Introduction
I've lost track the length of time I've been writing but I can guess it has been closer to a decade. Through those years, the best piece of advice I'm constantly being reminded to remember is to write about 'what you know' or have knowledge within that particular subject.
That being said, I've tinkered with certain writing genres. I know certain people are more comfortable or they're familiar with a specific area of expertise. For example, I usually write in the genres of non-fiction, science, historical, horror, horror/mystery fiction, and action/adventure because I have more experience in these areas and I'm more comfortable with them. However, what if a writer is used to writing just science-fiction and they wanted to try a different writing genre?
In this article (if you want to label it that), I'll break down the writing genres I'm familiar with and the amount of work and preparation it usually entails to base a story around of one of these areas.
Note: This is purely my own opinions.
Non-Fiction
Non-fiction, in my personal opinion, can be easier to 'get things going' if the writer is suffering from a mental block. With non-fiction, places, people or time frames already exist, so there's no need to create a different universe, world or re-inventing the Black Hole. It's already been done for you, which is a plus.
If the writer is writing about a memory or a person they know, than non-fiction might be a little easier because they already have a 'feel' for the plot and conflict(s). However, non-fiction isn't a piece of pie, so to speak. What if you decide to write a report on say Abraham Lincoln? Of course, you'll need to research and that's usually what this genre entails – research, research, research.
Then again, I'm sure most writers already know this, but I wrote it anyway for those who are beginners and are just starting.
Historical-Fiction
Like non-fiction, you must absolutely research! There is no arguing with this matter. If you're desire is writing about history but with some fiction involved, you must know your world and every aspect of it.
I can't stress enough about researching but I'll break down this genre further. This genre is actually pretty broad and an incredible amount of preparation is involved.
To write historical fiction you must first choose three things:
1)The era or time frame you wish to write about. This will directly influence the world you're about to re-create, as well as giving you a direction on what exactly needs to be researched.
2)The people involved. You're writing historic fiction so you have to account for two different groups – fiction and non. One you've decided on a time frame, it's wise to choose exactly who is going to be in your story and the roles they will be playing that would directly influence the plot twists. I highly recommend choosing your non-fiction characters first; research them in depth, and later work on developing their charactistics. Once that's been done, then you can work on your fictional characters. The reasoning for this approach is if you research your non-fictional characters first, they'll be fresh and vibrant in your memory and you should be able to decide how the fictional characters are going to co-exist with them. In my opinion, researching non-fic and developing characters first is easier than jumping the gun and working on fic chars.
For my novel, I'm writing historical fiction. Before I even started, I knew I was going to write in the eighteenth century and more so – about the start of the American Revolution. Also, I knew who the non-fictional characters were going to be, their precise roles and how I wanted to achieve their personalities.
For the record, I've been working on this novel for five months; almost six, and I am not even a fraction to being finished. It takes a great amount of dedication and patience – so be warned before taking on this genre.
3)Speech/dialects, clothing, transportation, technology. This would be the final step. So, you feel you've researched enough and you know your era by heart. You also have a reasonable grasp on your non and fic characters and you're ready to begin writing, right? Sorry to say, but it's a 'no'.
Speech and dialects aren't exactly crucial to master, so to speak, but it does help to understand how those people talked 'back in the day,' especially if you chose an era that isn't modern by our standards today. If the writer decides to write anything that doesn't revolved around the twentieth or twenty-first century, the speech will be different. There's too choices – either attempt to write how these people in your story would have talked in that era (like I have with my novel) or write modern day speech, (like today) which would probably be easier for the reader to understand and follow anyway.
With clothing, transportation and technology, you must take an account how all three will influence your characters and the world you're re-creating. For example; would Columbus be found riding in a Mustang? Though that an obvious answer, I think my point is clear. This would be the last bit of research; knowing how the people in your story lived. Did they ride on horseback because cars weren't invented? Was the only advanced technology a shock from a key? As for clothing, I can't even begin how much styles have changed. I'll leave it to you to decide.
Science-Fiction
Unfortunately, yes, sci-fi requires research too but it might not be as meticulous as non or historical fiction. Still, you'll have to have a basic concept of the world you’re creating.
Sci-fi can be either two things – relatively simple or advanced in terms of writing. It really depends on the subject of the story. For instance, say a writer wanted to write a story about aliens or ghosts. Well, since there's no concrete documentation that I'm aware of, you're free to re-invent your own perspective on these creatures.
However, when you start describing atmospheres, gravity, organisms; basically science, biology, health/diseases/epidemics in general, than you must research.
