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.
There’s a lot that can be said about genre, but this book isn’t meant to be an exhaustive study of every genre and subgenre out there. You probably already have your genre in mind, so we’ll just cover the basics: types of popular genres, subgenres, mixed genres, and writing in multiple genres.
You may notice that I will not list nonfiction genres. This instruction manual is not a book on how to write nonfiction. If you want to write historical nonfiction, political commentary, instruction manuals, or memoirs, then this is not the book for you. This book concentrates solely on writing fiction.
4a: Types of Popular Genres:
So exactly what is a genre? A broad definition would include fiction, nonfiction, poetry, plays, and so on. For the purposes of this book, however, our definition will be simpler: genre is the classification or type of fiction based on setting, focus, tone, subject matter, and reader expectation, such as mystery, horror, or romance.
4a1: Mystery:
The mystery genre is one of the most popular genres out there. People enjoy trying to solve a good mystery. This genre is well loved across the board, and it typically involves putting together a puzzle of sorts to solve the mystery at hand.
The focus here is on clues, and mysteries are best written by knowing the end first. In other words, you should know the solution before you start handing out the pieces. Write scenes and situations that give clues leading to the resolution or ending. You need to have the whole picture first, and then you can cut that picture into pieces to form a puzzle. You’ll dole out those pieces at regular intervals.
Sharp readers will figure out the puzzle before the end, but they’ll read on just to see if they’re right. The reason the mystery genre works so well is because of the mental hook, or the psychological need to keep reading to discover the answer.
You need suspects, clues, and the knowledge of exactly how the mystery was committed in order to write a mystery. Because mystery and crime are closely related, the location in which the story takes place is important, too. Details of the location are a must, and these details are often clues in and of themselves.
4a2: Thriller:
The thriller genre typically crosses over with other genres, such as mystery and horror. A good thriller creates an intense level of suspense and excitement for the reader, with scenes and situations that set your teeth on edge.
Writing thrillers is a matter of crafting situations that create suspense. Will Eric notice the killer’s trap before he steps into the library? Who knows! You have to keep reading to find out. This type of mental hook creates the dread of not knowing what’s coming next.
Traditional guides to writing thrillers will tell you to make your main character compelling, but this is misleading advice. Unless you have some clever twist in mind, your main characters should always be compelling, regardless of genre.
Your thriller should have obstacles that create suspense, not just for the protagonist, but for the reader. This could involve plot twists or a major villain, but suspense is more important than simply having a villain. Remember, it’s suspense and excitement that make up a thriller. An opening scene full of action is also a good choice.
4a3: Crime:
Crime speaks for itself. People enjoy a good crime novel and the action, drama, and suspense that comes with it. Crime novels work well with thrillers and mysteries.
Writing in the crime genre revolves around the crime committed, who committed it, who is after the criminal, and what the central conflict is. A crime story should not treat the crime as a random gimmick thrown into the plot. The crime should drive the story in some way, whether through investigation, pursuit, guilt, revenge, justice, corruption, or consequence. Just remember to focus on the crime and the perpetrator of the crime.
Humanize your protagonist and your antagonist. Make them interesting. They can be brilliant but flawed, for instance. They can be mediocre but persistent. The point is, they need to be interesting.
The setting of your story is also important. Be sure to add in descriptive detail. This sets up how the crime takes place and the investigation behind it.
Traditional guides on writing crime will tell you to honor the victims, but this isn’t always necessary. However, you should put detail into who was victimized. Victims should feel like part of the story, not just props used to get the plot moving. Just make sure it doesn’t sound hokey.
4a4: Romance:
Romance is a popular genre that largely outsells other genres, and its main demographic is women. Romance focuses on the emotional themes and situations involved with falling in love. It can mix well with any other genre and usually does.
Writing romance can be difficult if you don’t understand the popular formula behind it: two people meet, attraction develops, conflict separates them or threatens the relationship, and love either wins out or ends tragically, depending on the type of romance you’re writing. The exact pair involved can vary, but the emotional structure is usually the same.
With that being said, write a romance however you wish to. Do it your way. You don’t have to follow the formula. I wrote two young-adult, science-fiction, teen romances that do not follow this formula at all, so I’m speaking from experience. However, if you like the formula, write the formula. The rule here is: do it your way.
The main thing about romance? It has to have actual romance in it. Concentrate on dialogue and situation to set up your romantic pair. There has to be some conflict in the story too, even if the pair in question get along.
4a5: Horror:
Horror sells well, and it has a wide readership. Horror focuses on causing fear. That is the bargain-basement, hands-down, brass-tacks definition for it. You want to terrify and/or unsettle your reader with this genre. Horror works very well with other genres, especially thrillers and romance.
Horror has always had an audience, though I don’t know exactly why it keeps growing. I started writing horror when I was still in middle school, and that was back in the mid/late 80s. It’s actually the easiest genre for me to write, though I don’t limit myself to it.
