Thinking of writing your own tale of love, redemption, and heroics? Writing genre fiction is an art, and The Quick and Easy Guide to Writing Genre Fiction provides the building blocks for being successful in this art. Learn all of the necessary techniques to get yourself started with writing in your chosen genre. Whether you’re writing a mystery, a romance, a thriller, science-fiction, horror, fantasy, or any other genre, you’ll have the foundation for writing great stories right here at your fingertips in this guide.
Included in this guide is a step-by-step instruction of what it takes to put together your creation in any genre. Also included in this guide is the complete creation process of an original short story by author Matthew L. Marlott, so you, too, can have an easy example of how to create your own stories, whether those stories are short stories, novels, or novellas. You’ll be able to create your own worlds and your own universes, so learn the basics of writing genre fiction for the purpose of selling, for publication on a site, for fanfiction, or just for your own personal satisfaction.
Remember, if you want real life, you can just walk out the front door. Why not write down your own story on paper or screen instead? Get started with your journey into genre fiction by learning from this invaluable guide. Don’t wait until you’re on your deathbed. Get started today.
Matthew L. Marlott
Okay, so I published this guide back in 2022, and boy do I wish I’d gone over it a little more. The first edition was a disaster. It was full of errors and inconsistencies, but thanks to modern technology and sheer determination, this new and improved second edition is raring and ready to go!
Best part about the 2nd ed.? It’s free!…For now…
TQ&EGtWGF: Chapter 1…Humility and Practice
Writing commercial fiction is first and foremost an art, and you have to have talent for any art, so you may actually have no talent for it or you’re only mediocre at it, but you won’t know until you try. If you truly think you can do it, then go for it. In spite of commercial genre fiction being an art, I believe that every single person on Earth has at least one great story in them.
Chapter 1 TOC:
1: Humility and Practice
1a: Don’t be pretentious!
1b: If you are unsure of something, look it up.
1c: Some examples:
1d: Practice, practice, practice!
1e: Begin with flash fiction, and then transition to short stories.
1f: Don’t talk the talk. Walk the Walk.
1g: One last thing: Go for it.
TQ&EGtWGF: Chapter 2…The Three Points of Writing Fiction
I will briefly go over the three points of writing fiction: storytelling, writing (prose), and technical. For a genre-fiction writer, these are listed in order of importance…
Chapter 2 TOC:
2: The Three Points of Writing Commercial Genre Fiction
2a: Storytelling:
2a1: Target Demographic
2a2: Genre
2a3: Plot
2a4: Theme
2a5: Setting
2a6: Point of View
2a7: Characters
2a8: Exposition
2a9: Character Development
2a10: Situation
2a11: Description
2a12: Dialogue
2b: Writing (Prose):
2b1: Writing Style
2b2: Linguistic Repertoire
2b3: Your Writer’s Voice
2b4: Inspiration
2c: Technical:
2c1: Grammar
2c2: Punctuation
2c3: Editing
2c4: Proofreading
TQ&EGtWGF: Chapter 3…Your Target Demographic
Chapter Three covers your target demographic, or the people you wish to connect with through your writing. Your intended audience will affect everything you do in your story. Here, we will go over age groups, gender and sexuality, culture, and ethnicity. Note that historical settings don’t really fit in with a target demographic, but I will list that category here because the same need for research applies…
Chapter 3 TOC:
3: Your Target Demographic and the Storytelling Section
3a: Age Groups:
3a1: Children’s Fiction
3a2: Preteen Fiction
3a3: Young Adult Fiction
3a4: Adult Fiction
3b: Gender and Sexuality:
3b1: Men’s Fiction
3b2: Women’s Fiction
3b3: Gay Fiction
3b4: Lesbian Fiction
3c: Culture:
3c1: Cultural Works
3c2: Period Pieces
3d: Ethnicity:
TQ&EGtWGF: Chapter 4…Genre
Genre is the bread and butter of what you’ll be writing. Your genre, or mix of genres, will influence the setting, time period, tone, plot, and overall expectations of your story. Your characters’ motivations, however, are only loosely based on genre. Think of genre as a background template for your whole story…
Chapter 4 TOC:
4: Genre
4a: Types of Popular Genres:
4a1: Mystery
4a2: Thriller
4a3: Crime
4a4: Romance
4a5: Horror
4a6: Science Fiction
4a7: Fantasy
4a8: Historical
4a9: Comedy
4a10: Military
4a11: Western
4a12: Religious
4a13: Erotic
4a14: Superhero
4b: Subgenres:
4c: Mixed Genres:
4d: Writing All Genres:
4d1: You must know the basics of how to tell a story.
4d2: One genre isn’t the same as another.
4d3: Do your research.
