Know Your Genre and Write in Series

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Today I’m posting another entry in my series ‘making life easier as a writer.’  With today’s post, I want to add a proviso: this advice is only if you do really want to make life easier. If you aren’t writing commercial fiction or if you’re really wanting to pursue a one-off book, that’s definitely what you should do.

Genre:  Especially if you’re just starting out (but even if you’re a veteran writer), it’s easiest to write a story that fits perfectly into a particular genre…especially a genre that you’re very well-read in and acquainted with.Continue reading

Reader Expectations for Genre

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraigWoman With a Secret

I just finished  reading Woman With a Secret  (released as The Telling Error in the UK) by Sophie Hannah.  I’ve read a fair number of unreliable narrator books lately.  This one definitely caught my attention and sustained my interest.

One thing bothered me, as a reader and a writer.  There were several points at the end where different police investigators of the murder (and it was a murder mystery, although it could also be called a psychological thriller…more on that later), clearly knew who the killer was.  They stated they knew who the killer was, but didn’t let the reader in on it.  It’s a quibble.  But I’m a mystery writer.

This technique is still, technically, fair play in a mystery.  The great Agatha Christie kept her readers on pins and needles as Poirot gathered everyone together in a room to disclose the killer’s identity.Continue reading

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