A long time ago, I wrote about this topic, but now that I find myself writing cozy mysteries, I think I need to reflect on it again. Genre books should be good. Should even flirt with being “literary.” Because, let’s face it, there’s no excuse for writing bad books, no matter what kind.
Laws That Never Shall Be Broken
The informal definition of a genre book—whether romance, cozy, police procedural, or thriller—is that it follows certain closely constraining rules. And that leads readers to have definite expectations. A book about love in which he and she (or he and he, or…) don’t end up living happily ever after isn’t a genre romance. It may be romantic, but anyone expecting the conventional ending will be disappointed.
Now, throwing curves into your plot is a good thing. Some expectations are made to be shocked. But you don’t tamper with the basic conventions of the genre or you are writing something else. You have broken the covenant with your readers, and they have a right to be frustrated. They’ll take it out on you with their reviews!
Who Done It… and How?
Take the cozy mystery. It involves murder, but very minimal gore. The crime may be motivated by passion, but there won’t be any scenes of sex on the page. Clearly real life isn’t so sanitary, so there will be a light-heartedness about the tone. It’s the sort of book one wants to read for fun, a cup of tea in hand—there’s a puzzle to solve but the stakes aren’t terribly high. It probably transports you to a charming location. The characters may be eccentric but they won’t be too sinister. If, in the name of literary grittiness, you decide to kill off one of the protagonists of a series (to inject a little pathos), be ready for readers to rise up against you. You’ve broken the cozy prime directive: thou shalt feel good.
You can add more or fewer thrills. You can make the hero a professional detective in retirement or a bumbling little old lady—or a cat. You can set it in the past or in a foreign country. You can verge on the edgy with characters’ backstories. But don’t mess with the basic conventions, or you break the pact with readers.
That sort of basic predictability is why genre novels are so popular. What do you see in airport bookstores, where busy people want something to read for a few hours that won’t require too much attention from them? Thrillers, mostly. Police procedurals. Cozy mysteries. Romances. And some chick lit. Even if you don’t know the author, you know more or less what you’re getting. Some don’t have much literary merit. But some do. And why shouldn’t they?
Genre Doesn’t Mean Generic
Just because readers don’t turn to genre books looking for good writing doesn’t mean they don’t appreciate it when they find it. Just because a book is plot-driven doesn’t mean it’s excused for lack of character development or failure to create a vivid world. Golly, there may even be some themes lurking under the mask of light fiction! Why condemn that genre book to being generic in the bad sense: vanilla, banale, forgettable? In the same way that formal poetry provides a framework that may shape a poet’s best efforts—’cause suffering builds character, right?—so can the conventions of genre challenge a novelist’s skill to the heights. Give it a try. Pit yourself against the constraints of a genre without giving up your literary aspirations. The results may surprise you!
Leave a Reply