Writing Popular Fiction

by Dean Koontz

Writer's Digest Hardcover, 1974 2nd printing with 232 pgs., size: 8 3/4" x 5 3/4 approx. - Fan of popular fiction, professional writer, new writer looking for markets-whoever you are, you'll enjoy this book. It takes you behind the publishing scene and shows you how popular novels-science fiction, mysteries, suspense thrillers, Gothic-romances, adult fantasy, Westerns, and erotica are created and how you can write them too. This book offers you, whatever you write, the chance to perfect your craft while earning income, building your reputation, and experiencing the encouragement of seeing your work in print. Dean Koontz has sold since 1967, over twenty-four (copyright of this book 1974) popular novels. Before becoming a full-time free-lance writer, he worked as a supermarket check out clerk, a drummer in a rock band, a foredt ranger, a tutor for underprivileged children with the Appalachian Poverty Program, and as a suburban school English teacher, among other things.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Creative, Ebooks, Language, Reference

232 pages, Hardcover

First published December 6, 1972

About the author

Acknowledged as "America's most popular suspense novelist" (Rolling Stone) and as one of today's most celebrated and successful writers, Dean Ray Koontz has earned the devotion of millions of readers around the world and the praise of critics everywhere for tales of character, mystery, and adventure that strike to the core of what it means to be human.

Dean, the author of many #1 New York Times bestsellers, lives in Southern California with his wife, Gerda, their golden retriever, Elsa, and the enduring spirit of their goldens, Trixie and Anna.

Facebook: Facebook.com/DeanKoontzOfficial
Twitter: @DeanKoontz
Website: DeanKoontz.com

Reviews

[Timothy McNeil · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot has changed since the mid-1970s, especially if one is writing about that period while still cognizant of the lingering impact of the late-1960s. It would be wrong to think that the market for fiction is anywhere near the same. While the shift is likely less jarring than the pre- to post-Hemingway era of American literature, genre fiction – the subject of Dean R. Koontz's Writing Popular Fiction (1974) – one must consider how different the world is the more recent now.

Koontz was writing about a world where Peter Benchley's Jaws was just released as a book and had not become the first modern blockbuster. George Lucas had made two films at that point, THX 1138 (1971) and American Graffiti (1973); there was no such thing as Star Wars (1977). Star Trek (1966-69) was a show that had a decent run on network television and had not yet emerged as a presence in syndication. The use of vampires in successful fiction wouldn't emerge until Stephen King penned 'Salem's Lot in 1975, and it would not be until Anne Rice brought the sexy vampire back with Interview with a Vampire (1976) that the undead got to be in something more than a sub-category of the horror genre. Cable television had been around for 25 years but was still something more common in remote rural areas than the sameness of suburbia. Satellite television existed; it had its first single purpose satellite launched in '74. The personal computer was effectively unknown. The VCR existed, but was extremely expensive. It wouldn't be until 1975 that Betamax came on the scene and allowed for the average person to record broadcast television or watch movies at home at one's leisure. Hell, print magazines were still a major and viable outlet for a writer to submit fiction.

Koontz lists seven categories of genre fiction: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Suspense, Mysteries, Gothic-Romance, Westerns, and Erotica. I would argue that Sci-Fi (wildly expanded over what it was by the mid-1970s, for better or worse), Fantasy, Suspense (still very strong), Mystery (Koontz writes about the more traditional, Agatha Christie style mystery, which has been superseded by a more active plot structure since the early 1990s at least), Gothic-Romance (this is a chaste kind of romance, part Brontë sisters' young girl sent off to live in a strange house and long for the unobtainable man, part supernatural mystery; my understanding is that this market died before the 1970s were over), Westerns (another genre that has widely gone by the wayside; it takes a very well-written book to garner any attention beyond people who go purposely looking for a Western; however, the more modern Western follows a much different plot structure where a man can be a man instead of a slave to the modern world), and Erotica (Koontz divides this category into the Big Sexy Novel and the Rough Sexy Novel; the former category includes everything from the bodice-ripper romance novels of the 1980s and 1990s to the sex-filled stories of Jacquelin Suzanne or Harold Robbins, and even more, while Rough Sexy is effectively porn). To his credit, I think that Koontz did a fantastic job of delineating the categories and his understanding of them. I could not think of a kind of genre fiction that would not fit in these groups (though as noted, I believe the Gothic Romance is dead). More to the point, Koontz, who was not yet 30 when he wrote Writing Popular Fiction, clearly understood all of the genres and the necessary elements to make one acceptable to a publisher.