Writing horror is about setting up a situation or antagonist that creates fear, dread, unease, and/or mental distress for the reader. The scenes and situations for horror are often associated with adult literature, but popular children’s authors such as R.L. Stine, John Bellairs, and Alvin Schwartz proved that it can cross over to other age groups just as well.
When writing horror, you want to create disturbing, terrifying, eerie, and/or grisly scenes for the reader, something that will keep them up at night. Be vivid with your description. However, don’t forget to have a good plot. You don’t want to look like a hack.
4a6: Science Fiction:
The science fiction genre has a steady fan base. Science fiction is often associated with male readers, though certain subsets of science fiction, such as steampunk, have broader appeal. Historical fiction concentrating on alternate timelines is often considered alternate history, which is usually placed under the science fiction umbrella.
Traditional science fiction is often science-based or technology-based, sometimes with a warning about the dangers of technology. More modern science fiction has branched out from the “science” part, with “future tech” simply being a background for a different theme, such as action or adventure. We often call these types of action/adventure stories “space operas,” although not all science fiction diverging from tradition is a space opera. Some stories simply have a science fiction backdrop while concentrating on something else, such as interesting situations or relationships.
You don’t have to be a physicist or a cosmologist to write science fiction. If you’re unsure of a term, look it up, but that’s only if you want to put in any kind of scientific specifics. Otherwise, be creative with your universe. Write detail into, at least, the outward appearance of your future tech and what it does. You don’t have to explain how it works. Also, be creative with your alien races, other planets, future societies, and whatnot. You get the picture. Science fiction requires creative description, if nothing else.
4a7: Fantasy:
What was once a niche genre has now become a popular one. While science fiction explores the possible, fantasy delves into the impossible.
Fantasy can contain magic, impossible beasts, supernatural forces, and worlds unlike our own. This genre is often set within a medieval-type time period, but it does not have to be. Your characters may very well defy all the known laws of the universe in your fantasy story, but this is okay. This is what fantasy is for.
Traditional fantasy often included a lot of lore about the fantasy world itself, but much of modern fantasy already uses established lore for that. Elves, orcs, goblins, wizards, dragons, and halflings are all mainstream now, as are the terms. When writing fantasy, you can use established lore, or you can take up the task of making up your own. The choice is up to you. The lure of the fantasy genre isn’t just the story, but the world itself and the lore within it, so keep that in mind.
Fantasy works well with other genres, so feel free to mix in other genres when writing fantasy. However, just like fans of science fiction, fans of fantasy like fantasy for its own sake, so that combination of lore and description is a must.
4a8: Historical:
We’ve mentioned historical fiction before when discussing period pieces, and that is essentially what historical fiction is. Historical fiction is nearly always in combination with some other genre. It just happens to be set in a different time period, and it may very well be set in a different country.
As I’ve noted before, know your facts when writing historical fiction, not just the broad points of history, but the little details as well. Look them up. What kind of candles did people use? Look it up. What did Renaissance clothing look like? Look it up. How did people start early model cars? Look it up. Just do the research, please.
Otherwise, unless your main character is in the middle of an important event such as the signing of the Declaration of Independence, historical fiction will likely overlap with another genre, such as thriller, mystery, crime, action, or romance.
4a9: Comedy:
Comedy is self-explanatory and is usually mixed with other genres. The main factors in comedy are to be funny and to make people laugh. Setting up scenes and situations where people do stupid and/or funny things is the heart of comedy.
Humor is subjective, so what may be funny to you may not be funny to others. Some people like situational humor, some people like dry humor, some people like witty humor, some people like slapstick, and a few poor souls don’t have a single funny bone in their bodies. The point here is to write what you think is funny. Timing, exaggeration, character reaction, and surprise all help comedy work, but your sense of humor is still the foundation. There are people out there who will find your humor funny, too.
4a10: Military:
Military stories take place in a military setting, and they may take place in and around war. If you do write a war story, that story should involve believable war scenes. I’ve written some war scenes, so the main advice I can give you is to do your research. Military stories are often period pieces, so research is doubly important here.
You can write military stories about being in the military rather than involving your characters in actual war. Military life usually focuses on character interaction, situation, duty, rank, discipline, and conflict. Dialogue is important, too.
If you want to write a war novel, be sure to add convincing combat descriptions when combat appears. Descriptive melee, squad, and/or vehicle combat can be important, depending on the type of war story you’re writing.
Military works well with other genres when done correctly. The old 70s TV series M*A*S*H mixes military with comedy and is set within the Korean War. The Star Wars series speaks for itself, mixing military and science fiction with almost every other genre. The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien mixes military with fantasy and a number of other genres, including horror. As you can see, the military genre is very versatile.
