Jessica Russell's Blog - Posts Tagged "mystery"
Genre Confusion
There’s nothing wrong with a scoop of ice cream if that’s what you want. But ordering a hot fudge sundae and scraping off the hot fudge because you prefer plain ice cream doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Just order the ice cream. You’re hoping I have a point. I do. As authors, we hear it all. And it usually comes in trends. Last month it was unsolicited advice. This month, genre confusion seems to be in the water.
Historical Fiction is a genre that was meant to give readers a way to enjoy a mystery, romance, whodunit, etc., against the backdrop of an era in which they don’t live so that they can learn facts about that time period. Today someone actually said “this book would be perfect without all that history in it.” No, they were not talking about my book, although I’m sure somebody, somewhere will eventually say that about mine as well. But anyway, the book the person was talking about would NOT have been perfect without “all that history in it” because it was (brace yourself) a HISTORICAL fiction book. In other words, the author “meant to do that.”
Obviously, not everyone is interested in history. And that’s okay. But if that’s the case, you kind of have to wonder why the person would choose that genre. If you just want to read a romance, there’s plenty of romance books out there that don’t give you any facts or information about the time period other than things you can figure out on your own. The same is true for mysteries or whodunits or anything else. You can buy those books if that’s what you prefer and I have done so many times myself. Historical fiction is my favorite, but I’ve read plenty of great books that just focus on the mystery or the romance, etc. etc. without any historical facts. But buying Historical Fiction and then complaining that it had history in it is something I just don’t get. Unless people simply don’t know what the term means anymore. That’s kind of sad if it’s the case.
There’s a genre out there for everyone, but 15 graphic sex scenes between Fabio and the woman he must tame does not become Historical Romance just because the author describes the woman’s gown. Similarly, a mystery doesn’t become Historical Suspense because eventually in the 29th scene they mention what year it is. I don’t get what people don’t understand about that. I guess that leads me back to where I started. Ice cream. By all means have a scoop of ice cream if that’s all you want. Or have the hot fudge sundae. But ordering the hot fudge sundae only to complain about the hot fudge is kind of silly. Isn’t it?
Historical Fiction is a genre that was meant to give readers a way to enjoy a mystery, romance, whodunit, etc., against the backdrop of an era in which they don’t live so that they can learn facts about that time period. Today someone actually said “this book would be perfect without all that history in it.” No, they were not talking about my book, although I’m sure somebody, somewhere will eventually say that about mine as well. But anyway, the book the person was talking about would NOT have been perfect without “all that history in it” because it was (brace yourself) a HISTORICAL fiction book. In other words, the author “meant to do that.”
Obviously, not everyone is interested in history. And that’s okay. But if that’s the case, you kind of have to wonder why the person would choose that genre. If you just want to read a romance, there’s plenty of romance books out there that don’t give you any facts or information about the time period other than things you can figure out on your own. The same is true for mysteries or whodunits or anything else. You can buy those books if that’s what you prefer and I have done so many times myself. Historical fiction is my favorite, but I’ve read plenty of great books that just focus on the mystery or the romance, etc. etc. without any historical facts. But buying Historical Fiction and then complaining that it had history in it is something I just don’t get. Unless people simply don’t know what the term means anymore. That’s kind of sad if it’s the case.
There’s a genre out there for everyone, but 15 graphic sex scenes between Fabio and the woman he must tame does not become Historical Romance just because the author describes the woman’s gown. Similarly, a mystery doesn’t become Historical Suspense because eventually in the 29th scene they mention what year it is. I don’t get what people don’t understand about that. I guess that leads me back to where I started. Ice cream. By all means have a scoop of ice cream if that’s all you want. Or have the hot fudge sundae. But ordering the hot fudge sundae only to complain about the hot fudge is kind of silly. Isn’t it?
The Balance Beam
Just a quick tidbit of information on whodunit novels. The worst mistake I see novice writers make when creating a murder mystery is trying to make it so bizarre that nobody in the world could possibly ever figure it out. The problem with that approach is that it's essentially impossible.
Unless, that is, you're going to wait until the final chapter and say that a space Martian came down from the sky and killed the person.
Intelligent readers narrow it down to two or three individuals, and one of them is almost always the murderer. And the thing is…that's okay! Readers like that. If you leave them too much in the dark they get disgusted, but if they figured it out in the first chapter they get (drumroll ) disgusted.
So don't obscure it to the point where the end doesn't make any sense, but don't make it so easy that they have no reason to keep reading.
I read a novel recently and I stayed interested throughout most of the chapters, but in the end, the murderer was someone who essentially had no motive and I kept waiting for it to be explained but it never was. It ruined the book for me. The writer may have reached his goal of making sure nobody could guess, but the ending was so ridiculous I don't think anyone will care.
I've also read numerous books where the culprit was was so obvious that I didn't need to finish reading. This is also the kiss of death.
The best thing to do is leave the breadcrumbs, but make them go to several different people.
In a good novel, especially a good whodunit, there are only so many people it could be. The fact that readers might be able to zero in on that cluster of people doesn't mean you're failing to write a good mystery. That's what readers like to do. They like to say "I think maybe it could be her, but that other person over there also has a motive, and then again it could be him."
Sure, some readers will hit on the right person and figure it out, but if they don't do that until the very end, it doesn't ruin the book for them. In fact, it's very satisfying, because they slowly caught on to what was happening.
So don't make it too easy, but don't try to create something unbelievably absurd simply so you can say "no one ever guesses who the murderer is!"
It should be a surprise for most readers, but a surprise that they're slowly getting close to as the book wraps up. That's the most satisfying experience for readers according to many surveys, so go for it. Write on!
Unless, that is, you're going to wait until the final chapter and say that a space Martian came down from the sky and killed the person.
Intelligent readers narrow it down to two or three individuals, and one of them is almost always the murderer. And the thing is…that's okay! Readers like that. If you leave them too much in the dark they get disgusted, but if they figured it out in the first chapter they get (drumroll ) disgusted.
So don't obscure it to the point where the end doesn't make any sense, but don't make it so easy that they have no reason to keep reading.
I read a novel recently and I stayed interested throughout most of the chapters, but in the end, the murderer was someone who essentially had no motive and I kept waiting for it to be explained but it never was. It ruined the book for me. The writer may have reached his goal of making sure nobody could guess, but the ending was so ridiculous I don't think anyone will care.
I've also read numerous books where the culprit was was so obvious that I didn't need to finish reading. This is also the kiss of death.
The best thing to do is leave the breadcrumbs, but make them go to several different people.
In a good novel, especially a good whodunit, there are only so many people it could be. The fact that readers might be able to zero in on that cluster of people doesn't mean you're failing to write a good mystery. That's what readers like to do. They like to say "I think maybe it could be her, but that other person over there also has a motive, and then again it could be him."
Sure, some readers will hit on the right person and figure it out, but if they don't do that until the very end, it doesn't ruin the book for them. In fact, it's very satisfying, because they slowly caught on to what was happening.
So don't make it too easy, but don't try to create something unbelievably absurd simply so you can say "no one ever guesses who the murderer is!"
It should be a surprise for most readers, but a surprise that they're slowly getting close to as the book wraps up. That's the most satisfying experience for readers according to many surveys, so go for it. Write on!
