How to Write Genre Fiction: 8 Genres Explored + Tips

Learning how to write genre fiction isn’t as hard as it sounds. Most people don’t think of it as “genre fiction” and instead end up searching specifically for how to write a certain genre.

Because spoiler, that’s essentially what it is. But there’s more to it than that.

A lot goes in to writing genre fiction and there are certain areas you don’t want to skimp on if you’re serious about making a living with your work. If you’re just doing this for fun, have at it!

But, if you’re here to learn the ins and outs of writing in a specific genre, we’ve got all the goods for you.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

1. What is genre fiction?
2. How to write genre fiction
3. Crime
4. Romance
5. Historical Fiction
6. Fantasy Romance
7. Dark Romance
8. Mystery
9. Horror / Thriller
10. Science Fiction

What is genre fiction in writing?

Genre fiction refers to a category of literary works that follow specific genre conventions, like crime, romance, fantasy, or science fiction.

Unlike literary fiction—which often emphasizes character development and thematic depth over plot—genre fiction is typically driven by narrative structure, plot twists, and adherence to genre-specific tropes. Readers of genre fiction have clear expectations, and as a writer, your job is to meet those expectations while keeping the story fresh and exciting.

And those who want to learn how to write genre fiction have some studying to do to make it so.

Many avid fan groups read genre fiction—you probably do too. They have their favorite and often don’t stray very far outside their typical genre. For example, if someone readers romance, they typically only read romance.

Even Facebook groups exist specifically for books that fall within the confines of a specific genre, and also for those who want to learn how to write genre fiction in a certain one.

He’s an example of various reading groups you’ll find for specific genre fiction:

How to Write Genre Fiction: The Only Guide You’ll Need

A friend of mine once said he actually hates the phrase, “think outside the box” because it leaves too much room to work within. Giving yourself a box—one that’s large enough—actually creates more creativity. Choosing a genre to write inside of is best for this.

So if you want to learn how to write genre fiction within any of them listed below, here’s how.

Writing Crime Fiction

Crime fiction revolves around criminal acts and the individuals involved, whether they be the perpetrators, the victims, or those seeking justice. Any heist story is crime fiction, but you’ll actually find a lot of variety here.

Learning how to write genre fiction in crime will have you choosing from various types.

Here you can see the various subgenres under crime:

This genre often includes elements of mystery and suspense, focusing on solving a crime or understanding a criminal’s psychology. Basically, if the core plot revolves around the character committing criminal acts, it’s crime fiction.

Tips for Writing Crime Fiction:

1. Create a Compelling Crime: Your crime should be complex enough to sustain interest throughout the story. Whether it’s a murder, theft, or conspiracy, ensure the crime poses significant stakes.
   • Example: In Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express, the crime is a murder aboard a train, with every passenger being a suspect.
2. Develop a Strong Protagonist: Typically a detective, investigator, or a flawed hero, your protagonist needs to be sharp, determined, and with enough depth to keep readers invested.
   • Example: Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes is the epitome of the brilliant, eccentric detective whose deductions captivate readers.
3. Build Suspense and Tension: Keep readers on the edge of their seats by revealing clues gradually, using red herrings, and leading to a satisfying yet unexpected conclusion.
   • Example: The twists in Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn play with the reader’s expectations, leading to a gripping narrative.

Writing Romance Fiction

Romance is all about love, relationships, and the emotional journey of the characters involved. Whether it’s a lighthearted rom-com or a steamy love affair, romance fiction hinges on the chemistry between characters and their eventual union (or tragic separation).

Every good romance novel has a meet cute. But that’s not the only convention that basically all romance novels follows. It has a pretty clear structure and if you stray too far from it when learning how to write genre fiction in romance, your readers will be upset.

Even with all the various subgenres (there are…a lot), there will always—and I mean always, if it’s a true romance—have a happy ending.

Tips for Writing Romance Fiction:

1. Craft Believable Characters: Your characters should be relatable, with flaws and virtues that make readers root for them to overcome obstacles.
   • Example: Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice are well-rounded characters whose differences drive the plot.
2. Build Emotional and Physical Tension: The push-pull dynamic between characters is essential. Use misunderstandings, external conflicts, and internal doubts to keep the romance from feeling too easy.
   • Example: The tension in Outlander by Diana Gabaldon between Claire and Jamie builds over time, keeping readers engaged.
3. Deliver a Satisfying Conclusion: Whether it’s a happy ending or a bittersweet farewell, the conclusion should feel earned and resonate emotionally with readers. But honestly, make it a happy ending. Unless you’re going for Nicholas Sparks’ balance of tragedy and romance, it should be happy, with the couple ending up together.
   • Example: The resolution in The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks is emotionally powerful, bringing the love story full circle.

