Book Genres and "Conventions"

What are the "conventions" of the book genres?

They are the elements which fans of a particular category of genre fiction expect all novels within that category to contain.

So in a crime novel, for example, fans will expect a body to turn up in the first three chapters (and preferably sooner), more murders to take place along the way, and so on.

What is the purpose of the different conventions in all the different book genres?

It really all boils down to the successful publishing of a novel...

If there is an established group of readers who buy medieval murder-mysteries, for example, publishing a new medieval murder-mystery which is original, and yet still follows the same basic pattern as all the others, makes great commercial sense.

If there is a ready-made market already there, why risk losing that market by changing the formula too much?

(Indeed, where the conventions of a particular genre of fiction are extremely tight, like in some sub-genres of romantic fiction, it is known as "formula" fiction.)

Learning the Conventions of the Book Genres

How do you discover the conventions of your chosen genre of fiction? By reading as many novels from within that genre, especially recently-published ones, as you can.

If you have been reading your favorite category of fiction for years, you will have already absorbed most of the "rules" of what is and what is not permissible.

If you are new to your genre, there is no time like now to start reading!

What should you look out for as you read? Basically, elements which all of the novels on your reading list have in common.

Here is a sample of the sorts of things to look out for when trying to learn your chosen genre's conventions:

• Do the novels start with a bang, or do they take their time to get going?
• Where are the novels generally set?
• What is the typical hero or heroine like?
• What is the typical villain like?
• Do the novels take place over a short time-span or many years?
• Generally, what is the proportion of dialogue to prose?
• Is the dialogue in the form of short, sharp lines, or longer speeches?
• Is there any humor?
• Are the novels fast-paced all the way through, or are there any slower bits in between?
• Do the novels have a romantic sub-plot?
• Is there any sex? If so, is it graphic or implied?
• Is there any swearing?
• Are there any other specific characteristics shared by all the novels?

The idea is that by studying lots of novels similar to the one you plan to write, a picture will emerge of what readers of these novels expect.

Just remember that some book genres (notably, romance) are far stricter than others. If you come up with a very specific list of common elements, you have chosen a strict genre; if it is looser you will have more freedom.

Breaking the Conventions of the Book Genres

Okay, so having chosen which of the fiction genres (or sub-genres) appeals to you, and having studied published novels to learn the conventions, the next step is to decide how closely (or not) you will follow the conventions.

You will be walking a very thin line here...

• On the one hand, you need to follow the conventions as closely as you can in order that your novel becomes a recognizable member of its genre, and will therefore be marketable as such. (If it isn't, it will have to be sold as literary fiction or mainstream fiction).
• On the other hand, you want your novel to be distinctive within its genre (so it stands out to potential buyers). And the way you do that is by having some element of your novel - the setting, say, or the kind of hero used - be unique, even if it means breaking the rules.

In short, you need to push the boundaries to make your novel stand out (get it right and you might even succeed in creating a brand new sub-genre all of your own, one which future novel writers will mimic). But you don't want to push the boundaries so far that you alienate fans of the genre.

How do you tell if you have gone too far, or not far enough, in breaking the conventions of the book genres? Simply by...

• Choosing which of the fiction genres you intend to target.
• Reading widely within that category, particularly recently-published novels.
• Following your own gut instincts.

The only other thing left to say about sticking to the conventions of the book genres is that you are free to ignore them totally if you wish. But remember, do that and you are no longer writing a genre novel.

If you write romantic fiction, for example, but you find all the conventions too restrictive, write your novel any way you choose...

• Make your heroine middle-aged and overweight if you like.
• Go for an ending in which the lovers don't live happily ever after.

Then, when you try to sell the novel to a publisher (most likely a different publisher to the one who publishes formulaic romances), sell it as a mainstream or literary novel.

I would love to be able to be more specific about the particular conventions of particular book genres, but providing detailed guides to the specific rules of every imaginable category of genre fiction is clearly impossible.

That is why I have written one more article in this section on the different types of books: The Fiction Genres: A Reading List...