Koontz is a little too eager to go to numbered lists (this is more of a personal complaint, because if one is keeping the book handy as a resource then this tactic is fine, but it gets cumbersome if one is just reading through the book as a book). Then, when doing so would make the most sense, he avoids the tactic and just lists the information with paragraph breaks. It feels a little odd, but once I understood that he was going to change it up whenever he felt like it, I became much less concerned about it.

One of the better parts of any book on writing is how many forgotten (or at least unknown to me if they have remained popular) books the author mentions as good examples of the genres. For the most part, Koontz rattles off well-known and renowned titles and authors, though in some instances he seems to be well ahead of his time. He praises Lucas' THX 1138 as being one of the two worthwhile (meaning not derivative) science fiction movies, which is impressive mostly because nobody saw THX 1138 when it was released. Still, it became quite clear that not only was Koontz very well read, he also had no problem throwing other writers under the bus when it came to their abilities and works. This stood in odd contrast to his straight-out advice that a writer is better served by writing sub-standard, by the numbers genre fiction to earn a paycheck than in taking a 9 to 5 job and neglecting writing for even a few short months.

Koontz also gives great insight into why the authors of the era were so eager to use pen names. This always confused me, but apparently there was a prevailing belief that an author could compete with himself (or herself) instead of a loyal following buying more books by the same author. Likewise, there were genres (this may still be the case) where the audience was thought to only endorse on gender of author – Westerns needed to be written by men, Gothic Romances only by women – and an author often took a name for each genre in which he or she worked. It still seems crazy to me, but Koontz does an excellent job of explaining that when the publisher tells you to use a different name if you want the advance check, do it.

According to Koontz, a good story needs:
❶ A Strong Plot
❷ A Hero or Heroine
❸ Clear, Believable Motivation
❹ A Great Deal of Action
❺ A Colorful Background

That all seems super-obvious, doesn't it? Yet there are several stories I'd love to develop that I have have yet to figure out how to move the plot to the forefront of the tale. I have been known to try to force weak or unlikeable characters into the main role. I cannot remember I time I did not try to hide the characters motivations. I love restricting action (for no reason). And I am weak at describing the alien (Science Fiction or Fantasy) settings, or in bringing out the particulars of an environment and making the story come alive because of them. It is all simple advice, but sometimes I need to be clobbered over the head with it.

My overall reaction to this book is positive. I think I would enjoy a conversation with Koontz more than his books (and non-fiction to his fiction), but he clearly has mastered the craft of getting the readable, serviceable story in print quickly. Dated, sure, but worthwhile.

[Eustacia Tan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Previously, I talked about how Tell Lies for Fun and Profit taught me a bit about writing. Well, after that, I went to hunt down more books about writing and found Writing Popular Fiction by Dean Koontz. And you know what? It taught me a lot about plot.

Basically, the book deals with category fiction, and then in each category, discusses the basic plot-types, plot pitfalls and things that are absolutely necessary to include if you want your book to sell. In fact, compared to Manual for Fiction Writers, Writing Popular Fiction is mercenary in terms of how it assumes that the whole point of writing (or being an author) is to sell something.

The category fiction discussed in the book is: Science Fiction and Fantasy, Suspense, Mysteries, Gothic-Romance, Westerns and Erotica. If your future novel is going to be in any of the above categories, you should definitely take a look at this book. But anyway, there are quite a few chapters on writing in general, which make it worth looking at even if you don't think you are writing in any of these categories.

My biggest takeaway from this book was that it made me realise that my NaNoWriMo novel is going to be very close to (if not actually) Science-Fiction. I don't have any new technologies or such, but I'm definitely writing a "In The Near Future" story. And from that section alone, I have a lot more things to consider about the background of the world I'm creating. I may not include all the information, but I have to consider them if I want my novel to feel realistic.

