Can you believe it's September already and time for another Blog Hop? This month we are going to discuss the wisdom or experience of trying to write in a whole new genre.
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Some writers swear that you should find your niche and stick with it. If you’re traditionally published and have an editor they will likely echo this advice since they prefer a known seller to an unknown possibility. And for many authors, this is likely wise advice because each genre has its quirks and the readers their expectations and it’s not like once you’ve learned to ride one bike, you can ride any bike. Think of it more like, you learned how to ride your training bike first but the day your dad took the training wheels off, things were a little trickier. Or, once you’ve completely mastered the two-wheeler, try a unicycle. It really is a whole new skill set.
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But then there are writers like me who have an itch to try different stuff, be it writing or just life in general. I started my family young and grew into motherhood as my kids grew up. But when the last one graduated from college, my first thought was “What Next?” Well, my first what-next turned out to be jumping out of perfectly good airplanes. Which was definitely a whole new skill set. But I loved the challenge and the experience of flying through the air first like superman, then the extraordinary ride under canopy so far above the earth the only sound was the soft flutter of the parachute and I could see for miles and miles. I got my license at a jump zone on the border of New Hampshire and Maine, yet I could see Mount Washington to the north and the Atlantic to the east. Absolutely amazing.
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But parachuting, I quickly learned, was a sport for daredevils. While I loved the canopy ride the best, all the far younger jumpers preferred the 125 mph plunge through space while doing tricks, and then, with high performance chutes, doing more stunts under the canopy. So, I was still looking for what next. I ended up joining the Peace Corps 
and was stationed in the South Pacific where I not only taught English as a Second language (I was not a teacher before that), but got to live in a very different culture, learn new craft skills, swim in beautiful turquoise seas over coral reefs with colorful fish, crawl through lava tubes and climb volcanic mountains, crew on yacht’s that visited our humble island and so much more. And the kids – they were the best part of that whole experience.
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But before I left, I had friends my own age (in the 50s) who were sure I’d lost my mind. Give up my beautiful big home and live in God only knew what kind of conditions? Travel to a place where I didn’t know the language? Do a job I’d never done before? Thankfully, I didn’t take their advice because, if I had, I’d have missed the most fantastic experiences of my life.
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So, here I am, a published author with a nice editor and a comfortable publisher and a relatively successful romance series. Why would I want to try something new? For the same reason I jumped out of airplanes and signed up for the Peace Corps. I was eager for a new challenge. A fellow member of a romance writer’s group I was part of at the time mentioned having participated in the Citizen’s Law Enforcement Academy. At the time, I didn’t see the point, but then, as my itch for a new challenge grew, I decided to try writing a mystery. Specifically, a mystery set here in this lovely city steeped in history that I now called home. So, I 
signed up for the academy.
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Which is where the first challenge came in. Romance, with the exception of my one time-travel, didn’t require much in the way of research. But now I was learning how the sheriff’s office does business and what a deputy’s life and work are like. An eye-opener I’d recommend to everyone even if you don’t plan on writing a mystery since it’s an awesome way to gain a healthy respect for law enforcement in general and the demands and sacrifices of the men and women who serve.
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The second challenge was HOW to write my story. In my romances, I was what they call a Pantser – meaning I wrote by the seat of my pants. I created my characters, the main ones with multi-page dossiers, so I knew who the players were. I knew what the basic conflict was, but I had zero outline or plotting before I sat down to write. I threw my hero and heroine into their respective trial by fire situations and let them take me with them on the journey to resolution and their happy-ever-after. But the mystery genre doesn’t lend itself to this approach.
XX
For one thing, you have to know: Who did it? Why? With What? How? And Where? All ahead of time. And you also need a few red herrings to toss into the mix to keep the readers guessing until the end. But where do those red herrings appear? And when and how do you reveal the rest of the mystery? Suddenly I had to learn how to plot a book. I attended several workshops on the topic and I’ve got a few great books on my shelf, but it was still a HUGE challenge. Plotting my whole story out before I start. Really???
