Popular Crime Fiction Sub-Genres
Crime fiction usually involves solving a mystery or why it occurred (such as “Crime and Punishment” by Dostoevsky and “Chanson Douce” by Leila Slimani). Crime fiction captivates readers by engaging their curiosity and desire to solve puzzles, and providing escapist entertainment that offers a break from their mundane lives or touches an inner fear they have harbored (for example, untrustworthy mates, killer nannies, and death by medicine).
From Poe to a Niche All its Own
Since the 1841 publication of Edgar Allan Poe’s, “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” crime fiction has blossomed to become a genre with an ever-expanding community of writers. A US phenomenon before it crossed the Atlantic, crime fiction was a recognized genre by the 20th century.
The Sub-Genres of Crime Fiction
The genre has evolved over the years to include several sub-genres. The most popular sub-genres are:
The Cozy Mystery—In this sub-genre the detective is usually not a professional, the violence is not graphically described and usually not visible, and the story often has a small-town or rural setting. The sleuth is typically an intuitive and intelligent woman whose professional connections may aid her deductive skills. In this genre the focus is on character development and plot. Think Agatha Christie and her Miss Marple character.
General Suspense—This usually involves an ordinary person whose need to solve a problem sometimes involves finding a way to exonerate themselves. Think Gillian Flynn, Lee Child, and Dennis Lehane.
Private Detective Stories—In this sub-genre, the detective often works in a notable city, and there is explicit violence. Think Mike Hammer, the detective imagined by Mickey Spillane. Modern examples include Sue Grafton’s character Kinsey Milhone, Lawrence Block’s character Matt Scudder, and Janet Evanovich’s character Stephanie Plum.
Police Stories—Think James Patterson’s character Alex Cross, Ian Rankin’s character Rebus, and Michael Connelly’s character Harry Bosch. The protagonists’ stories include professional and personal issues, not just the actual crime that sets the stage.
Legal Thrillers—Think Scott Turow’s and John Grisham’s stories. The writers are often trained lawyers with a talent for creative writing. For example, Turow not only once taught creative writing at Stanford but is also a Harvard Law School graduate.
The Medical Thriller— These are usually set in a hospital, and the story involves medicine or its effect on an actual character. Think Michael Crichton, Robin Cooke, and Tess Gerritsen.
The Forensic Thriller—Such stories usually have a protagonist who is a pathologist or a scientist. Think Patricia Cornwell, Jeffery Deaver, and Kathy Reichs.
The Military Thriller—In this sub-genre the protagonist typically is in government service or a former serviceman. Think Tom Clancy.
Writers who want a career should try crime fiction. To write proper crime fiction, read crime fiction. Joining a writing group or an association, signing up for one or more workshops, and taking classes will also boost writing skills.
- Published in Writing & Editing Resources
Take Advantage of the Excellent Guidance provided by The Institute of Children’s Literature
Children’s literature has been a distinctive genre for more than two centuries. However, it has arguably never been as popular as it is today. For trade-specific knowledge needed to succeed in writing for this genre, you need a reputable source of guidance.
About The Institute of Children’s Literature
The Institute of Children’s Literature (“ICL”) provides stellar education for writers who want to write for a young audience. ICL provides guidance that covers all the subgenres and angles of writing for children and young adults.
The ICL has helped writers become better at writing for young readers since January 1969. In addition, ICL provides expert guidance about optimizing marketing. An average of 300 ICL students per year have their writing published.
One-on-One Instruction
ICL offers rare one-on-one instruction and guidance by a writer or editor experienced in the craft of children’s literature. Instructors develop their teaching plans based on students’ skill levels.
ICL Course Offerings
The coursework is designed for anyone who is interested in writing for a young reader, including parents, working professionals, and individuals who require flexibility.
Current courses are Writing for Children and Teens; Breaking into Print; Shape, Write and Sell Your Novel; and advanced courses: Beyond The Basics: Creating And Selling Short Stories and Articles and Writing And Selling Children’s Books;.
Learn from Experienced Professionals
All ICL instructors are published writers or editors. They have written a combined total of more than 900 books as well as more than 20,000 articles and stories that have been published by newspapers, national magazines and online. ICL matches its students with instructors according to student interests and needs. Placement depends on whether the student intends to write fiction or nonfiction, books, short stories, articles, or a combination thereof.
