Climbing out of my writer's box

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My local writers group is having a public reading in about a month. I think that's a neat idea so I wanted to participate, but got stuck on what to what to read. I don't have much poetry written, and have to be in the mood to write it. Well, to write good poetry, anyway!

I've been very focused on my WIP novel. So focused that I haven't had interest in writing any other story. Well, I did play around with a short story a while back when I was seriously stumped on the novel, but once I got going again, I lost interest in the short.

A phrase used in a post at the online group I belong to, Critique Circle (also fondly known as CC), sparked an idea. It could even be said to fit the approaching Halloween season. It's a totally non-serious story. A witch receives a spell in an email, performs it, gets a different result that she expected, and realizes the spell has a typo: Hence the title, "Spell Check." It has a fairy tale feel.

I don't think I'm very good at humor but I'm giving the story a try. I'm about 3/4 done with it. There should be enough time to post it at CC for crits that will help me fix whatever issues it assuredly has.

This is exciting because honestly, I was worried about my ability to come up with other characters and other stories. When you zero in on one idea for a hair shy of four years, with only one deviation, you begin to wonder exactly what you're capable of.

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I may post snippets of the story here on the blog once I'm satisfied with it. If it comes out well enough, I'd like to try my luck in a few contests.

Do you guys normally write in different genres, or do you stick to one? Have you decided to branch out recently? I'd be interested in your forays out of your comfort zone. It's a bit scary out there, but I'm grabbing my security blanket and running straight ahead!