Writing Historical Fiction

Historical fiction transports readers to a different time and place, weaving fictional narratives into real historical contexts. The key is to balance historical accuracy with compelling storytelling. You might be wondering if creating a unique outcome of true historical events still falls within learning how to write genre fiction in historical, but that would be considered alternate history.

It’s similar, but different enough.

What readers are looking for in historical fiction is events that would normally take place in the past, happening there, with all the current-times cultural nuances.

Historical fiction is another where learning how to write genre fiction will require you to choose a subgenre out of a list of many.

Tips for Writing Historical Fiction:

1. Research Thoroughly: Accurate details about the period, including social norms, language, and events, are crucial. Readers of historical fiction expect authenticity.
   • Example: Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall immerses readers in the intricacies of Tudor England through meticulous research.
2. Blend Fact with Fiction: Use real events and figures as a backdrop, but allow your characters and their stories to take center stage.
   • Example: All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr beautifully merges the experiences of a blind French girl and a German boy during WWII.
3. Create Engaging, Historically Grounded Characters: Your characters should reflect the time period’s values and challenges, adding depth to their personal struggles and triumphs.
   • Example: The character of Scarlett O’Hara in Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind is deeply shaped by the Civil War, making her journey compelling.

Writing Fantasy Romance Fiction

Ah, yes. The rise of a subgenre that has enough momentum we’re pulling it how to teach you how to write genre fiction within it. Combing two genres has created a movement so large that it’s considered a genre by itself.

Fantasy romance combines the enchanting world-building of fantasy with the emotional depth of romance. Here, magic and love intertwine to create stories of epic proportions. Specifically, the main plot of the book is both the romance and another plot in which they merge.

You can’t have a fantasy romance if the romance isn’t central to the plot.

This example can make learning how to write genre fiction confusing because why can’t you just mix two genres all the time? Sometimes you can. It just so happens that this trend got picked up and made its own genre.

Tips for Writing Fantasy Romance:

1. Establish a Rich, Magical World: Build a world with its own rules, cultures, and conflicts. The setting should enhance the romance rather than overshadow it.
   • Example: Sarah J. Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses series creates a vivid fantasy world that is integral to the romantic plot.
2. Blend Romance with High Stakes: The romantic relationship should be as critical to the plot as the overarching fantasy elements. Use magical obstacles to test the characters’ love.
   • Example: In The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, the romance is deeply tied to the magical competition, raising the stakes for both love and survival.
3. Create Dynamic, Multi-Faceted Characters: Characters in fantasy romance often carry the weight of their world on their shoulders, so make sure they are complex and relatable.
   • Example: Feyre and Rhysand in A Court of Mist and Fury are characters whose relationship evolves alongside their roles in a larger magical conflict.

Writing Dark Romance Fiction

We’re spending a lot of time on romance for a reason. When people want to learn how to write genre fiction, it’s often for this one.

Dark romance specifically delves into the more forbidden or taboo aspects of love, often featuring flawed, morally ambiguous characters and intense emotional or psychological struggles. It’s not often healthy romances that get depicted here. It can be tough to learn how to write genre fiction and dip your toe into the dark romance subgenres because, while it does have many elements of romance, it also includes a bit of thriller.

Tips for Writing Dark Romance:

1. Explore Complex, Flawed Characters: Dark romance thrives on characters who are not purely good or evil. Their moral struggles add depth and tension to the romance.
   • Example: The relationship between Christian and Ana in Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James explores the darker sides of desire and control.
2. Balance Darkness with Redemption: While the romance may venture into dark themes, there should be moments of redemption or hope that offer balance.
   • Example: The progression of Tate and Miles’ relationship in Colleen Hoover’s Ugly Love moves through pain and healing, making the darkness palatable.
3. Intensify Emotional Conflict: Push your characters to their emotional limits, exploring themes like obsession, power dynamics, and vulnerability.
   • Example: Captive in the Dark by C.J. Roberts takes the protagonist on a journey through fear and desire, challenging the boundaries of romance.