ICL’s Satisfied Students
On its website, ICL reveals that 89.7 percent of its graduate students were “very satisfied;” 98 percent would repeat the course; and 97.7 percent would recommend ICL to a friend.
Author Submissions for Feedback
The ICL is located in a beautiful Connecticut mansion. Writers can also submit writing for critiques through its website. People who cannot come to the physical location but would like feedback and marketing guidance can use the online resource.
A Weekly Informative Podcast
ICL’s director hosts the Writing for Children podcast. The podcast discusses the craft of children’s literature, including how to write a book, how to write for magazines, how to earn income, and how to get published. ICL experts answer listener questions. In addition, the show notes provide hard-to-access resources and useful links.
If you have stories you want to write for young readers and wish to excel in the genre, you will benefit from ICL’s expert guidance. Visit ICL’s website to learn more about the Institute and what it offers for writers in the Children’s and Young Adult Literature genres.
- Published in Writing & Editing Resources
Immigrant Writers Aspiring Immigrant Writers Should Read
Immigrant writers have a rich reservoir of inspiration that connects their personal lives and heritage. Readers travel to other countries vicariously through the descriptions in the books they read. The presentation of a lived experience enriches readers. The variety of immigrant writers in America has widened their readers’ exposure to other cultures.
Immigrant Authors Open Readers’ Minds about Immigrants
Reading makes readers more empathetic when they become absorbed in characters and experience their feelings. America is transitioning into a new era, the minority-majority era, which demands more empathy towards others so that all Americans work together for the betterment of their communities, states, and country.
The Diversity of Immigrant Writers in America
Chinua Achebe, an immigrant from Nigeria, wrote “Things Fall Apart,” describing the struggles of Nigeria’s Igbo tribe as their way of life was changed by white Christian colonists. Ghanaian-American Yaa Gyasi’s “Homegoing” presents the slave trade and its legacy through the story of two sisters and their descendants over a period of 300 years. Aspiring writers can see how the author skillfully manages to write a story of epic scope that is not compromised by excluding significant detail.
Jhumpa Lahiri’s fiction explores themes of immigrant life in America, duty, family, and freedom. Her debut short story collection, “Interpreter of Maladies,” was awarded the Pulitzer Prize; and her story about the children of immigrant parents, “The Namesake,” was made into a movie. Piyali Bhattacharya’s book of stories by South Asian American women, “Good Girls Marry Doctors: South Asian American Daughters on Obedience and Rebellion,” presents their work in an easily digestible essay collection.
Art Spiegelman’s serial comic, “Maus,” about life in Nazi Germany and the relationship between a Holocaust-survivor father and his son, brought serious respect to the graphic novel medium. The graphic novel, “The Best We Could Do,” by Thi Bui is about how displacement and immigration affected a Vietnamese-American immigrant daughter and her parents. Shaun Tan’s graphic novel, “The Arrival,” captures the immigrant experience from arrival to integration to growth.
Gene Luen Yang’s “American Born Chinese” is a graphic novel about a young student and the issues of identity that confront him in school. Christina García’s “Dreaming in Cuban,” and other works present the Cuban-American experience. Janine Joseph, an immigrant from the Philippines, writes stories and poetry about growing up undocumented in America.
The poetry of Vietnamese-American poet Ocean Vuong is spellbinding and deep. Nigerian-British novelist Helen Oyeyemi often uses fairy tales and fables in her novels.
Immigrant writers can be an important part of building a more empathetic and diverse society. If you are an aspiring immigrant writer, you will benefit by checking out the stories of other immigrant writers for inspiration and guidance.
- Published in Writing & Editing Resources
Top New Editing Trends Writers Should Be Aware Of
Without a doubt, the publishing world is changing. While high-profile authors continue enjoying their well-earned success, indie authors are starting to take center stage, thanks to a higher level of publicity gained by cheaper and more effective marketing options. Book platforms are changing, too, as are the ways books are written, edited, and promoted. Many of these changes will affect a writer’s bottom line, so being prepared for them will lessen the financial blow and give writers time to adapt.
