Writing 101--Genres

I don't know if Writing 101 will be a regularly scheduled blog, but some things I've mentioned in the past bear repeating. I could have directed you to old posts, BUT these publishing times are a changin' very quickly. Something I firmly believed two years ago might not be appropriate now.

For many years when someone would comment that they wanted to write a book. My answer would be, "So write it." My answer is still, "Write it." because the only way your story will be written is if you do the hard work and actually write it. But now I have tempered that answer with some food-for-thought.

When I first started writing romances (notice that I don't write them anymore??), Marilyn Pappano asked me what type of book I was writing. "Romance," I said.  Duh!

Three years later, I realized what she was really asking. Yeah, I'm slow on the uptake.

TRUE STORY: If you are giving me the silent treatment because I pissed you off--it won't work. I'll just figure that you aren't feeling very well. It took another worker to tell me that another one of my co-workers was ticked off about something.
Yes, I'm that obtuse. But isn't this better than being one of those people who take offense over every suspected slight?? 

Anyhoo, what Marilyn was really trying to get me to think about was whether this story was a category romance or single title. Each of these romance sub-genres has a different set of expectations from the reader.

Here are a few things to think about:

--Where do you see your book shelved?
--Who do you see them next to?
--What type of reader do you want to attract?

So many newbie writers look down their noses at romance, claiming that it's cookie-cutter. It's a boy-meets-girl, boy-loses-girl, boy-gets-girl, leading to Happy Ever After. 

And so it is.

But other genre books are also formulaic--Cozy Mysteries, Horror, Thrillers or Suspenses, Fantasy and Science Fiction (two very distinct genres), Westerns, etc.

Each genre has its own sense of 'rules'. Many people call it formula writing or cookie-cutter. I prefer to call it reader expectations.

If you pick up a book in the Thriller section of the book store, you want a book that keeps you on the edge of your seat. You expect to be in for a fast-paced action ride. Think of the Jason Bourne books. The stories are complex and action-packed.

When you pick up a romance, you want the love story between two characters who can't possible live happily ever after. But they somehow manage it. It's the journey that readers enjoy reading about.

Here is my take on some genres (I'm sure I'll miss a few since I don't read all of them, so please keep that in mind).

CHILDREN'S--runs the gamut of picture books to young adult. If you want to write in this genre you need to be aware of what reading level your target audience is. And let me just mention that just because a group of kids is in the fourth grade, it doesn't mean they all read at the same level, which is why these books have age ranges.
Picture books are far more rigid than most people realize. The word count is limited, and the pictures are there to tell 50% of the story. Most of the time, a parent is reading this to the child, but eventually the child will start reading it on their own.  Dr. Seuss to Froggy
Early readers have pictures, but there is more story involved. Words must be easy for the reader to sound out. Henry and Mudge.
Chapter books are for a little older child who still needs some pictures to help break up the text along with chapter breaks. Many times this is a fun adventure that can be used to educate as well. Mary Pope Osborne's Magic Treehouse books.
Middle Grade books usually don't have pictures except possibly at the beginning of the chapter. The child character must be the one to solve the problem presented in the story. The books are longer with a slightly more difficult vocabulary. Rick Riordan's books, Harry Potter. M. A. Golla (hey, a gal has to get a little freebie promo in somehow!).
Young Adult stories tend to be a little more hard-hitting books that address issues many teens face on a daily basis: sex, drugs, abuse, etc. They can range from the lighter end of the spectrum (Gallagher Girls spy school) to heavy. I don't read the hard hitting stuff, so I don't have any examples. If I had to guess, The Hunger Games would be in here.

ROMANCE must have a Happily Ever After or a Happy For Now scenario at the end of the book. The 'romances' where someone dies or leaves or whatever aren't romances, they're love stories. Do NOT call them romances. Romances can have a heat rating from sweet (a stolen kiss or two) to erotica (graphic sex). The word count can vary depending on the romance, category (50,000 words) or single title (90,000 words). Many of romances include additional elements or sub-genres, but the core of the story MUST be the story of the relationship between the Hero and Heroine.
Here are a few sub-genres: faith-related, contemporary, paranormal, historical, and suspense.
If you want to write in a romance sub-genre, the sub-genre MUST BE INTEGRAL TO THE STORY. If you take out the fact that a character is a vampire and the story still works, then the story doesn't dig deep enough in the paranormal aspect. Dig deeper.