Towards the end, some of the advice gets very dated, especially when he talks about submitting your manuscript (and typewriters). In the age of e-publishing, you can completely by-pass the traditional gatekeepers if you're so desperate to get your book out. Even if you want to be a traditional published author, I have a feeling that the submissions method/getting an agent process if different. But then again, I don't work in the publishing industry so I don't know.

If you're stuck on plot, this is definitely the book to read!

First posted at With love from Japan, Eustacia

[A.M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is one rule of style that every writer can benefit from: say it as simply, as clearly, and as shortly as possible. Only two genres are hospitable to the baroque style of writing—fantasy and Gothic-romance; all other categories are better suited to crisp, lean prose.

This is one of those writing books that I keep hearing writing coaches talk about. It’s like the holy grail of how-to-write books. Along with his other one from 1981 How to Write Best Selling Fiction. BUT it has been out of print for decades. I did find a copy on betterworldbooks (a site that sells old library books) but it was US$225. That’s a heck of a lot of aussie dollars. It’s similar prices on Amazon.
And then I saw on the google result page, there was a PDF; free and most probably illegal. Reader, I downloaded it.
*hangs head in shame* I am a bad book person.
Now… after that confession…
It’s pretty basic, clear and sensible advice. Couple of things I hadn’t thought about. He says to give your character curiosity.

Curiosity is responsible for every discovery since man tamed fire, yet, as with love, it is not motive enough to sustain a character for a full novel. There is a point at which—after he has been beaten and threatened enough—a realistic character motivated only by curiosity will call it quits.

Right… and then they will need something else to push them onwards.
He talks about world building especially in sci-fi.

Unless you're accustomed to the often dreary and difficult prose of science books, juvenile and even children's non-fiction on the subject most concerning you will prove to be a treasure trove. In these books, the fundamentals—usually all you'll need to begin your story—are simply explained, easily grasped and retained. And whereas the average library may be short on available science books, it will have thousands of children's books covering everything from the nature of stars and suns and gravity, to the operation of a jet plane and the construction of an oil well.

That is a super neat idea. I know I raided my kid’s books to find the names of things in a medieval castle. It’s hard to Google something when you don’t know what it’s called or how to describe it.
He runs with the ‘what if’ questions. He talks about extending current world issues, (like water shortages or racism) far into the future, time travel paradoxes, and alternate worlds or alternate histories. He gives examples of novels in each genre and sub heading.

A common mistake made by good, new category fiction writers is that in their science fiction stories they attempt to fully realize the human characters, but they construct the aliens out of cardboard, spit, and prayer.

Say it louder…
He goes through all the elements you need for a good mystery novel, spy novel and so on.
He even does Gothic romance… with the interesting confession that he dabbled in writing erotic romance and gothic novels when cash was scarce. In two weeks he wrote a novel and sold it.

Three months later, I wrote my second Gothic, again in two weeks, and received a $1,750 advance. My third Gothic, a few months later, took me one week from first page to last and earned another $1,750 check. Within a single year, taking only five weeks away from my serious work, I made $5,000 from my Gothics, enough to relieve immediate financial problems and let me get on with my more important work.

ONE WEEK???
Must find Koontz’ secret Gothic romances. Googles it… “Deanna Dwyer is the pseudonym that Dean Koontz used to write five Gothic novels in the early 1970's.” HA! And here ‘she’ is on GR- oh boy. These aren’t novellas. He wrote a 200+ page novel in a week. One is 350 pages.
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
This will probably lead to more illegal pdf downloading…
He advocates writing everyday and sticking to a page target per day. For practical advice, he talks about how if he is stuck he just retypes (this is the days of typewriter and carbon copies) the last couple of paragraphs. He’s writing. He’s tricked his brain into it.
He keeps all his notes and ideas on the basis that he never knows what will be useful or what he can use somewhere else. For a multi-genre writer he can shift something from Western to scif-fi for instance.
He talks about how he comes up with titles. Man, that is SO hard.
He evidently produces a pretty good first draft. He uses a lot of paper rewriting it as he goes.