4a11: Western:
Westerns are classic American period pieces set in and around the Wild West. If you want to write westerns, I would suggest reading a lot of westerns first and then doing research on the areas you’re uncertain about. Classic westerns usually contain conflict between a hero and a villain or group of villains, but not always. For a classic example of a western film, you should watch the 1956 John Wayne film, The Searchers.
Sometimes, you may just want to use the western genre as a backdrop, much like when using science fiction as a backdrop. The old 90s TV series Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman is a good example of this, and so are the Little House on the Prairie books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. The Little House on the Prairie books were made into a TV series as well.
4a12: Religious:
Religious fiction has its own fan base. Religious fiction mainly revolves around religious themes, beliefs, questions, and situations, and it’s often mixed with other genres. However, you should know your fanbase before you write in this genre. It’s very easy to offend your readers if you don’t know your subject material. You should also read some religious fiction before attempting to write it.
Religious fiction may or may not involve the supernatural. The overall tying factor within a religious story, however, is the religion in question, so keep that in mind.
4a13: Erotic:
Erotic fiction is often connected to Romance, but considering how popular it is, it gets its own category in this section. Erotic fiction centers around sexual romance, sexual themes, or outright sex. The actual sex is often the central point of the story, but if it isn’t, it still takes a major role. Aside from that, erotic fiction mixes well with almost any other genre.
4a14: Superhero:
The superhero genre is often connected to Science Fiction, but it can also cross over with fantasy, action, adventure, horror, comedy, and other genres. Its popularity has grown enormously in the last forty years. Normally, this genre is most commonly associated with comic books, graphic novels, TV, and movies, but there are a number of literary superhero works floating around out there.
Superheroes involve one or more super-powered individuals who fight for justice in one way or another, but I won’t go into any more detail about the superhero genre here. You can simply research it by reading or viewing the material I’ve mentioned above. Superhero works are ubiquitous anymore, so this material is extremely easy to find. You can just turn on a TV.
4b: Subgenres:
There are many subsets of genres, and I won’t get into them all. I’ll only briefly touch upon this subject. A subgenre is a type of genre that has enough of a following to make it its own unique category. Some of these subgenres are actually genre mixes, but this is okay.
If you wish to write in a subgenre, read in that subgenre first, if you haven’t already. Research is key to understanding how these stories work.
Examples of subgenres are: steampunk (science fiction), Lovecraftian (horror), sword and sorcery (fantasy), escape room (thriller), World War II (military and historical), serial killer (crime), romantasy (fantasy and romance), and whodunits (mystery).
4c: Mixed Genres:
Mixing genres is easier than it sounds, and mixed genres are often subsets of other genres. A mixed genre is when two or more genres are mixed together in your story and world. For example, you can mix the mystery genre with the thriller genre, and this is done quite often.
To mix genres, start with your background genre and then add in your main genre. The main genre usually drives the plot, while the background genre helps shape the setting, tone, and expectations of the story.
For example: science fiction/horror. In science fiction/horror, the background genre is science fiction, while the main genre is horror. The plot will revolve around horror, and the theme may or may not revolve around general horror, the dangers of technology, or something else entirely. This depends upon the plot you have in mind, and that will help determine the theme of the overall story.
Another example would be, as previously mentioned, mystery/thriller. The background genre is thriller, where suspense and excitement are part of the story, but the main plot is about solving the mystery.
As I’ve previously mentioned, I had mixed genres when I wrote two young-adult, science-fiction, teen romances. These books mixed romance with science fiction. The background was science fiction, but the main plots were romance.
In the end, you can mix as many genres as you like, but be sure your plot makes sense. Too many genres can be extremely confusing.
4d: Writing All Genres:
Writing in all genres is difficult. It’s far too easy to become specialized in one genre, which can funnel you into writing that genre more than anything else. So, here are some tips to get you started:
4d1: You must know the basics of how to tell a story:
You need your storytelling basics down pat before you attempt to write outside of your chosen genre. If you don’t know how to put together a plot, interesting characters, great dialogue, and engaging situations, you won’t be able to write in any genre, much less in multiple ones.
4d2: One genre isn’t the same as another:
Many writers are naturally good at one genre and, unfortunately, struggle badly with others. This is ultimately because they try to write in a new genre the same way they wrote their old one. Don’t make this mistake! Writing mysteries, for example, is not the same as writing romance.
This even holds true for subgenres. For example, writing traditional science fiction is not the same as writing steampunk. For one thing, they have different fanbases, and those fanbases expect something different.
4d3: Do your research:
Last but not least, do research on the genre you wish to write in. At the very least, read the subject material. A serious writer studies what they want to write. Don’t slack off! You want to reach your readers in a professional manner, so read some books and short stories in the genre you want to switch to. This is a good rule of thumb for anything you wish to write.
TQ&EGtWGF: Chapter 4…Genre Copyright © 2026 bloodytwine.com Matthew L. Marlott
The image for Chapter 4 of TQ&EGtWGF was generated by artificial intelligence courtesy of OpenAI.
