Discover in this post …

• the most essential ingredient of a good book.

• the distinction between commercial genre and content genre—and why you should understand this before you start writing.

• the two best ways you can use content genres to stay ten steps ahead of the average writer.

The Essential Ingredient of a Good Book

What do the following reader complaints have in common?

• “The ending of that book was the biggest letdown.”

• “That setup was dumb because I never found out who was behind it all.”

• “That character changed, and I didn’t like her anymore.”

• “That ghost popped up out of nowhere in Chapter 10. I didn’t know I was reading a paranormal book!”

Answer: In each case, the writer has broken the reader’s trust. The reader expected one thing and received another. In most cases, this is not okay.

I’m not talking about surprises in books. Plot twists and character reveals are excellent ways to keep readers alert and turning pages. I’m referring to the most essential ingredient of a good book: meeting (or exceeding!) reader expectations.

In an action story, readers want to experience excitement. How will the protagonist overcome the odds, defeat the villain, and stay alive (or not) along the way?

In a love story, how will the lovers find a deep connection? And can they maintain it?

In a crime story, who committed the crime and how will that person be brought to justice?

Leave out any of these items, and angry readers will congregate on your doorstep. You can probably handle them, especially with the combined imagination of a few writer friends to assist—but do you really want to mess with that?

Some of the above may seem obvious. If you’re writing a crime story, you probably spend plenty of time thinking about the most creative, unexpected way to reveal who did it.

But what if you’re writing science fiction or fantasy? How do you know you’re satisfying reader expectations without sending your manuscript out to thirty beta readers, analyzing their feedback, and wasting time reworking large portions of your story you could have nailed the first time?

Editor Shawn Coyne, author of The Story Grid, proposes a terrific way to do just that.

No matter what genre you’re writing, Coyne argues that if you’re writing a story in which outside forces act upon your protagonist, your external plot will fall into one of nine overarching categories: action, horror, crime, performance, society, war, thriller, love, or Western/Eastern. He terms these categories “external content genres.” These are not the same as commercial genres.

Commercial Genre vs. Content Genre

A commercial genre tells you where you’d likely see your book at a bookstore: romance, mystery, thriller, science fiction, fantasy, etc.

Your external content genre (with “external” referring to an outer force acting upon your protagonist) tells you the type of story you’re writing. It helps you identify your protagonist’s core desire, along with the key scenes you need to include if you want to satisfy readers and affect them on an emotional level. (And yes, you astute reader you, if there are external content genres, you can bet your bottom dollar there are also internal content genres: worldview, status, and morality. But I’ll tell you more about those in another post.)

That means when you’re staring at page one of your fantasy novel, agonizing over the best way to keep your readers’ attention, you don’t need to panic. You have a roadmap to guide you as you make the most fitting decisions for your story.

Not only do these nine external content genres provide your key scenes and your protagonist’s core desire, but they also inform the stakes and emotions that need to be present in your story.

Before you get all defensive and go stash your creativity some place where I can’t steal it from you, remember that the best ideas often spring from limitations. I’ve said this in a past blog post, but limitation breeds creativity.

Business psychologists speak of “decision fatigue.” It’s one of the reasons Apple does better with fewer product lines, and why Trader Joe’s is such a success by focusing on (and allowing its customers to focus on) 4,000 products compared to the 50,000 carried by the average grocery store. There’s even a French movement, founded in 1960, called Oulipo—a group of mathematicians and writers who use severe restrictions as they create their works (such as writing an entire novel without the letter “e”). You don’t need to take this concept that far, but you get the idea: somewhat counterintuitively, no one likes making decisions when their choices are unlimited!

View the nine external content genres/key scenes/stakes/core emotions as roadmaps and diagnostic tests rather than prison bars, and you’ll unleash your creativity, not stifle it.

Imaginative Case Study:

• WRITER #1: “Why aren’t my beta readers happy with my thriller’s ending?”

(Sulks, then looks up key scenes of a thriller)

“Oh. I forgot to include a false ending. My protagonist won too easily, and readers sensed it.”

• WRITER #2: “Why does my action story feel like it drags in the middle?”

(consults Story Grid concepts)

“Ah. I waited too long to introduce my antagonist. My characters weren’t facing a threat head-on.”

What about Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Historical Fiction?

Genres like fantasy, science fiction, and historical fiction aren’t content genres at all. Sure, they’re commercial genres that explain where they’re shelved at your local library, but more than anything, they’re settings. Use them as backdrops for your actual content genre—your true story.

Your fantasy novel might be an action story. But it might fit better into the crime, horror, love, or thriller category. The decision you make will give you the framework you need to ensure your readers sit back after finishing your novel and say, “Now that was a book worth reading.”

What’s the Gist?

If the larger system is broken, readers won’t care about your beautiful prose. The story comes first.

As a reminder, here are the two best ways you can use content genres:

1. Roadmap: Get the framework right in the brainstorming stage, and you’ll be ten steps ahead of the average writer.

2. Diagnostic tool: Apply content genre concepts after finishing all or most of your novel, and you’ll be able to pinpoint exact areas that need your attention as you revise.

The better you know your story and the more you know your readers, the less time you’ll waste getting your framework right the first time.

Discover the key scenes/stakes/core emotions readers expect from each external content genre below:

• Outline and core info for the action, crime, & thriller content genres

• Outline and core info for the performance, society, & love content genres

• Outline and core info for the horror, war, & Western/Eastern content genres

Down the road, I’ll discuss internal content genres as well. Until then, happy writing!

What external content genre do you suspect you’re writing? What questions/suspicions/clarifications would you like to toss into the conversation? Let me know in the comments below!

Do you want to learn how to write a story that makes your target readers stand up and cheer? If you’d like support from A to Z (from brainstorming to drafting to revising to publication), book a Discovery Call with me to see if you’re a good fit to join my book coaching program, Fantasy Footsteps: Road to Publication. And if you haven’t done so already, grab your Free Guide on how to hook readers from your story’s start!