The danger of planning to do several drafts lies in the subconscious or unconscious attitude that, If I don't get it right this time, it's okay; I can work it out in a later draft. This encourages carelessness in your original word choices, phrasing, and plotting. The more things you write with this approach in mind, the sloppier you become until, finally, your first draft is so poorly done that no number of re-workings will make it click.
No financially successful, critically acclaimed writer I know has let himself get caught in the "fix it in a later draft" trap. Without fail, however, the hopeless amateur clings to this fallacious theory like a drowning man to the only rock in the lake.

Hmmm… now that IS advice that goes against what everyone else says. But I get what he’s saying.
He deals with very practical things that are more out of date now; postage rates for mail classes, traditional publishers and agents, and so on.

15. How do I overcome a complete writer's block, when I can't write even one word? A writer's block is most often caused by one of five things: overwork, boredom, self-doubt, financial worries, or emotional problems between the writer and those close to him.

Copy that.
Does any country exempt writers from income tax? - yes, Ireland… wait… what? Googles that. Huh. And it’s still in place.
If all else fails… I’m moving to Ireland.
4 stars

[Julia Blair · Rating 1 out of 5]

You can’t argue against Dean R. Koontz’s success as an author, with over two dozen titles reaching number one on the NY Times Bestseller List through the years.

Writing Popular Fiction was first published in 1972, in a very different publishing era than today. When this book came out, paperback scifi and fantasy novels cost less than a dollar. Writers in Koontz’s vein published multiple novels per year, and according to Koontz, the most prolific and successful of these hacks – yes, hacks – followed a formula that worked.

Koontz reviews the characteristics of six kinds of genre fiction: science fiction and fantasy, suspense, mysteries, Gothic-romance, Westerns, and erotica; presumably all genres in which he has written. I hesitate to use the word analyze in his treatment of each genre, as his tone and treatment reveal a sense of self-confidence that his way is the best way for a writer to churn out manuscripts for sale. And for its time, it probably was. At least it was for him.

I confess here that of the genre chapters, I read only the one on science fiction and fantasy, though I did read the remainder of the book that dealt with non-genre specific advice.

However, this isn’t really a useful book. For someone wanting to learn about the creative process, Koontz’s advice is basic and based on the fact that he is (or was) already writing for publication. For an active writer, there is little sophistication in his later discussion of mechanics and style.

He uses excerpts of his own to illustrate essential elements, but his study seems more of a self-fulfilling afterthought than a discussion of craft: “We have now learned that the hero is apparently not of human parents, but an experiment of as yet unexplained ‘Artificial Wombs.’” Yes, we do see that, but there is no real analysis of the elements of character introduction, or developing an effective opening hook.

A one-page chapter entitled “The Most Important Chapter in This Book” exhorts the writer to learn the formula and get a few books published before attempting to “break the rules.”

It’s easy enough to get past the dated culture of the time – Koontz speaks of using carbon paper in his typewriter to create copies of his drafts – but it becomes clear to the interested reader (presumably an aspiring writer like myself) that writing has changed. I’d like to think for the better.

No longer the days of browsing the fiction shelves of a corner bookstore for the 99 cent pulp fiction of the Seventies and Eighties. The internet has killed the hack. It has certainly driven hordes of aspiring professionals into the electronic ghetto of blogging and self-publishing.

Or maybe it’s simply made the hack a more creative storyteller, because the rules no longer apply.

Bottom Line: Not worth adding to your writers’ bookshelf.

[Katia M. Davis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think if I had read this closer to the publication date, say 1980, then I would have given it 4 stars, but as it was, this book is incredibly dated. It might hold a few good points for basic craft, but the information and advice given here is no longer on the pulse point of genre fiction, which has changed drastically since this book was first published. Likewise, the information given for seeking an agent etc. may be generally ok as a very rough guide for people who want to go down the traditional publication route, however it is severely dated, e.g. typing your manuscript on carbon paper to ensure you keep a copy while you wrap the original in brown paper and twine to send to a publisher and hope the postal worker does not step on it.

