How to Succeed Writing in Mixed Genres

By Lynne Moses

Working full-time as an editor in fiction and memoir, I often see the same issues crop up in people’s writing. This blog post is going to focus on dialogue, which is a tricky issue to get right for many writers.

Lynne Moses

Genre mashups like Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander (historical/fantasy/romance) can be a lot of fun to read and to write. Did you know there’s a theory that helps explain why? Raymond Loewy, considered by many the “father of industrial design,” identified that consumers are torn between curiosity and fear of anything new. He therefore strove for “MAYA” in his designs—Most Advanced Yet Acceptable. 

In a storytelling context, mixing genres helps achieve MAYA, or what readers will experience as appealing originality. Properly done, a mixed genre story can satisfy a reader’s curiosity with the unexpected elements provided by an unfamiliar genre or a fresh blending of familiar ones. Their fear of the new is allayed by the comfort of a familiar genre(s). One reader will love the paranormal romance twist on her familiar detective story, while another is intrigued by the noir murder mystery driving her familiar paranormal romance. Two fans instead of one, and maybe even a third who is only drawn to the book because it promises a mix of two genres, neither of which would attract her on their own. Win, win, win!

But how can we successfully mix genres so that the result feels like a delightful enhancement to a fan’s favorite genre, rather than a disappointment to fans of each or all? 

Deliver on Genre Expectations – Whatever genre(s) you choose, deliver on their tropes and promises.

For instance, if you’re mixing with romance, you need to know that romance readers expect a Happily Ever After (HEA) or Happily For Now (HFN) ending. Mystery readers trust the mystery to be solved. Fantasy readers will be looking for solid worldbuilding. Action-adventure readers want excitement and physical danger. Cozy readers prefer low physical stakes while enjoying the characters, who are often quirky and live in a charming world. Gothic fans expect a sense of dread and dark secret from the past to drive the story, often with at least a hint of the supernatural. Research is particularly important if you’re not already a fan of the genre you’re mixing.

Integrate – Make the plot points serving one genre integral to the plot development of the other(s). 

While delivering on the genre expectations is vital, the novel still runs the risk of feeling like unrelated stories Frankenstein’d together unless the genre elements do double duty. For example, rather than having a detective solving a mystery by day and falling in love by night, perhaps the prime suspect is the love interest. An interrogation scene reveals backstory from both characters evoking mutual feelings and attraction. A later confrontation around a hidden piece of evidence reveals more of their pasts and inner lives, thereby deepening their relationship while moving them closer to identifying the real murderer. In the climax, perhaps the murderer reveals themselves by trapping them together and threatening both their lives, thereby solving the mystery and creating a deadly situation where the love that has grown between the protagonists is revealed through the choices they make. In the resolution, the reader experiences the consequences of the murder being solved and understands the protagonists have become a HEA or HFN couple. Integrated genres! 

Perhaps you’ve already got a manuscript with strong elements from a secondary genre. How might it change if you fully delivered on the expectations of that genre and integrated it into the primary genre? 

Keeping these tips in mind, you can use mixed genres to make your story stand out from the crowd and attract a wider audience. Happy writing!

About the writer

Lynne Moses is a writing instructor, coach and consultant at lynnemoses.com. Following her career as a screenwriter, playwright and documentary film producer, she turned to writing fiction as “Kady Ambrose.” 

Her debut novel, All That Shimmers, is a mixed genre (historical/fantasy/romance) WWI novel about a whimsical nursemaid at a grand hotel resort pursuing a misguided quest for the “man of sterling and gold” promised by a mysterious fairy—until the deadly Spanish flu pandemic forces her to reassess where to best find the love and security she craves. Now available for pre-order.

Get a free copy of the prequel novelette, Under Dappled Sunlight, by signing up for Kady’s newsletter, which offers fascinating tidbits of history and mythology each month in addition to book news and exclusive subscriber freebies. Enjoy!