Mastering Genre "Your Promise"

In the following weeks, I will be highlighting past articles on various topics from the previous years' posts.

The following information on genre can also be found in the book Story Building Blocks The Four Layers of Conflict in ebook and print editions. Much of the material from my Story Building Block series is available in my blog posts and on my website (www.dianahurwitz.com) along with free forms.

This week, I begin with the importance of defining the type of story you wish to tell your readers.

When you choose a genre and subgenre, you make a promise to your reader about the type of story they are settling in for. Is it a cozy or gritty noir mystery? Is it a Hallmark Romance or erotica? Is it a prairie Western or a shoot out between cowboys and aliens?

It is crucial to outline your promise with your blurb/story description.  A consumer needs to know what a product is and how it will work. Readers are less likely to choose a confusing product or muddied premise. Broken promises are the number one cause of one star reviews: a Romance that doesn't end happily, a Horror story that isn't scary, or a Thriller that is a snooze. Bait and switch (promising a comedy and giving them a tragedy) ensures the reader forever associates your name with betrayal.

Here is a list of articles on how to keep your promise.

Betraying Your Readers

The Central Question

Genre Roundup Part 1

Genre Roundup Part 2

Con, Heist, and Prison Break Skeleton

SBB Build A Plot Con, Heist, and Prison Break Workbook is available in ebook and print.

Comedy Subgenres

The Comedy Story Skeleton

Injecting Humor Into Plot

Injecting Humor into Dialogue

SBB Build A Plot Workbook: Comedy is available in ebook and print.

The Gothic Skeleton

SBB Build A Plot Workbook: Gothic is available in ebook and print.

Historical Fiction Subgenres Part 1

Historical Subgenres Part 2

Historical Story Skeleton

SBB Build A Plot Workbook: Historical is available in ebook and print.

Literary Subgenres

The Literary Skeleton

SBB Build A Plot Workbook: Literary (Drama) is available in ebook and print.

The Road Trip Story Skeleton

SBB Build A Plot Workbook: Road Trip is available in ebook and print.

Science Fiction Subgenres

Science Fiction Skeleton

SBB Build A Plot Workbook: Science Fiction is available in ebook and print.

The Team Victory Skeleton

SBB Build A Plot Workbook: Team Victory is available in ebook and print.

Thriller and Suspense Subgenres 

Thriller and Suspense Skeleton

Making a Thriller Part 1 of 2

Making a Thriller Part 2 of 2

SBB Build A Plot Workbook: Thriller and Suspense is available in ebook and print.

Western Subgenres Part 1

Western Subgenres Part 2

Western Skeleton

SBB Build A Plot Workbook: Western is available in ebook and print.

In the next few weeks, we will highlight four specific genres: Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, and Romance.

Structuring A Series: The Serial

Anne Perry

Last week, we looked at the standard Trilogy format. This week, we will discuss the Serial format. 

A Serial is most often used for Thrillers and Mysteries. It can also be used for multi-generational dramas, or a Con, Heist & Prison Break series.

A serial can have as many books as the author cares to write. Anne Perry's Mystery series with Inspector Thomas Pitt has 34 to date and her William Monk series has 24.  Diana Gabaldon's Outlander is a long running serial.

The protagonist appears in each book and faces a similar overall story problem such as a murder, a dangerous threat to one or many, a family conflict, etc.

In each book, the main cast is introduced. The hero has special knowledge or a skill set to solve the problem at hand.

The antagonist is often different in each book. In some spy novels, the antagonist remains the same but there are different cases involved. The enemy spy is nearly caught, a major minion is apprehended or killed, but the case itself is resolved at the end.

Most mysteries are serials with a different crime to solve in each book. In the Sherlock Holmes mysteries, there is  a recurrent antagonist like Professor Moriarty, but each murder is solved at the end of each book.

Friends and allies are often a continuing thread, but it is possible to add and subtract cast members as the serial progresses. Focusing on different friends and foes in each serial leaves plenty of room for growth and offshoots.

The internal dilemma is usually the same throughout the serial, especially if it is a love interest. Their bond is tested as the books progress. 

