the genre. My first two published novels (self-published) cross so many lines, I haven't been able to pin them down. That made it very hard to put them in categories that made sense. I write about social change, slavery, and power relationships, so my writing is very character-driven. A lot of that seems to work best as science fiction, but I'm giving a lot of thought to crossing some more boundaries.

I write fantasy stuff mostly because I'm the kind of person whose sort of bored by the "real" world. As a kid, I'd read fantasy books about witches, warlocks, magic, dragon etc and liked that kind of world compared to the boring, "real" one. So now, writing a contemporary story or a high school story or something like that set in our times, bores me.

I write a cross between historical fiction or more fantasy-based historical fiction because that's what I like to read. I feel like I know how to write for that genre (ha! that makes me sound like a know-it-all but hey).

I'd like to try writing something else, like a crime mystery or just something firmly in the real world. But the fantasy world keeps creeping in, bringing romance with it.

And I don't even read purely romance novels! Agh! It keeps creeping into everything I write. Suppressed emotions maybe? I've yet to experience even a date and I'm 23 in March. This sucks.

I write sci-fi/horror because I'm twisted.

I've usually got some question in mind and the sci-fi genre gives me the freedom to create the world around the characters. It keeps me from having to develop the characters around the setting. If I want Character X to be able to perform Action Y, then I can do it without having to worry about the reader thinking, "Yeah, but you couldn't do that in blabbity-th century country without getting caught immediately." Suspension of disbelief is nice . . . focus on the characters, not the environment.

The horror part comes from suffering. I would have to quote from numerous books to explain it, but I'm bringing the condition of suffering to the forefront and demonstrating how the Story Mind deals with it.

And that's all I got ta say about that.

I write fantasy because I believe fantasy crosses more genre lines to reach more people. I believe it's a teaching device more than a genre. I'm actually quite passionate about it and it really, really bothers me when people diss fantasy or down it or try to have it banned. I wrote this about why I write fantasy a year or so ago:

"Only be complete denying reality can we truly see it in all its wonder and glory. Through fantasy we can study our own characteristics, not only of our individual lives, but of society as a whole. We can dig at the truth, the real meat of things. You can cover hard topics with the label “fantasy:” death, revenge, retribution, redemption, morality, grief, love, torture, good versus evil, exploration of evil, the fall of goodness, the shadows in light. When you call something a fantasy, or create a fantasy, you are in truth taking everything you know about any given topic and stripping it of all protection before the keen eye of judgment. Nothing is barred through fantasy. You can literally do anything you like."

The genre comes after I write the story. It easier for me to write adventure, ya, fantasy, and realistic fiction be caue those are the types of novels I read.

I mostly write fantasy because, like Captain Lonewolf, I am bored by the real world. I find books written about the real world incredibly boring and I couldn't write them to save my life. And in fantasy... anything can happen. There are no limitations. You can write whatever you please and you're not limited by our world. Even in science fiction you are limited by some constraints because it is closer to the real world, but fantasy is something completely different and it can be changed any way you wish.

I write historical fiction because I love history, I love the vintage/antique aesthetic, and my plots are always based on historical events (such as World War I) or cultural phenomena (such as the Bright Young Things in 1920s London). I have a hard time coming up with original plots that could take place in the modern day.

I write fantasy because that's usually what the story calls for. Sometimes my stories dip into science fiction territory, and sometimes they'll turn out to be more horror than anything else. It completely depends on the story and the characters.

Then again, whenever I ever get annoyed trying to figure out a genre for something I'm writing, I just call it interstitial to make my life easier. I take the easy way out. :P

I write Fantasy because escaping the real world is utterly awesome to me. Exploring new worlds, adding creatures, doing magic. Man, that's awesome. I don't like real life drama because hence, I have enough of that already around here, mostly for no apparent reason whatsoever. Also, I'm the boss of my own fantasy world. Doesn't mean I'm doing absolutely unlogical things with it, but rather that society and everything works after my own rules.
Plus, I get to have characters with magic abilities. That's awesome and fun to play around with. :D

I write fantasy (often with a hint of science fiction there) because I love having the freedom. You're not bound by the rules of the world - you can create a whole new world with its own rules that suit your story, and it's having that freedom that really helps my writing flow - otherwise I get bogged down in checking that this and that isn't illegal. Plus, if people read it, they can't say "Oh, this would never be possible", because you can just turn right back around and say "This is a fantasy novel, set in a fantasy world - how do you know it wouldn't be possible there?".

I write Fantasy because I like Fantasy. What Sci-Fi I write is written because I want to include those elements into my work (usually for setting more than plot). I think of some story that I would like to tell and I hit magical little keys on my desk until words come out.

I write urban fantasy (or paranormal fiction, whatever floats your boat) because I started out writing straight up sword and sorcery fantasy when I was younger, because that's what I read a lot of. Within the last four or five years or so, I started picking up some urban fantasy stuff ( Patricia Briggs, Kim Harrison) and I absolutely fell in love. I decided to give writing it a go and something just clicked. It was definitely a writing what you know thing, combined with a healthy seasoning of "what if" I've tried writing outside that, but everything just falls flat, I have no passion there. Now, I've written some mystery, some horror, some romance, but it's all fallen under the Urban fantasy feel. It's what I love, and I think it comes out on the page.

I write horror.
I've discovered early on that I can't write well unless there's killing going on.

I write romance because I love writing about people. I love writing about people in love. I add fantasy elements to the romance because I love magic, but I always come back to romance because that's the story I want to tell.

I don't have a particular genre. I write what I would read. So I would try my hand at anything but Sci-Fi or Fantasy. I need an element of reality.

I could say a lot about fantasy -- the joy that comes from pure creation, the development of new societies and histories, being able to mix and match a variety of sub-genres (a dash of romance, a pinch of mystery, a dollop of adventure, a sprinkling of comedy), and being able to stick my tongue out at anyone who would dare to question the inclusion of potatoes or the exclusion of modern political issues.

But the real reason I write fantasy is much shorter.

Dragons.

Young Adult for me. Though I suppose with YA you also have cross into other genre's. Science Fiction and Action then. What can I say, I just like a good explosion now and then.