Writing Mystery Fiction

Mystery fiction centers on solving a puzzle, often a crime or unexplained event. The protagonist is typically someone who uncovers secrets and follows clues to unravel the mystery. This is another where if you’re learning how to write genre fiction, you’ll want to pick a subgenre.

Mystery subgenres can range from innocent and “cozy” to murderous. Choose where you want to fall tone-wise and you’ll learn how to write genre fiction a lot better here.

Tips for Writing Mystery Fiction:

1. Start with a Gripping Hook: Your opening should immediately present the mystery—whether it’s a crime scene, a missing person, or a strange occurrence.
   • Example: The opening of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson draws readers in with the decades-old mystery of a missing girl.
2. Plant Clues and Red Herrings: Distribute clues throughout your story, but also include red herrings to mislead readers and keep the suspense high.
   • Example: Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None masterfully uses red herrings to keep readers guessing until the very end.
3. Craft a Satisfying Resolution: The reveal of the mystery’s solution should be surprising yet logical, tying together all the clues and providing closure.
   • Example: The twist ending of Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane is shocking but fits perfectly with the story’s buildup.

Writing Horror / Thriller Fiction

Horror and thriller fiction are designed to elicit strong emotional responses—fear, anxiety, and excitement. They often involve dangerous situations, psychological tension, and high-stakes plots. So if you want to learn how to write genre fiction like that, and like originally self-published author Freida McFadden, then this is the one for you.

Again, this one has a ton of subgenres just because of the variety.

Tips for Writing Horror/Thriller Fiction:

1. Build a Creepy Atmosphere: Use setting, mood, and description to create an unsettling atmosphere that primes readers for the horror to come.
   • Example: Stephen King’s The Shining uses the isolation of the Overlook Hotel to amplify the horror.
2. Focus on Psychological Tension: Horror and thrillers often play with the protagonist’s mind, creating paranoia and fear of the unknown.
   • Example: The psychological terror in The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris is as much about what the characters fear as what they face.
3. Keep the Pace Tight: Thrillers thrive on fast-paced, tension-filled plots. Every scene should move the story forward and heighten the stakes.
   • Example: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn maintains relentless tension, with every revelation pushing the plot into darker territory.

Writing Science Fiction

And last, but certainly not least (or the end of a genre list) is science fiction. If you want to learn how to write genre fiction that’s full of space and technology, this is for you.

Science fiction explores futuristic, technological, or extraterrestrial themes, often questioning the impact of science and technology on humanity. It allows for limitless creativity while pondering profound philosophical questions.

But it’s not enough to just want to learn how to write genre fiction in scifi and throwing a spaceship in your story. Here’s how you’ll go about it.

Tips for Writing Science Fiction:

1. Create a Believable Future or Alternate Reality: Your world-building should be rooted in logic, even if the technology or science is advanced or speculative.
   • Example: Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series presents a future where mathematics can predict the fate of civilizations, grounded in a believable premise.
2. Address Big Ideas: Science fiction often explores grand story themes, such as the ethics of artificial intelligence, space exploration, or the nature of consciousness. Incorporate these ideas into your plot to give depth to your narrative.
   • Example: Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? questions what it means to be human in a world where artificial life forms exist.
3. Blend Technology with Humanity: While advanced technology and futuristic settings are central, the heart of science fiction lies in how these elements affect the characters. Ensure that technological or scientific concepts drive character development and emotional arcs.
   • Example: The Martian by Andy Weir uses the protagonist’s struggle to survive on Mars as a backdrop for a deeply human story of resilience and ingenuity.
4. Experiment with Structure and Style: Science fiction offers the freedom to play with narrative structure and style, whether through non-linear timelines, multiple perspectives, or inventive language.
   • Example: In Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell, the narrative weaves through different time periods and genres, creating a complex and layered story.

By understanding and mastering the conventions of these various genres, you can craft stories that not only fulfill readers’ expectations but also surprise and delight them with your unique voice and creativity. Learning how to write genre fiction is as easy as studying the one you like! Whether you’re writing about love in a dystopian future or a detective solving a supernatural crime, genre fiction offers a playground of possibilities for imaginative storytelling.