E-Book Sales Continue to Explode
Despite the ongoing reports about Barnes and Noble shutting down its e-book store and discontinuing sales and support of the beloved Nook e-readers, Amazon’s Kindle line continues to grow and change. Amazon reports that more than 70% of its 2016 adult fiction sales were in digital format. What does this mean for new writers? E-book publishing is the most cost-effective way to break into the market as e-books can be widely distributed almost instantly. Focus on driving your digital sales.
Readers’ Perceptions about Indie Authors Are Shifting
A few years ago, an indie author may have felt successful if a few friends and family members shared word of their book with other friends and family. Now, readers are starting to shift away from the expected by best-selling authors and are widening their reading horizons to include new independent, self-published authors. Another report from Amazon shows small press and indie author sales accounted for a full 50% of its market share in 2016!
What does this mean for indie authors? It means as an indie author, you have doors opening for you everywhere you look. If you have the writing and editing skills to create a quality product, the market is yours for the taking. Competition among indie authors is fierce, with most e-books priced below $3.00, so you’ll want to beef up your social marketing skills and cultivate a loyal reader base. The hard work will definitely pay off on the bottom line.
Think Internationally
Publishing “wide” is a trend writers, editors, and agents are starting to employ as authors seek to de-limit themselves from the U.S. market alone. While this involves extra cost, the author or agent can do some research into the reading markets of other countries to determine if their theme fits what is popular elsewhere. If the primary language of the target country is other than the author’s first language, they will need to hire a translator.
If you want to have work translated, expect to pay between $0.13 and $0.25 per word, depending on the complexity and commonality of the language. Alternately, hourly rates vary greatly by translator, but bear in mind, the industry average for translations is 360 words per hour. For a longer manuscript, you may want to hire a firm with two to three translators working on different parts of the same document, as this will make the translation faster and can save over per-word rates.
Keeping these publishing changes in mind will help writers reclaim aging markets with fresh outlooks and action plans for the coming years. Remember, e-books, international markets, and indie authors are just the start of shifts in the publishing world. Anticipating and preparing for different approaches to writing, editing, marketing, and publishing will keep authors at the forefront of this highly competitive business.
- Published in Writing & Editing Resources
Business Writing—How to Write like a Professional
Business writing, like other forms of writing, is a skill that improves with practice and effort. It seems simple; but it isn’t. Since business professionals are hard-pressed for time, and have a limited attention span because of it, how specific information is conveyed is very important.
Stick to the Accepted Format
Different types of business writing have specific formats. Follow the standard for each type. Adhering to the protocol is less confusing for readers. Following the accepted form matters more in business writing than in other writing forms.
For instance, business correspondence that is not well written, properly formatted, and/or badly presented gets in the way and may irritate the reader.
Some Pointers about Effective Business Communication/Writing
Your writing must be professional. Professionalism requires etiquette. Being informal is not acceptable in professional communication.
Do an outline of what you want to convey. Use the appropriate tone. Make sure to go through your writing as if you are the reader yourself.
All forms of business writing require the same style of conveying the information. Be straightforward. The style should be clear and succinct. Keeping sentences and paragraphs as concise as possible is a common characteristic of business writing. Do not dally while getting to the purpose of your business writing. What you convey should be easy to follow.
Don’t use jargon or indirect/needless words. Make each sentence convey a single message. Clarity is key. Using precise words in compact content holds the readers’ attention.
Read business publications, reports and presentations to see how business communications are crafted. Some business writers are more effective communicators. Emulate the ones whose style resonates with you, as you need to be yourself in your writing.
Know Your Audience/Reader.
Make sure your writing considers the readers’ standpoints. Think about what readers expect. Depending on what you are writing, do not assume your readers understand the content of your message. In some cases, readers may lack the assumed knowledge.
Show Consideration and Courtesy in Correspondence
Get to the point early. Don’t make the reader wait to figure out what your writing is about.
Short and concise correspondence demonstrates consideration of the time limitations of the reader and shows respect for the reader. It is also the most professional and effective way to share or discuss information.
Carefully Proofread Your Writing/Communication
Read your content before you send/ present it and use spell check.
Business writing is simpler and less demanding than creative writing. But, it still requires practice and constant efforts to improve its quality.
- Published in Writing & Editing Resources