TQ&EGtWGF: Chapter 5…Plot
The plot of your story is often the most important part of the story, but this is not always true. Comedy, for example, relies on laughs and not necessarily on plot. If you’ve ever seen a B-horror movie, then you know that plot is not always the main point. However, a good plot never hurts, and good plots always bring your readers back for more….
Chapter 5 TOC:
5: Plot
5a: The Beginning:
5a1: Exposition
5a2: Conflict
5a3: Multiple Conflicts
5b: The Middle:
5b1: Rising Action
5b2: The Climax
5c: The End:
5c1: Falling Action
5c2: The Resolution
5d: The Five Act Structure:
5d1: The Introduction
5d2: Rising Movement
5d3: Climax
5d4: Falling Action
5d5: The Catastrophe/Celebration
5e: Nontraditional Plots:
5f: Genre and Plot:
5g: In Closing:
TQ&EGtWGF: Chapter 6…Theme
Hoo, boy. Theme is a little…complicated. The theme of your story is the meaning behind it. In layman’s terms, it’s the idea underneath your masterful work of art…
Chapter 6 TOC:
6: Theme
6a: Simple Themes:
6a1: Conflict of Forces
6a2: The Redemption Arc
6a3: Love and Friendship
6a4: Revenge and/or Justice
6a5: Tenacity, Perseverance, and Courage
6a6: Growing Up or Coming of Age
6a7: Dread
6a8: Lighthearted
6a9: A Moral or Message
6b: Mixed Themes:
6c: Complex Themes:
6d: In Closing:
TQ&EGtWGF: Chapter 7…Setting
The setting of your story is the location and time period in which your story takes place. Setting is only as important as you make it. You can leave it simply in the background, or you can make it fundamental to the story…
Chapter 7 TOC:
7: Setting
7a: Background Settings:
7b: Fundamental Settings:
7c: Changing Settings:
7c1: Familiar Settings
7c2: Opening Setting
7c3: Climactic Setting
7c4: Resolution Setting
7d: In Closing:
TQ&EGtWGF: Chapter 8…Point of View
Point of view is how your readers mentally “see” your story through their mind’s eye. It is the perspective through which the reader experiences your characters, their actions, and the world around them. In this chapter, we will discuss first-person, third-person, and second-person points of view…
Chapter 8 TOC:
8: Point of View
8a: First Person Point of View:
8b: Third Person Point of View:
8b1: Singular/Limited Third Person
8b2: Omniscient Third Person
8c: Second Person Point of View:
8d: In Closing:
TQ&EGtWGF: Chapter 9…Characters
Well, your story would be pretty boring without characters. All you would have is a description of a place. If you were really talented, you might be able to make a story out of that, but in the beginning, my advice is to stick with creating characters…
Chapter 9 TOC:
9: Characters
9a: Main Characters:
9b: Protagonist:
9b1: Hero or Heroine
9b2: Villain or Villainess
9b3: The Antihero or Antiheroine
9b4: The Tragic Hero/Heroine
9b5: The False Protagonist
9b6: The Supporting Protagonist
9c: Antagonist:
9c1: The Primary Antagonist
9c2: The Recurring Antagonist
9c3: The Temporary Antagonist
9d: Supporting Characters:
9e: Side Characters:
9f: Background Characters:
9g: Narrators:
9h: The Mary Sue/Gary Stu
9i: In Closing:
TQ&EGtWGF: Chapter 10…Exposition
Exposition is the information your reader needs in order to understand your story. This information may include your characters’ backgrounds, the rules of your world, the history of your setting, the relationships between characters, or the events that led to the conflict…
Chapter 10 TOC:
10: Exposition
10a: Exposition through Narration:
10b: Exposition through Dialogue and Internal Monologue:
10b1: Dialogue
10b2: Internal Monologue
10c: Exposition through Point of View Narration:
10c1: Exposition through First Person Point of View Narration
10c2: Exposition through Third Person Limited Point of View Narration
10c3: Exposition through Third Person Omniscient Point of View Narration
10d: In Closing:
TQ&EGtWGF: Chapter 11…Character Development
In this chapter, we will explore static characters, dynamic characters, and character motivations. Under character motivations, we’ll go over developing backstory and creating present goals, both of which are important when rounding out character development…
Chapter 11 TOC:
11: Character Development
11a: Static Characters:
11b: Dynamic Characters:
11c: Character Motivations:
11d: Developing Backstory:
11d1: Upbringing
11d2: Trauma
11d3: Training/Practice/Talent
11d4: Likes/Dislikes
11e: Creating Present Goals:
11f: In Closing:
TQ&EGtWGF: Chapter 12…Situation, Mood, and Atmosphere
So what is situation? For genre fiction, situation is the puzzle, challenge, problem, danger, conflict, or entertaining scene your characters have been thrown into. Situations connect to make up the narrative of your story, whether that narrative ponders the secrets of the universe, is simply an episode in the life of your original character, or is both.