There is nothing worse than reading a science-fiction book and the author is trying to manipulate Nature's Laws. For example, no person can travel the entire globe in three days in a hot-air balloon, nonstop. Make sure you've researched and a general understanding of basic science at least would be very beneficial, especially if the writer decides to tackle a more advanced plot.
Horror
Most people I've been in contact with automatically assume writing horror is as simple as breathing. I will argue with that statement until I'm blue in the face.
One of the most untrue stereotypes I always hear is that horror is all about gore and death.
Uh, no. Just no. I've read horror books that have scared the bajeezus out of me, yet not a single person died.
Horror, in my opinion, is about creating a melancholy, eerie and mysterious environment. The type of environment where the first response might be, "I don't like it here," and you feel nervous and frightened, yet nothing has happened physically.
The correct environment sets the mood and in some respects can actually be your 'monster' or antagonist. Think of it this way, remember when you were a kid and you were scared of the dark? The darkness was eerie and unpleasant and more so because you couldn't see anything well. Any ghoul or goblin would easily slink from around a corner of the room and swallow you whole if you fell asleep. Acute (or the unknown) environments have been known to drive people into utter chaos and do unimaginable things, just because they're that scared.
Of course, gore can give the story that extra kick, but be warned. If you decided to add gory details, they should probably be used sparingly. You're objective when writing horror is to scare, not cause your reader to hurl.
Also, with an abundance of people in this world, it sometimes is interesting reading about a character with a deformity or something that is just 'yuck.' For example, can you imagine watching a man or women missing the tops of their lips or an ear? How about this – no face! That's right; the person was born without eyes, a nose, ears and maybe the top lip, whereas the bottom lip is fine. In fact, this isn't as farfetched as it sounds. These birth defects are unfortunate but because they do exist, readers should be able to connect.
The best advice I can offer is when writing horror, try and not go overboard; a lesson that has taken me a few years to learn myself. (And I'm still adjusting).
Horror/Mystery
Very similar to writing horror except it's more of a 'who done it' type of deal. With this genre, because you have a mix of the two, I suggest either getting comfortable with writing horror or mystery stories. Directly jumping to this genre without experience in either category might be difficult to create a suspenseful and realistic story, with awe and appeal.
So, I don't repeat myself, I'm not going to mention horror again but writing mystery. Writing mystery stories is another obstacle that's taken me a while to prefect. Some stories I've read, the writer has an amazing gift of developing a mysterious character with ease; almost flawlessly. And so, you have this enigma of a character creeping around in your memory. Mysterious characters, in my opinion, is key to writing a horror/mystery novel because readers do not know this person's motives; even the writer might not fully know either, so it's hard to predict what this character will do until the story progresses.
This mysterious character might have a preference of stalking citizens during the day because he or she has a phobia of darkness. Or this character is a serial killer but he or she has a special code – they make absolute sure to not attack people unless they're single or recently divorced because the killer feels remorse breaking up an already existing family.
See? In those two examples, I mentioned horror and gore would be involved but I've maintained a mysterious character. He or she has specific motives such as a phobia or a solemn code they follow before they finalize anything.
Action/Adventure
You know, I feel this is probably one of the simpler genres to write in, not to say though it doesn't have its challenges at times too.
In this genre, a writer probably should have a basic understanding of creating suspense but it's not mandatory. However, I strongly suggest to 'know your world,' like all stories but I feel sometimes writers forget that piece of advice in this genre. They're so fixiated on creating this energetic story that the writer neglects to inform us of much needed details and descriptions. Since action/adventure usually has short, jerky sentences, with more verbs than I care to count, the appeal or interest is already there to the reader.
For example – the classic showdown with two swordsmen fighting to the death. Of course, there is going to be energy, probably wounds, yelling, and bodies being jerked due to brute force in melee combat. But if the writer doesn't know their world they've created well enough, the reader will more than likely be confused.
Remember to include mandatory details such as a time frame and a small paragraph or so about the city or countryside, so readers will have a mental picture of the setting. If anything else when writing action, be concise and accurate with whatever direction your story is heading.
Conclusion
Whether anyone takes my personal experience to heart or not, it's OK by me. I, like all writers, have made numerous mistakes. I've slowly worked hard and over the years have perfected my craft and in doing so, I've learned what path I should follow when writing in a specific writing genre.
I apologize for the long article, lol. However, what I've written is purely my opinions, and like I mentioned, my own personal experience. I hope it may be of use to someone, especially to someone that is just starting our addictive hobby.
Other than that, by all means, feel free to add on to this article. The more opinions the merrier.
Ciou!
-fishr
I did notice, however, that you seemed quite fond of our darling winking smiley. I would cut down on it at least a little, because it seemed like several of the times that you used it that it wasn't necessary and only detracted from your statement.
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