XX
Fortunately, I do enjoy research, though, because that part of the new genre I enjoyed. I loved the whole academy experience as well as two ride-alongs, one with a very nice guy and one with a female deputy who happened to be a K-9 officer. So, I got to ride along with a K-9 while I was at it. And then there was a very long lunch with the only female detective on the major crimes squad and all my interactions with her whenever I needed a question answered later.
XX
So, that’s one of the challenges of trying a new genre – the research. Another bit of wisdom tossed to new writers is “Write what you know.” So, if you happen to be a retired military pilot than writing a series featuring military pilots is probably a great place to start. If you are or have been in law enforcement, then writing 
mystery or police procedurals would be an easy start. Likewise, if you teach or have raised kids, stories about kids has a lot of built in knowledge. But eventually, no matter what genre you write in, you have to start branching out. For instance, in romance the basic story of boy meets girl and they can’t get together for some reason, how they overcome that reason etc is pretty much going to stay the same. How a detective goes about solving a crime and how the current laws might or might not be helpful along the way is knowledge you have without going after it. But not every character can have the same career. Not every murder has the same riddle. Not every conflict is going to have the same solution. So, perhaps research is here to stay even if you stick to the same genre. But do consider the scope of research you will be required to do if you choose a new genre.
XX
The next challenge is. READ READ READ – in whatever genre you are considering trying, read books by best-selling authors in those genres, because one of the most important things you need to know is: What is the reader expectation? What kind of resolution will your new audience expect? I’ve heard the old saw on murder mysteries is that you can kill anyone, just don’t kill the dog. Which is probably pretty true. The poor dog didn’t do anything to deserve it so the reader isn’t going to be happy if the dog dies. If you are writing thrillers there 
will be an expectation for a nail-biting action throughout the story that isn’t resolved until the very end. In a romance there is ALWAYS a happy ever after. Spies need to be clever and deceit always a part of the plot, yet always a surprise. Paranormal has its own set of expectations in a variety of sub-genres from vampires to time travel. Even if you decide on non-fiction, depending on the area you choose, there are expectations that need to be met. And it’s imperative as the author of this new story to know what your readers expect so you won’t disappoint them.
XX
And that’s my advice on trying a new genre. It’s not for everyone, but it is an adventure. And yet, it should not be an adventure into the unknown. If you decide to try it, do your homework, then go get ‘em and have fun along the way. And check out what my fellow-blog-hoppers have to offer on the topic.
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Bob Rich
Anne Stenhouse
Connie Vines
Victoria Chatham
Can you believe it's September already and time for another Blog Hop? This month we are going to discuss the wisdom or experience of trying to write in a whole new genre.
Some writers swear that you should find your niche and stick with it. If you’re traditionally published and have an editor they will likely echo this advice since they prefer a known seller to an unknown possibility. And for many authors, this is likely wise advice because each genre has its quirks and the readers their expectations and it’s not like once you’ve learned to ride one bike, you can ride any bike. Think of it more like, you learned how to ride your training bike first but the day your dad took the training wheels off, things were a little trickier. Or, once you’ve completely mastered the two-wheeler, try a unicycle. It really is a whole new skill set. 
But then there are writers like me who have an itch to try different stuff, be it writing or just life in general. I started my family young and grew into motherhood as my kids grew up. But when the last one graduated from college, my first thought was “What Next?” Well, my first what-next turned out to be jumping out of perfectly good airplanes. Which was definitely a whole new skill set. But I loved the challenge and the experience of flying through the air first like superman, then the extraordinary ride under canopy so far above the earth the only sound was the soft flutter of the parachute and I could see for miles and miles. I got my license at a jump zone on the border of New Hampshire and Maine, yet I could see Mount Washington to the north and the Atlantic to the east. Absolutely amazing.
