I have a great story idea, and I can't wait to finish the rewrite. It's sort of a romance, something of a thriller, definitely a psychological drama. Because the rewrite makes it an evolving story, I'm not sure which genre it fits into. While most novels contain elements of multiple genres, one should dominate, assuring buyers they're getting the kind of story they want to read. Readers have expectations, which is why genre is essential if your goal is to sell books and build a fan base. A reader of horror may be upset if the ebook she just downloaded is a yarn about two young sisters that takes place during a storm—and one of them is horrified of lightning. Sci-fi aficionados will not likely be pleased if the science-fiction-type cover of their latest purchase wraps around a major love story that overshadows the anticipated futuristic drama. Consider the following scenario: A sweet old lady purchases an author-advertised "young adult" mystery for a pre...

Known for its celebration of Independence Day in the U.S., the month of July inspired this discussion about a different kind of independence—one desired by a number of fiction writers. This Independence Day, however, is not observed on a specific date. It is celebrated any time an author chooses to step outside the proverbial box when writing a story from the heart. What exactly is Writers Independence Day? A recent BRP comment comparing genre fiction to literary fiction made me revisit those diverse methods of story writing. The person who wrote the comment stated she had not to date found a literary fiction book that engaged her sufficiently to make her finish it. No words exploded off the page to keep her reading. In what way does literary fiction differ from genre fiction? Several years ago, when I began researching how a book qualifies as being one genre or another, I discovered that specific rules dictate the writing of a genre story. These formulaic guidelines had to be...

Background image by airpix, via Flickr . Credit: stubblepatrol.com Clichés.  Books are full of them, both in the plots and writers’ descriptions. Yes, I know, there are only seven major plot themes, and all stories evolve from one or a combination of them. So they say. I found a great explanation with examples in this post by Len Wilson Overcoming the monster Rags to riches The quest Voyage and return Comedy Tragedy Rebirth I never thought about the seven plots when I wrote my books. I didn’t even know about them until I kept hearing how there are only seven basic plots. I found the idea rather defeatist and didn’t want to look further for fear I might quit writing altogether since I was sure everything I’d written had been written before. When I finally read them, I found the definitions to be broad and generic, with enough latitude to erase my anxiety. It’s a writer’s job to find nuances in plots that make them as original as possible. Some genres adhere to formula. Cozy m...