The Secret to Unlocking the Action-Adventure Genre
Ever popular, the Action-Adventure story is the original hero’s journey: a protagonist who must go on a quest to a new world and fight demons—both inner and outer—along the way. With such flexible parameters, the genre is one that often must share the spotlight, whether it crosses with Fantasy and Sci-Fi epics, Thrillers, Mysteries, or […]
How Spicy Romance Authors Turn up the Heat for Readers
Afternoon delight, knocking boots, dancing in the sheets, the horizontal tango—no matter what you want to call it, we all know the lingo. And for some of us, that lingo, and all the colorful acts it represents, can play a big role in the books we write. Spicy or Steamy Romance covers a range of […]
What It Takes to Make Your Next Book a Holiday Hit
This issue falls as autumn begins, at least in the Northern Hemisphere. But writers invariably set Christmas-themed books amid images of pine trees laden with snowy boughs, despite 50 percent of the world experiencing the height of summer on December 25. It is a statement to the cultural prevalence of this part of the globe […]
Poetry by the Book: What to Consider Before Self-Publishing Your Collection
Angie Martin As a gorgeous art form that has survived the centuries and that readers around the globe admire and revere, poetry can be more like music than a storytelling genre, with stanzas and word choice providing a unique cadence to access the poet’s soul. These rhythmic works come in a myriad of styles, length, […]
Help Your Superhero Novel Soar to New Heights: Tropes to Know
Jenn Mitchell From the golden age of comics to modern-day Marvel movies, countless caped crusaders and super villains have kept our pulses pounding with their daring and dastardly deeds, leaving us breathless and clamoring for more. Traditionally, Superhero fiction has been a visual medium, so unsurprisingly, fans often gravitate toward comics, movies, cartoons, or games […]
Breaking Down the Difference Between New Adult and Young Adult Fiction
We all know what a “young adult” is—after all, we’ve all been one. But as it turns out, we’ve all been “new adults” as well, a lesser-known age range that directly follows young adulthood. Over the years, both “young adult” and “new adult” stages of life have sparked genres of the same names, and though […]
Fairy Tale Retellings Breathe New Life into Childhood Classics
Remember those first stories we heard as children? “The Three Little Pigs,” “Little Red Riding Hood,” “Three Billy Goats Gruff,” “Snow White,” “Cinderella,” and so many more? We could listen to them over and over again. Each time, we were delighted with the end. The main character defeated the villain, found true love, and—my favorite—lived […]
Season of the Witch: A Closer Look at Paranormal Women’s Fiction
A Quick Genre Breakdown The easiest definition of Paranormal Women’s Fiction, or PWF as it’s often referred to, is women’s fiction with paranormal elements. More specifically, PWF is action-packed fiction under the fantasy umbrella written for and about women in the middle of their lives. According to florasmusings.com, the genre is defined as “the new […]
The Women of GameLit: Making Their Mark on a Male-Dominated Genre
According to a 2021 article in Forbes, women accounted for nearly 41 percent of the gamer population in the United States and up to 45 percent in Asia, which also sees 48 percent of the world’s total video game revenue. While reader demographics are almost impossible to evaluate—the numbers simply aren’t readily available—a quick review […]
Living the Romantasy: Genre Tropes in Romantic Fantasy
Romantic Fantasy (AKA Romantasy) is a subgenre of Fantasy that pairs a strong romantic subplot with a Fantasy main plot. The focus can skew toward the Fantasy plot with a significant minority of romantic elements, or it can balance fairly evenly between the two. Romantasy is often confused with its sister genre, Fantasy Romance. While […]