But parachuting, I quickly learned, was a sport for daredevils. While I loved the canopy ride the best, all the far younger jumpers preferred the 125 mph plunge through space while doing tricks, and then, with high performance chutes, doing more stunts under the canopy. So, I was still looking for what next. I ended up joining the Peace Corps 
and was stationed in the South Pacific where I not only taught English as a Second language (I was not a teacher before that), but got to live in a very different culture, learn new craft skills, swim in beautiful turquoise seas over coral reefs with colorful fish, crawl through lava tubes and climb volcanic mountains, crew on yacht’s that visited our humble island and so much more. And the kids – they were the best part of that whole experience.
But before I left, I had friends my own age (in the 50s) who were sure I’d lost my mind. Give up my beautiful big home and live in God only knew what kind of conditions? Travel to a place where I didn’t know the language? Do a job I’d never done before? Thankfully, I didn’t take their advice because, if I had, I’d have missed the most fantastic experiences of my life.
signed up for the academy. 
The second challenge was HOW to write my story. In my romances, I was what they call a Pantser – meaning I wrote by the seat of my pants. I created my characters, the main ones with multi-page dossiers, so I knew who the players were. I knew what the basic conflict was, but I had zero outline or plotting before I sat down to write. I threw my hero and heroine into their respective trial by fire situations and let them take me with them on the journey to resolution and their happy-ever-after. But the mystery genre doesn’t lend itself to this approach.
For one thing, you have to know: Who did it? Why? With What? How? And Where? All ahead of time. And you also need a few red herrings to toss into the mix to keep the readers guessing until the end. But where do those red herrings appear? And when and how do you reveal the rest of the mystery? Suddenly I had to learn how to plot a book. I attended several workshops on the topic and I’ve got a few great books on my shelf, but it was still a HUGE challenge. Plotting my whole story out before I start. Really???
Fortunately, I do enjoy research, though, because that part of the new genre I enjoyed. I loved the whole academy experience as well as two ride-alongs, one with a very nice guy and one with a female deputy who happened to be a K-9 officer. So, I got to ride along with a K-9 while I was at it. And then there was a very long lunch with the only female detective on the major crimes squad and all my interactions with her whenever I needed a question answered later. 
mystery or police procedurals would be an easy start. Likewise, if you teach or have raised kids, stories about kids has a lot of built in knowledge. But eventually, no matter what genre you write in, you have to start branching out. For instance, in romance the basic story of boy meets girl and they can’t get together for some reason, how they overcome that reason etc is pretty much going to stay the same. How a detective goes about solving a crime and how the current laws might or might not be helpful along the way is knowledge you have without going after it. But not every character can have the same career. Not every murder has the same riddle. Not every conflict is going to have the same solution. So, perhaps research is here to stay even if you stick to the same genre. But do consider the scope of research you will be required to do if you choose a new genre. 
The next challenge is. READ READ READ – in whatever genre you are considering trying, read books by best-selling authors in those genres, because one of the most important things you need to know is: What is the reader expectation? What kind of resolution will your new audience expect? I’ve heard the old saw on murder mysteries is that you can kill anyone, just don’t kill the dog. Which is probably pretty true. The poor dog didn’t do anything to deserve it so the reader isn’t going to be happy if the dog dies. If you are writing thrillers there 
will be an expectation for a nail-biting action throughout the story that isn’t resolved until the very end. In a romance there is ALWAYS a happy ever after. Spies need to be clever and deceit always a part of the plot, yet always a surprise. Paranormal has its own set of expectations in a variety of sub-genres from vampires to time travel. Even if you decide on non-fiction, depending on the area you choose, there are expectations that need to be met. And it’s imperative as the author of this new story to know what your readers expect so you won’t disappoint them.
And that’s my advice on trying a new genre. It’s not for everyone, but it is an adventure. And yet, it should not be an adventure into the unknown. If you decide to try it, do your homework, then go get ‘em and have fun along the way. And check out what my fellow-blog-hoppers have to offer on the topic. 
Bob Rich