Last but not least, we’ll briefly go over mood and atmosphere…
Chapter 12 TOC:
12: Situation, Mood, and Atmosphere
12a: Constructing a Situation
12a1: Mystery
12a2: Thriller
12a3: Crime
12a4: Romance
12a5: Horror
12a6: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Westerns, and Historical
12a7: Comedy
12a8: Action and Adventure
12a9: War
12a10: Drama
12a11: Sports
12a12: Religious
12a13: Erotic
12a14: Superhero
12b: Mood:
12b1: Mood and Setting
12b2: Tone around Dialogue and Action
12b3: Descriptive Word Choice
12c: Atmosphere:
12d: In Closing:
TQ&EGtWGF: Chapter 13…Description
Description is most important when writing novels and novellas. It takes a lesser role in short stories and novelettes, though you may want to describe certain plot points or characters in detail within shorter works in order for your readers to get a better grasp of the story…
Chapter 13 TOC:
13: Description
13a: Description in Novels and Novellas:
13a1: Characters
13a2: Places
13b: Description in Short Stories and Novelettes:
13b1: Characters
13b2: Places
13c: Describing Things:
13d: Describing Action:
13d1: General Description of Action
13d2: Detailed Description of Action
13e: In Closing:
TQ&GtWGF: Chapter 14…Dialogue
A story does not have to contain dialogue, nor does any character need to speak, but if you intend to have characters interact through speech, then you will need good dialogue…
Chapter 14 TOC:
14: Dialogue
14a: Creating Natural Dialogue:
14a1: Natural Dialogue
14a2: Literary Dialogue
14a3: Creating Differences in Character Dialogue
14b: Creating Internal Monologues:
14b1: Short Thoughts
14b2: Internal Monologues
14b3: Implied Thoughts
14c: Static versus Descriptive Dialogue:
14c1: Static Dialogue
14c2: Descriptive Dialogue
14c3: A Warning About Expressive Dialogue Tags
14c4: Facial Expressions and Descriptions of Motion
14d: Using Ellipses:
14d1: Using Ellipses to Emulate Natural Speech
14d2: Using Ellipses to Indicate a Longer Pause in a Sentence
14d3: Using Ellipses to Indicate Stammering
14e: Using Em Dashes:
14e1: What to do with Interruptions in Speech
14e2: Interruptions to Indicate a Break in the Main Idea of a Sentence
14f: Using Hyphens to Indicate Stammering
14g: Using Italics for Emphasis:
14g1: Emphasis with Italics
14g2: Extending Words for Drawled Speech
14h: Shouting:
14i: Improper Grammar:
14j: In Closing:
TQ&EGtWGF: Chapter 15…Writing Style
As previously mentioned in Chapter 2, your writing style is how eloquent you are with the written word. When writing in general, you should stick with what’s comfortable and add complexity over time. Don’t try to sound super-duper smart at first, or you’ll come off like a poser. In other words, rein in any urges to look like a literary genius, or your readers will see you as fake. You will learn complexity over time if that’s what you’re shooting for…
Chapter 15 TOC:
15a: Simplistic Writing Styles:
15b: Complex Writing Styles:
15c: Mid-Complexity Writing Styles:
15d: Mixing Writing Styles:
15e: In Closing:
TQ&EGtWGF: Chapter 16…Linguistic Repertoire
Your linguistic repertoire is the sheer number of words you know in the language you speak. Because I speak and write in American English, my brain’s database of words centers around that language…
Chapter 16 TOC:
16: Linguistic Repertoire
16a: Building your Linguistic Repertoire:
16a1: Online
16a2: Old School2
16a3: Reading
16a4: Movies and other Media
16a5: Playing Games
16b: Practice:
16c: Rein in your Thesaurus:
16d: Universal Pronoun Use:
16e: In Closing:
TQ&EGtWGF: Chapter 17…Your Writer’s Voice and Inspiration
In this chapter, we’ll cover your writer’s voice and what inspires you. Both are important, though I would argue that the latter is more important than the former…
Chapter 17 TOC:
17: Your Writer’s Voice and Inspiration
17a: Your Writer’s Voice:
17a1: Changing your Voice
17a2: You Can Do It
17a3: Don’t Let Others Impede your Progress
17b: Inspiration:
17b1: Your Favorite Author
17b2: Your Most-hated Author
17b3: Your Favorite Story
17b4: Movies and TV
17b5: Theater
17b6: Genre
17b7: Videogames
17b8: Music
17b9: Art
17b10: Location
17b11: Your Daily Activities
17b12: Even your Pets can Inspire You
17c: In Closing:
The Quick and Easy Guide to Writing Genre Fiction Copyright 1st ed. © 2022 Matthew L. Marlott
The Quick and Easy Guide to Writing Genre Fiction Copyright 2nd ed. © 2026 bloodytwine.com Matthew L. Marlott