Top tips for writing in multiple genres

I know. You likely read the title of this piece and thought: “Mateo, why would I want to learn how to write in multiple genres, when I’m just trying to find my way through one genre?”

A valid question, but hear me out. Even if you don’t have plans to write in multiple genres (yet!), learning the how behind the why of the what will help you expand your creative arsenal, which will make telling the stories you want to tell more manageable. 

As someone whose contemporary, satirical debut novel (Black Buck, 2021) was quite different from their speculative, dystopian sophomore effort (This Great Hemisphere, 2024) this is the type of piece I wish I’d read before embarking on that journey.

Reasons for writing in multiple genres

The reasons for writing in multiple genres are vast and varied. Perhaps you wrote something and it didn’t move people. Or you went against your heart, hopped on a trend, and failed to produce anything of personal artistic value.

Then, of course, some of us are masochists (shocker!) and need a thrill in order to feel our most creative. Especially because, as the cliche goes, there’s no such thing as a loss so long as you walk away with a lesson.

And sometimes, the reason is as simple as writing a story for the story’s sake. Genre be damned.

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The risks of writing in multiple genres

The thing is, writing in multiple genres comes with plenty of risks. There is a reason people say “Stephen King” and think “horror.” It’s because it’s advantageous, and financially lucrative, to carve out one lane for yourself. If you suddenly decide to swerve out of that lane, it may confuse people.

At the same time, certain genres come with certain expectations. If those expectations aren’t met, then you’ve both alienated your core audience and missed your new one.

There’s also the trap of becoming a jack of all trades, master of none. The authors we associate with certain genres have written extensively in them, taking the time to master them. This is harder to do if you’re writing widely across genres. Not impossible, but harder.

Right now, you may be thinking, “Christ, Mateo. This is a bit bleak. What are we to do?”

Fret not! Writing in new genres is hard, but not impossible. I’ll show you.

Lay the foundation

Before entering a new genre, lay the proper foundation by boiling a story down to its most basic elements: plot, dialogue, setting, character, structure, narrative style & POV.

None of this needs to be concrete, but jotting down thoughts on all of the above will make it so that you’re not starting from square one. What are some of the larger, tentpole plot points? Who is your main character and who are the people in their orbit? Is this first-person, third-person, multi-POV? Is the narrative style fast-paced, long and descriptive? Is the work split into many parts, epistolary, maybe even includes images?

List the tropes

Ideally you’ve read a few works in the genre you’re stepping into. If not, please do that! As you read these books, write down the typical tropes associated with that genre. Then decide how, if at all, you plan to adhere to or subvert them in order to realize your vision.

Just because something is expected in a genre doesn’t mean you have to do it. But if you don’t, it’s advisable to render that expectation a moot point with all of the other choices you make.

Read a craft book or two

Not all feedback is good feedback. Not all advice is good advice. But reading one or two craft books a year sharpens your creative senses, provides new strategies for how to approach a certain issue, and sometimes even gives you that boost of inspiration you need to start something new or finish your current work-in-progress. My favorites are Stephen King’s On Writing, James Scott Bell’s Plot & Structure, and Roy Peter Clark’s Writing Tools.

“Okay, got it! Good to go. Thank you.”

Wait, wait, wait. We writers know that the practical, nuts and bolts of it all can only take us so far. There is that other, more abstract aspect of what we do, which speaks to those moments of vessel-like divining, so I’d like to leave you with a few things to keep in mind.

Hone your why

Ask yourself, seriously, why you want to write in this new genre, and write down a serious answer. Adding “and for whom” is also valuable. Clarifying and affirming your why will sustain you, no matter the ups and downs.

Get comfortable with feeling lost

If you’re comfortable in one genre, stepping into another could feel as if you don’t even know how to write. This is normal and to be expected. But remember that this feeling will only last until it doesn’t, and to return to your why and for whom in order to see it through. The previous steps will also help to truncate this period of feeling lost, even though there’s much to be discovered in discomfort.

Focus on the story

Focus on the stories you want to tell, with the time that you have, then go tell them. Experiment with romance if you feel as though you have something to say about the difficulties and joys of finding love in the Tinder generation. Try your hand at sci-fi to make better sense of the rise of AI, or just to expose the conspiracy that is Apple airpods, which are so expensive, yet so easy to lose. Or test the dark waters of horror because our current circumstances have more than enough to pull from in order to scare the pants off someone.

No matter what happens –– if the book you write gets you an agent, or sells one or one-million copies –– you will, without a doubt, be a better writer for having challenged yourself and expanded your creative arsenal, which will go beyond one book, and enrich your entire career. I promise you.

Trust in the process, trust in yourself, trust that the stories you want to tell want to be told. And that if you persist, you will find a way to tell them.