One of the definitions for niche is a place or position suitable or appropriate for a person or thing: How do we know just where this elusive, suitable, and appropriate place is when it comes to our writing?

It’s said you must write of what you know and understand, what you love and what you feel. I could choose to write about the care and keeping of coy fish, but it would be nothing more than ad ignoratum as I know nothing of real value regarding coy fish.

I would be recycling information gleaned from reading the words of those who actually do know a thing or two about the subject. This isn’t to say I couldn’t write about the topic, but it would be lacking in personal insight.

Perhaps a reader with just as little knowledge of coy fish would think my piece adequate, but those who have a true appreciation for the large, colorful, coy might find themselves looking for something more. If you don’t believe in or have knowledge pertaining to what you are writing, your work will more than likely show it.

If you aren’t certain where your writing strengths are, you shouldn’t limit yourself to a particular genre before trying others. When I began writing, my goal was to write for children. I tried and I tried, it was awful, but I was so determined I overlooked everything else.

As I sat to write in my journal one evening, I found myself reading instead of writing, I realized I was trying to write in a style which simply did not suit me, my journal read like the pages of a book I didn’t want to put down. I realized it was more my style of writing, stream of consciousness . . . bringing life to the page by painting emotional pictures with words. Every now and again I still attempt a children’s story; I’ve yet to write one worthy of sharing.

If you’re writing something that captivates even yourself, you may just have found that cozy place of penned perfection to slip into. I’ve yet to find my exact niche, the one which completely defines my voice in print. I write what words find their way to my fingertips. Every thought I pen is a piece of me, a heartbeat left to forever give life to the page.

I often write of love and life. Poetry and prose flow forth until darkness makes its way to the page, only to give reign to the light of knowledge as my words transform to teach and inform in articles covering topics I feel strongly about or have experienced and researched myself.

I ponder the possibility; perhaps not having a niche is my niche after all. My eclectic soul, left to roam the parchment with the quill of my choice.

If you write of things you’ve no passion for, things you haven’t knowledge of, your niche will never be found. If you write what flows forth from deep within . . . it may find you.

Crystal R. Cook