Tag: writing

Posted in resources, writing advice

Know Your Genre: Guidelines for Authors

Posted on by Erin McKnight

Genre is a little word with big impact. Knowing the right way to categorize your story gives you insight into what it takes to make readers choose it over others on the shelf.

There are dozens of genres out there. Each one has its own standards and guidelines that set it apart. The most popular fiction genres are:

  • Fantasy
  • Sci-fi
  • Mystery
  • Thriller
  • Romance
  • Western
  • Dystopian
  • Contemporary

We can break each one down into countless subgenres. Check the link below for a more detailed list.

The Different Genres of Books (With Descriptions) | BookSummaryClub

Readers have set expectations for each genre’s length, tropes, and story structure. 

The length of a novel can be a deterrent for readers looking for a specific genre. A romance novel, for example, is usually 50 – 75,000 words. An epic fantasy, on the other hand, can easily be 100,000+. Writing a romance novel the length of Lord of the Rings can make readers raise their eyebrows or even pass on the book. While there is no hard and fast word count rule, keeping your story within the standard helps ensure your audience doesn’t turn away from it without at least cracking the spine.

Does anyone else remember the Twilight craze? Please say yes. I don’t want to feel old. This set off a massive trend of vampire and werewolf romance novels in all shapes and sizes. Knowing what is popular in your genre is essential to ensure it sells. If you are writing a shifter romance, but everyone is reading Christmas stories, it may sell poorly. That doesn’t mean you can’t write it. You may want to wait to hit the publish button or submit it to an agent at a different time.

Every genre has elements that define it. Romance novels have to have a happily-ever-after (HEA). If it does not have a HEA, it’s not a romance. End of story. Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy because they (SPOILERS) die at the end. It is a romantic story, but it is not a romance because of how it ends. If I didn’t know that was how it ended going in and snatched it off of a romance shelf at the store, I would be ready to go on the warpath at the end. 

Genre is making a promise to your reader about what they can expect from your story.

6 Current Trends In Popular Fiction Genres in 2023 | Writer’s Relief – Writer’s Relief (writersrelief.com)–

Knowing your genre and understanding how it works will go a long way in crafting a story your readers will love. It identifies your audience and gives you a roadmap to follow along the way. Do your research, and you will make your life that much easier.

Posted in writing advice

Writing at the Holidays: Keeping Momentum Going

Posted on by Erin McKnight

The holiday season is here again. Bakers are baking. Shoppers are shopping. And writers, well, we are having an existential crisis.

Writing during the hustle and bustle of the holiday season is hard. It’s easy to fall behind. So how do you keep things going when everything else is calling your name? There is no one answer, but here are a few things I’ve tried in the past to keep moving forward without losing what is left of my sanity.

  • Schedule Writing Time

I know I’ve discussed scheduling time before, but it is even more important during the holidays. It doesn’t matter how long it is. Maybe it’s 15 minutes right before bed or 5 minutes while you’re waiting in the school pick-up line. Even if it is only a few minutes, the work you get done adds up. It is better to do a small amount of work than lose all the momentum you worked so hard to gain.

  • Set Smaller Goals

You will not be able to get as much done as you usually do without losing your mind. It’s not going to happen. So, pull back on those lofty goals for a minute and set something a little more reasonable. Try cutting your goals in half, or even a third, until the Season of Giving stops trying to give you a migraine.

  • Give Yourself Permission to Take a Break

Okay. I know this is supposed to be about how to keep writing during the holidays but hear me out. Overly stressed people produce lower-quality work. While being Super Writer may make you feel more accomplished now, future you will pay for it. They will have to do twice as much editing. They may even burn out altogether. Let yourself say enough is enough and stop if you need to. Protecting your mental health and well-being will make you a better writer in the long run. Trust me.  

The holidays are crazy. Don’t be afraid to make some adjustments to take care of yourself and keep what is really important in front of you. . . your loved ones.

Happy Holidays everyone!

Posted in writing advice

The Power of the Skinny Draft

Posted on by Erin McKnight

 There are a thousand ways to draft a novel. They can be broken down by scene, chapter, character. The list goes on. They can be told in order or have scenes shuffled around like a deck of cards. A method I’ve learned about more recently is the skinny draft. A skinny draft is a complete draft that focuses on placing the plot elements in the correct order with minimum description. It can contain dialog and locations, but describing the setting and emotion is left at a bare minimum.

I know what you’re about to say. Erin, aren’t we supposed to use description and emotion in our stories? Of course we are. Those are the things that bring a story to life, but that doesn’t mean you have to have every possible detail in your first draft.

A skinny draft is designed to get you to a completed draft as quickly as possible. A lot of writers struggle with feeling discouraged because of the time it takes to complete their first draft. This method shortens that time and gives you a little shot of dopamine to help you stay motivated.

Another benefit of the skinny draft is the ability to learn more about your characters

and plot without having to sort through a massive word count. This can be doubly important for discovery writers or pantsers. Answering the “what happens next?” question can eliminate the need for as many drafts because the plot is solidified much faster.

While skinny drafts can keep you from writing a bunch of words that end up in the trash can, it is not a method that works for everyone.

I used the skinny draft method on my current WIP. It helped me identify issues a lot quicker, but I found that the overall process is going a lot slower for me.

I am an over-writer by nature. (Remember my friend’s wordy bitch comment?) My style tends to include a lot of fluff that must be cut later, but that is also how I learn more about my characters. It is much easier for me to take stuff out than put it in. Without those details early on, I don’t feel as connected to my characters. This makes it harder for me to keep working on it because I’m not as invested in their journey.

 Regardless of your method, ensuring you get to the end is the most important part.

 How do you do your first draft? Have you tried using a skinny draft? What method works best for you?

Posted in writer life, writing advice

Giving Up vs Getting Smart

Posted on by Erin McKnight

I think we’ve all heard the phrase “don’t be a quitter” at some point in our lives. Giving up has this negative connotation attached to it that I tend to agree with. Throwing your hands up in the air and saying “ta hell with it” because something is difficult is never the way to go. But what if you want to explore another path to the same destination?

That’s what I ran into with NaNoWriMo this year. The traditional goal is to write 50,000 words in the month of November. I decided to go non-traditional and set a goal of finishing my first round of rewrites on the manuscript I won NaNo with last year.

It was going to be a heavy lift. I had to remove a POV, add a subplot, and fix a litany of general storytelling issues. The plan was to take the detailed notes I’d compiled during the drafting process and edit as I went. I knew the story well enough to start at the top and make the needed changes as I read through it. At least, that’s what I thought.

A week and a half into NaNo, I realized I was creating more problems than I was fixing. So I had two options; press on to win NaNo and fix it all later, or stop and take everything back to outline to get it right the first time.

I’m very goal-driven. The thought of not reaching a goal is crushing to me, so the idea that I wouldn’t win NaNo was devastating. I reached out to a fellow author friend of mine for advice, and they pointed something out to me. The only reason I was hesitating was NaNo. Not getting through the first rewrite in November wouldn’t impact my publishing timeline. In fact, forcing myself to keep going could do more harm than good because of the additional rounds of self-editing I would need. I wasn’t giving up; I was getting smart.

They were right. Not reaching my goal, while unpleasant, didn’t mean I was a quitter. It meant I was learning more about my writing process and what works best. 

I learned that pantsing of any variety doesn’t work for me. Stopping a process that is not working in favor of a new one, does not mean you quit. It means you learned and adapted. As long as I keep working on my manuscript, I’m not a failure.

Changing course is not giving up. It’s allowing yourself to find the most direct route to your ultimate goal.