Wednesday's Writer's Tip - Keeping The Reader's Interest Part 4 #MFRWauthor #amwriting

Now comes the tricky part where some succeed and some fail. There are many genres and sub-genres of fiction. In this day of crossing genres the writer has things to consider. Romance, Mystery, Fantasy, Suspense, Science Fiction are all major genres and they all have ways to interest a reader. A lot of writers don't write straight major genres but do a mixture of the two. That's where the problem comes in. Are you writing a somance with some aspects of suspense, mystery or one of the other genres? Or are you writing suspense with a bit of romance. Staying in the lines has become harder every day. What you need to do is examine the story you are writing and see where it falls. Then you need to know the conventions of those genres you've chosen.

One of my books is a medical suspense with a touch of romance. Finding the balance was hard because now only did I have to consider the medical aspects of the story, I had to look at the suspense elements plus the romance ones. The book on writing Structuring Your Novel From Basic Idea To Finished Manuscript lists 17 sub-genres. I won't list them but as you can see this gives you a lot to play with and to blend. I've written straight romances and some with bits of other genres. I've done the same in the mystery genre. Sometimes it's hard.

In some novels presenting interesting ideas about life, art and people can grab a writer's attention and keep them reading. I remember once reading a book where the art of glass blowing played a large role and remember how fascinated I was with this. There are other stories. Pride and Prejudice is one of my favorites and learning about the manners and actions of people to their environment interested me and kept me reading.