I had hoped this would give more information to do with craft and how Dean Koontz has managed to be so successful over the years, however I was disappointed as it seemed bogged down with lengthy descriptions of each genre type and affectations of, as they existed in the 1970s. So it's not a bad book, just no longer relevant in my opinion. I wanted to stop reading it after the first 30 pages or so, but forced myself to read on just in case there were a few gems. Unfortunately I didn't find any for my purposes, but that's not to say other's won't.

Read if you are nostalgic or want to learn about the history of how to get published.

[Kirsteen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very practical. While some of it is very basic, I think Koontz did a good job of trying to explain things to amatures as well as people trying to branch out in their writing. Much of what he wrote in this book reminded me of things I learned in my creative writing class in high school and from all the books I've read over the years. I think this book is a very good source for people who are looking at trying to start in the business.

The reason I give it 5 stars though has more to do with the fact that I trust where Koontz is coming from. He seems to know his stuff and I trust any of his tips he gives. There were a couple pages I noticed, in the book, where it talks about the types of questions people need to ask themselves as writers, which I found rather impressive. Ie) He states that people could be wearing masks around in public just to get by, due to pollution issues. This, a book written back in 1972. I feel if Koontz is that good at seeing a problem like pollution, and correctly guessing what might be in 40 years, then he's probably pointing us in the right direction, as far as tips go.

I would recommend this book for anyone who either needs a reminder of the basics or is just beginning to dabble in writing.

[Danny Tyran · Rating 1 out of 5]

I suppose that in 1972 when this book was published, it was a great reference for writers, but now... Meh!

[Ralph Carlson · Rating 4 out of 5]

While it has some very good information in it, a lot of it is out of date. Still worth reading though.

[Kirti Vyas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somewhat dated, but has solid nuggets of tips for the emerging writer. Plus, the chapters are based on different genres, so a writer can choose to zoom on areas of interest and skim through or skip the ones they are not ever planning to tackle.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Given the age of the book, this has dated itself in a number of interesting ways. But not all of it! His title generating exercise, for example, remains quite relevant.

[Michael Mayer · Rating 4 out of 5]

EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Writer's Digest Hardcover, 1974 2nd printing with 232 pgs., size: 8 3/4" x 5 3/4 approx. - Fan of popular fiction, professional writer, new writer looking for markets-whoever you are, you'll enjoy this book. It takes you behind the publishing scene and shows you how popular novels-science fiction, mysteries, suspense thrillers, Gothic-romances, adult fantasy, Westerns, and erotica are created and how you can write them too. This book offers you, whatever you write, the chance to perfect your craft while earning income, building your reputation, and experiencing the encouragement of seeing your work in print. Dean Koontz has sold since 1967, over twenty-four (copyright of this book 1974) popular novels. Before becoming a full-time free-lance writer, he worked as a supermarket check out clerk, a drummer in a rock band, a foredt ranger, a tutor for underprivileged children with the Appalachian Poverty Program, and as a suburban school English teacher, among other things.

[Don Gillette · Rating 2 out of 5]

An extremely dated instructional manual on freelance fiction writing, but still okay as a general explanation of modern fiction writing. Anything technical about submission, typing manuscripts, etc. has long been replaced by the age of automation where manuscripts are emailed as MS Word attachments, but reading the formulas Koontz still uses to this day was enjoyable because, for the most part, they're the formulas ALL fiction writers use. This isn't to say you can read this and write a best-seller because as always, it's about "story," but it is an interesting look behind the scenes.

[Mr.Jamie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not half as good as King's On Writing, but I suppose that koontz isn't quite the writer that King is anyway. Not at all what I had expected either. Where King's book was informative And entertaining, Writing Popular Fiction just came off as being forced and obtuse.

2/5 Stars

[Cynthia Vespia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This may be a little dated but the advice is still sound. A learned quite a few new tricks to improve my writing and marketing, including the fact that Koontz recommends a specific page count everyday in order to release more novels within a years time frame.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 4 out of 5]

An instruction manual on who to write fiction by a multi-published author. Questions with answers are distributed throughout the book.