Mysterious Mysteries
The newbie author is told to a) write to market and b) develop a unique brand and c) pray that these two directives do not collide in a shower of exploding adverbs. How is it possible to be unique and replicate a niche trend at the same time?
I’ve pondered this for a while. As a rule, I write a mashup of paranormal romance, steampunk, fantasy, and a pinch of horror. It’s all the niches at once and definitely not written to market. However, after the first 20+ books, my writing style doesn’t change much from book to book. My voice is solid, even if my marketing sense is on a bender.
That said, every so often I get a bright idea to try something new. Most recently, I thought I’d try writing a classic mystery. Properly. Following an outline, and all that. It was time to learn new chops.
Hunting down a cheat sheet with the requisite outline made sense. Writerly how-to can be gold or complete twaddle, but a basic series of plot beats was easy to adapt to the characters and setting I had in mind. In fact, the structure felt comforting while I was trying something new.
What I wasn’t prepared for is the amount of up-front detail a mystery requires. Not only did I have to know exactly how the murder happened and who did it, but also the suspects and their means, motive, and opportunities. On top of that, I have to keep a running record of what’s been revealed and to whom. All writing has its difficulties, but mysteries require monumental attention to detail. So far, I’m loving it.
What’s the same is all the things that make my writing my own: character development, setting, theme, and the quirky madness that lurks within my mental landscape. I think that’s the answer to the paradox of niche and brand—know your own writing so well, so intrinsically, that you can pour it into varying containers without changing its essential nature. And if the container feels wrong, discard it. The writing comes first, every time.
Trying different tropes and genres can be tricky for new writers. It’s easy to be a chameleon at that stage. I used to sound like the author I’d just read and had to avoid certain voices lest they creep onto my pages. Even now, I avoid Dickens unless I’m writing a period piece.
So, to go back to the writing advice at the top of this piece:
- Know what piece of the marketplace you’re aiming for. Know the tropes, expectations, and structure of the genre.
- Know who you are as a writer and think about how well that niche will work for you. Remember that you can adore something without having to write it, but the reverse is hard to pull off.
- Try it and see how it works. Make magic. If it’s not for you, there are a million other genres and sub-genres to check out. Smash a few together and make something new.
That’s as close to advice as I’m qualified to give. Oh, and watch out for exploding adverbs.