FANTASY and SCIENCE FICTION is growing. Many of these books tend to be 100,000-words or more, partly due to the world-building/description aspect of the story--and 90-95% of the world-building the author does shouldn't be written in the book. Personally, I feel that the author shouldn't have to describe their world to the reader, but draw the reader into the story through the characters. I read this genre, but only a few select authors. Fantasy can be anything from Urban Fantasy (Jim Butcher) to High Fantasy (David Eddings) to Science Fiction (Orsen Scott Card). I tend to read Urban Fantasy, but if you want to write fantasy you might consider reading numerous authors within this genre to figure out the reader expectations of the particular sub-genre you intend to write.

THRILLERS/SUSPENSE/MYSTERY Each one of these has different expectations. I don't read many of these, so the key is to read different authors and then dissect their stories to figure out their pacing and reader expectation for that genre.
In many mysteries, the crime or murder takes place off screen. The story is the character solving the unsolvable. Agatha Christie.
Suspense can be the character seeing something he isn't supposed to see, but he are running for their lives as they try to solve the mystery. Allison Brennan.
Thrillers are similar to Suspense, but I think they are more intense and action-packed.  Jason Bourne books.

FICTION books are all the novels that don't fit in genre fiction. These might include the Classics, literary fiction, women's fiction, etc. Can't help you here. I don't read these books. I'm just not that interested in them. I want to read to escape, not face the harsh realities of life.

NON-FICTION is the rest of the bookstore. If you want a cookbook, a 'dummies' book, research books--the Captain Jack Sparrow Pirate Handbook is here--yes, I have this one, history books, Dragonology books--got it, too, how to write books, etc.

So here's your homework assignment--think about the story you want to write and then before you sit down to write--READ. Yes, read the genre, but especially read the more recent books that have come out. In middle grade books, The Outsider's is a classic, and so are the Harry Potter books, but if you want to get the current point-of-view of young readers, then read Rick Riodan's Kane Chronicles--I'm still waiting for book 3!

Later, Peeps!




Think about these things while you are thinking about the Great American Novel that you want to write.

Pet Peeve-Snide comments or Does Length Matter?

Okay, I have to admit that I'm usually one to make snide comments. And I'll also confess that I usually don't do it to your face. Most of the time they stay in my head.

I said, most of the time, but every now and again something slips out and gets taken wrong way. As writers, our job is the written word, but that doesn't mean we are infallible--why do you think we write so many drafts?

Well, this time I DIDN'T make the snide comment. I was the recipient. And to be truthful, I doubt if this person realized she made an untoward remark as it was written in a blithe hand as a FB comment. And remember, the written word is just as powerful as the spoken one, which means we don't always think before we write or read our comments before we click send.

Here's the sitch:

A writerly friend who writes inspirational romance announced a book release. It wasn't her first, but I think it is somewhere around the tenth, and I congratulated her on her new release. It had been awhile since we touched base and she inquired about my writing. I told her that I switched from writing romance to writing middle grade, and that I thought I'd found my niche.
Her comment (yes, I searched FB archives to find the quote): ..."Great. And to (the) books are shorter."
My mental response: HUH?? (Uh, I didn't respond. YAY, me!) Trust me, I have no problem writing a 100,000 word book--ask anyone from my old romance crit group. Okay, much of it was dreck, but still . . .

1) MG books are NOT necessarily shorter. There are bunches of MG novels that are 60,000 words and above. And anyone who has read any of the Harry Potter books knows those suckers are LONG.
2) quality of the story does NOT depend on length--Many of Harlequin romance category lines have been shortened dramatically, to 50-60 K words--does this mean that they aren't as good? How about Dr. Seuss? Or any number of stories written for young people. There are quality books out there varying in length from 100 words to 100,000 words.
3) Shorter books have to work harder to show character arc, plot, dialogue, etc. with a finite amount of verbage--just ask anyone who has been writing 75K word category novels only to have to cut 20K from them due to the changes in the line.

--Marilyn, feel free to add your two cents to this. I know you had to do a lot of cutting and condensing to fit HQ's new criteria.

Yes, I will admit I was offended. She judged me and my genre choice with those poorly chosen words. And I will also admit that I don't think as highly of her as I had in the past. All because of a few mis-written words.

So think before you write. And don't criticize or denigrate someone else's choice of genre until you try to write it yourself.

I think I learned my lesson.

Until next Monday . . .

Write on!
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