How to Make [Almost] Any Story Work
If you’re a new-ish writer, you’ve probably heard the adage that all of your books should [at least roughly] fit into your chosen corner of the literary world. That means that if you’re building an audience based on Fantasy Romance, you shouldn’t switch over to Horror. At least not under the same pen name (brand). Whether or not you agree or adhere to that advice, you may have faced the same problem many of us have: every idea we have doesn’t necessarily fall into the genre puzzle like the next missing piece. What are we to do? There’s hope. I can tell you how to fit almost all of your ideas into your preferred genre.
First a note though: I’m not suggesting that there’s no possibility for deviation. For example, if you write Horror and then want to try some Dark Fantasy, your audience is probably cool with that. Many of the readers in either of those genres would also enjoy novels in the other. But few Horror readers want to read a Coming-of-Age story with touches of romance.
Blend the Two
However, even if your ideas are that disparate, there’s a way to mesh them. You just have to be flexible.
Idea #1
Let’s say that you’ve written two or three Historical Mysteries but this Coming-of-Age story just won’t leave you alone. I wouldn’t recommend writing it in a traditional sense—the modern-day, character story that’s likely for YA readers. And I wouldn’t recommend adopting a new pen name and doing so either. Early in your career, that would be too much of a hurdle. You’d have to build an entirely new market following, none of whom know anything about you.
But…you can modify your story idea so that it’s only slightly tangential rather than a complete departure from your genre. Make it a historical Coming-of-Age story with at least a touch of mystery.
Take your characters, set them in historical setting and, while they’re struggling to come to terms with their maturation and all of the life changes that come with that, give them a mystery to solve. You can tone down the historical details somewhat so that they’re more of an issue of the setting rather than the central role that they play in Historical Fiction. Likewise, the mystery component will likely be less intense than in a more traditional Mystery. However, it will hopefully fall close enough to your existing work(s) that your readers won’t wonder what happened to their beloved author.
Idea #2
But what about those ideas that seem to be radically different such as the one I mentioned before—the case in which you’re a Horror author but want to write a Romance. Better yet: a Coming-of-Age Romance, which seems even farther afield.
Stand back from the two and look at the underpinnings. As Jessica Brody so deftly identified in Save the Cat! Writes a Novel, a Horror story is about a secret sin. It might be something one of the characters has done in the past, or something that a larger figure has inflicted on their community, the country or even the world (as in Swan Song by Robert McCammon). In the Horror novel, some form of monster—human or otherwise—takes the tangible form of that sin. The characters struggle against the monster until they’re able to conquer it and address the sin that to-date remains unaddressed.
There’s no reason why the characters can’t be young ones and that their struggles can’t drive them together romantically. The resulting story won’t look like a traditional coming-of-age story like The Fault in Our Stars or If I Stay and it can’t. Your audience isn’t going to accept that great a departure from what they want from you (Horror). But it can still be a great story with the characters and the love affair that you want to write.
Major on Your Strengths
Another option that might seem similar to the one we just discussed but isn’t necessarily is to consider what you really bring to the table. I’ll use myself as an example.
My first work of fiction is a Historical Gothic Mystery. If I were to want to depart from that genre, I’d need to consider why my readers love my writing. I know something about what that might be because of my editor and others who have commented on my strengths and what really shines in my writing. I’ve been told that my writing is very atmospheric and that I’m “a master of suspense.” I also love plot twists and I tend to write on a deeply symbolic level.
I’ve had a huge idea that I’ve been working on for years. Originally I envisioned it as more of a traditional epic Fantasy series (somewhere around twelve books). But the more I work up to something on that scale, the more I realize that I’ll have more fun with it and will produce a better product if I stick with the things I do well.
Twisting the story (not that hard given what I’m working on) to make it more of a Dark Fantasy chock-full of plot twists and suspense is a no-brainer. And there’s a great possibility that my readers will love it just as much since it includes the very things they’re looking for in my writing.
But I could also write in other genres as well as long as I remember to major in suspense, plot twists in an atmospheric setting. That might be a Paranormal Romance or even a Science Fiction novel so long as it’s lighter on the SciFi and heavier on the other elements.
Sequel/ Prequel/ Extension
If you’re hell-bent on writing that hugely different tale under your existing brand, the only other way to make it work is to tie it into your existing work in some way. For example, let’s say you’re working on a series of thrillers featuring the same main character(s). It’s possible to write an extension story about someone your readers already love.
Perhaps in the first three books your main character garnered the support of a local police detective. At the end of the third book, they conquer that foe and the detective decides to retire and become a school teacher in a small town. He’s battle worn and has seen enough trauma for several lifetimes.
If your readers love that character, it’s likely that a lot of them will want to read more about his life after he retires from hunting monsters. He could very well strike up a romance with another teacher or a local barista. Your extension story might show the difficulty he has trusting people. After all, thrillers are, at their core, about ascertaining who’s trustworthy.
Or you could write a prequel about how he got to the point of being a master monster hunter in the first place. Imagine how psychologically rich that could be.
A Separate Brand
You get the point. For a significant off-brand work to succeed, it’ll need to appeal to your existing readers in some way. It’ll need to tie in due to a merger of genres, common underpinnings (your style), or a character or plot extension.
Otherwise you’re going to need to employ a different pen name. That comes with its own share of difficulties such as having to reestablish a market for your work. Lots of well-known authors do this and once you have an income base from your other work it isn’t as stressful. It gives writers the freedom to dabble in all of the areas they love the most.
If that’s you, don’t be afraid to do this, but if you’re just starting out, know that it may come with a lot of stress and difficulty. If you can shelve your ideas for later when you’re not trying to build a career based on your existing brand, you’ll have a much easier road.
Long way of saying: you can and should write whatever you want to write, but don’t try to write wildly off-brand pieces under the same name. Readers rarely accept it and it’ll undermine your success. Build a consistent brand name and let that name compound your readership so that you have a base under your feet before you veer off course.
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