The protagonist's internal dilemma can also be a sick family member, a child, or responsibility for another character that causes problems for him as he navigates the overall story problem. He may have a personal issue to solve: an addiction, an affliction, or an internal struggle.

The book covers follow a theme, but the titles can be unique. Anne Perry is a good example of how to keep naming a serial as it stretches out. It helps to have a subtitle such as "A Thomas Pitt novel."

Next week, we will take a look at the Relay series.

Related Topics:

Mystery Subgenres

Mystery Skeleton

Thriller & Suspense Subgenres

Thriller & Suspense Skeleton

Con, Heist & Prison Break Skeleton

Literary Subgenres

Literary Skeleton

Free tools and forms are available at www.dianahurwitz.com. You can also check out the Build A Plot Workbooks for Mystery, Thriller, Con, Heist, & Prison Break, and Literary Drama.

The Literary Skeleton

Last week, we looked at broad categories of literary stories. This week, we look at the individual building blocks.

The overall story problem is usually a wrenching, life-altering, personal decision or life event.

The reader asks: What are they feeling and how will it change?

Theme is key. Literary can have a specific plot or be a slice of life vignette. Literary fiction does not always follow the traditional story arc, but the protagonist should undergo a point of change no matter how minimal.

The Literary story can be mixed with elements of any genre, but the focus is largely on the psychological dissection of the event. You can have a Literary ghost story or a Literary war story, but the reader is waiting for the protagonist’s resolution of their personal dilemma rather than the outcome of the war. Coming of age stories are often Literary. A child undergoes a transformation to adult because of some crisis or situation. Literary stories often explore heavy hitting issues such as abuse, illness, sexuality, parenthood, aging parents, etc. 

The focus in a Literary story is the language used to convey it, the writer’s unique prose or voice. Genre pieces can be written with the lyricism of Literary and a Literary novel can follow a genre story arc. The difference is the pace and the lyricism of the tale. Literary stories take the time to express philosophies and explore the human condition in ways the other genres cannot. Conflicts are often subtle.

In Literary stories, the options for protagonist are endless. It can be a child coming of age or an elderly person facing end  of life. It can be a person dealing with an illness, a complicated friendship, a divorce, or a legal or ethical dilemma.

There doesn’t have to be an antagonist per se, rather an antagonistic situation. The characters are the focus rather than the events. The subtle tension must make the reader so invested in the characters, they are willing to wade through the slower pace and lyrical wording to find out what happens. The luxury of the literary novel is the language and situation used to convey the thematic premise are the focus. It does not always end happily and theme is crucial.

External Conflict scenes don’t have to involve dramatic fight or chase scenes. They don’t require action-oriented thriller moments. They may not have the swoon-inducing desire of a Romance, though it may include those elements. Whatever the story line, it requires tension. These scenes bring the camera in close to dissect the protagonist’s psyche. Even so, elements in the external world the character navigates affect their personal metamorphosis or cause a drastic change in their way of thinking.

Antagonist Conflict scenes in the literary novel are often less overt than in any other genre. There may not be a “bad guy.” It may not be good versus evil. It may be making the right choice versus the wrong one. It may be a split in the protagonist’s psyche, the devil sitting on his shoulder. However, there is some antagonistic force working against what the character knows is the right decision. It can be society, medical realities, the legal system, or a friend or relative with an opposing agenda. The antagonist’s POV is rarely explored in these stories though there are antagonistic forces.

Interpersonal Conflict scenes follow friends and foes that confuse the issue: a love interest, a bullying boss, or dysfunctional relatives. There will be those who debate various sides of the thematic argument. Some characters push them toward the wrong decision and some toward the right one.

Internal Conflict scenes are at the heart of the story problem in the literary fiction novel, but there can still be a smaller personal issue that makes his decision that much harder to make. These scenes reflect the subtle shifts in his thinking or behavior.

Next week, we take a look at Mystery subgenres.

Check out the newly released addition to the Story Building Blocks series: Literary Build A Plot Workbook available in print and e-book.

For more about how to craft plots using conflict check out, Story Building Blocks: The Four Layers of conflict available in print and e-book and explore the free tools and information about the series on my website.