Analyzing Genre Expectations

I just returned from WisCon, which was a delightful, warm, sort-of summer-camp version of a con. I had a great time. I also got to visit the farmer's market and get a wonderful jump start on spring. 

Our topic at the SFF Seven this week is: How to analyze genre expectations for your genre.

You know, I have one answer to this question, which is pretty much the same as what KAK said yesterday: READ.

I feel like people are often looking for the shortcuts in this business. And certainly there are the shovel-salesmen eager to sell the gold-miners the newest-fangled device that will make their job SO MUCH EASIER. So, sure - there are tools and surveys out there that purport to analyze trends and bullet-point the expectations of the hot genres. 

But nothing substitutes for reading. And reading what's current, as well as the canon the new stuff builds upon. Genre and the expectations readers bring to their reading are fluid and ever changing. I once advised an aspiring author - a woman who'd been very well published 20 years before, had a life-lull, and was looking to get back into it - who hadn't read anything published in her genre in the last couple of decades. She couldn't understand the feedback she was getting from agents and editors because her reading lens was calibrated to what amounted to ancient history genre-wise.

Also, reading refills the creative well. All writers begin as readers first. (At least, I hope so. A writer who doesn't love reading seems to me like a fish who swims but doesn't like water.) If you don't have time to read, make the time. Replace watching shows or scrolling on your phone with READING. You don't have to finish everything you read (I certainly don't), but you should read at least some of what's popular and what your readers are reading.

Did I mention read? Yeah: do that. 

 

Witch Collector Vibes

This week's blog topic was more of a task, but a fun one! We are to suggest how a reader can set the mood to settle in while reading one of our books.

I'm so into this. I'm all about the Hygge lifestyle, a Danish/Scandinavian concept, though in all honesty, I had no idea it was a thing until The Little Book of Hygge came out. As I read that book, I kept thinking to myself...this is all very normal in my home and life, but I realize that it might not be for everyone. 

So how can you set the mood if you decide to read The Witch Collector?

Step 1

Choose a comfy reading spot. If it's cold where you are, and hopefully it is for the best vibe, find a cozy place in your home, maybe one with a view of the outdoors. Then grab your book and settle in. A warm sweater will help, as well as a soft blanket and fuzzy socks, and maybe even a fire if you have a fireplace, because this book will give you chilly, winter vibes!

 

Step 2

Light a candle! My recommendation is a wood wick candle with either scents of winter, the forest, or a sexy man ;) Sandalwood is my fave. The crackling flame will set the mood during all the scenes that have a little (or a lot) of fire.

Step 3

Be sure you have a warm drink and snacks on hand. My go-to is coffee, loaded with foam. But hot cocoa, warm apple cider, or hot tea will work just fine too! I don't always snack when reading, but when I do, it's usually a Biscoff cookie to dip in my coffee. I also love apples, which pairs well with this book. If you're a wine person, grab a glass of Oaked Chardonnay or Pinot Noir.

Step 4

Find a cuddling partner who won't interrupt your reading.

Step 5

Enjoy!! 

TBR

TBR (noun): to be read. 

The entity that is the TBR comes in various forms. There’s the TBR list; which some keep in spreadsheets, some use Goodreads, and others *gasp* keep a list in their mind. There’s also the TBR pile. Piles really, because honestly, where there’s one there’s certainly more. You can also toss in the TBR stack, TBR shelf, and TBR cart.

Currently, I have 1,278 books on my Goodreads TBR list, 57 in my physical TBR stacks around the house, 6 waiting in my Kindle’s TBR queue, and 1 in my TBR-carry-along, aka my purse.

Clearly, I have a book hoarding problem. But that’s not the topic of the week, this week it’s all about reading. 

Reading’s an escape, a hobby, a pastime, a chore. It’s a hundred other things that can change by the moment and is also a necessity if you’re an author. Yet, I see many writers posting comments that they don’t read. 

A writer who doesn’t read is like a movie producer who doesn’t watch TV or motion pictures, like a chef who never eats out. A writer who doesn’t read is like a marketer who never studies another’s successful launch, like a product engineer who never uses or tests another company’s items. A writer who doesn’t read will never be as great as they could be.

“If you don’t have time to read, 

you don’t have the time or the tools to write. 

Simple as that.” 

~Stephen King, On Writing

I’m addicted to reading, always have been. And when there's been too much time since cracking open a book I start to crave the escape. Yes, as a writer there are times you have to buckle down, editing cave anyone, and reading takes a backseat.  

Editing Cave (noun): a place where time and space are suspended. 

When one enters, they are unable to leave until such a time when they can produce a finished product. Warning; food and beverages that pass into the editing cave never return.

But after a time of famine you have to refill the well, as we’ve blogged about before, which you can read here, and binge on reading. Reading will stimulate the imagination. Reading will draw you down new paths you didn’t know you needed in your own writing. Reading will give you the mental break you crave after a trip to the editing cave.

I have a book hoarding problem, but I don’t merely collect them. I read them. One or five at a time, I read them, and sometimes re-read and re-read them. 

A romance gives melts my heart and makes me more cuddly. A fantasy leads me to the woods and lets me dream. A sci-fi takes my imagination places I’d never believed I’d find. A thriller makes my heart pound. A mystery makes my mind question and seek answers. And all of these allow me to see people through their eyes, to feel the agony of their lives, to understand what drives them and is important to them. 

Tell me, what have you been reading? Have you recently read something that gave you an ah-ha moment? Or maybe a book that took you away from your daily stress?