Cook Book Look At Genre

Recipe for a good tale?

I was recently asked, by a well-meaning friend, what kind of stories I wrote.

“Thrillers,” I answered.

“Oh, not romance then,” the friend said, plainly dissapointed.

“Oh no, there is romance in my stories as well,” I responded.

It got me thinking about the question of genres and the categories we all use.

So, exactly what kind of writer am I, I ask myself? I call myself a thriller writer – mainly of the supernatural genre. But when I think hard about categories, I realise my novels may well feel like everything but the kitchen sink added in!

You see, I think of a plot as a cooking recipe. For a good story I mix together certain ideas and form them into the basic story-line for what I need. I then add in extra ingredients to, hopefully, make my story stand out.  Not to overdo it, of course, otherwise the main story line can become obscured.

To that end, when I examine my plots, I find they are usually Manichean (good against evil) and often the main character is unwilling at first but then is in a desperate race to get something. My recipe usually includes the raising of stakes for the main character and rising tension throughout the story. Rather like baking a cake, methinks? Well there you go, more cooking analogies!

I find I nearly always add a love interest, (the genre of romance?) a ‘what if’ element (maybe it could be horror?), a ‘whodunit’ bit (mystery story) and usually some kind of race against time (a thriller caper). And then again, I also try to add subplots that intertwine with the main story. My recent book also had a time-slip element to it so I could call it historical too.

Maybe other writers don’t have to fight with themselves when they realise they want to add further spice to their stories but I always do. I would happily mix genres even more if I let my muse loose for long enough…  Like a good cake recipe, you need to know when the mixture is just right. Sometimes less is more…

So I reign myself in and try to stick to the main category I enjoy – supernatural thriller writing. But it doesn’t stop me adding a bit of spice here and there…

Do you tend to mix things up or are you totally faithful to your own genre?