Master Your Genre

GENRE: A category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, marked by a distinctive style, form, or content. (American Heritage Dictionary, link)

Pretend for a moment you're not a writer; you are just a reader. You're a fan of romance novels. Think about the hero and heroine in those novels. Think about how the hero and heroine meet in those novels. Think about the major events that happen in those novels. Think about the settings of those novels. Find any similarities? You should. The romance genre has a distinct style, form, and content. Heroes are usually strong, willful, and determined. Heroines are strong, too, but usually have that feminine softness that makes it so easy to swoon at the mere touch of the hero. The two always meet in an exciting way. Despite the obstacles that threaten their relationship, they get together. These distinctive genre conventions are not only obvious in romance, but also they are in crime novels, thrillers, romantic comedy, horror, etc.

As a reader you know this. If you are a fan of a specific genre, these conventions are a big reason why you keep coming back to the genre.

Come back to reality. You are a writer, and it's important for you to know that readers know all the conventions. They know all the parts of a genre, like the cute-meet in a romantic comedy, so as a writer, it's your goal to become a master of your genre.

What does this mean?

1-- KNOW the conventions because those are the things that draw a reader, that invoke a comfortable familiarity. How do we learn the conventions? We read books that are like ours, both good and bad. We study the works, looking at the style, form, and content of these works in order to understand the similarities that underline these works within the genre.

2-- AVOID hack writing and cliches...keep it FRESH. The cute-meet is a tried and true convention of romantic comedies and in many romances, too. As readers of these books, we expect to see this moment; we demand it. The good writer, having studied these conventions through examining others' works, already knows what's been done and will look for a fresh, new way of having the main characters meet.

Every day, more and more people wake up, ready to try their hand at writing, so competition for recognition is fierce. Move your writing to the top of the crop by studying your genre for its conventions and finding fresh ways to illustrate those conventions.