4 Tips for Blending a Multiple-Genre Novel
I came up with the concept for With Regrets, my genre-blending novel about a dinner party held on the brink of the apocalypse, on a night when I felt particularly anxious about leaving my young children to attend an adults-only dinner—and as I typically tend to do, I repackaged my worries into a possible book idea. What would happen if, on the evening of a world-altering, cataclysmic event, a group of friends and frenemies were wining and dining, away from their kids?
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I started getting excited about this possibility of combining two very different genres to tell one story (a neighborhood drama…but paired with the suspense of an apocalyptic thriller!) though genre-blending is a clear fascination of mine. The Antiquity Affair, my recent collaboration with Jennifer Thorne, combines the puzzles and treasure-hunting elements of adventures like Indiana Jones with the sensibility of high society historical novels. My previous novel, A Criminal Magic, blends the tropes of crime thrillers with the fantastical elements of magic and sorcery.
After writing several multi-genre novels, I have a few tips to share about “blending” genres: which ingredients should go into the blender, and how much, and how to combine the various flavors for maximum effect.
Establish Your Genre “Base”
Naturally, choosing milk, juice, or water as a smoothie “base” or main ingredient will completely change the blended drink’s taste and texture. The same is true for choosing the primary ingredient of your multi-genre novel—and yes, I do believe you need to choose one genre to serve as your project’s “base.”
My first draft of With Regrets was quite unwieldy, because initially, I had conceived of the project as domestic suspense, more neighborhood drama than apocalyptic thriller. The first draft had way too much setup, backstory, and vignettes about the neighbors’ relationships. In fact, I don’t think the catastrophic event happened in the first draft until well into the second act.
Reimagining my story as primarily a thriller changed everything: I revised to make all the action happen in real time, which ironed out the story’s pacing. The tone became clearer, too, after I decided to convey the characters’ backstories through dialogue and interiority prompted by real-time choices. And with a clearer vision, my writing became easier.
Use the Flavors of Both Genres
Even still, readers will expect to experience the “flavors,” or major tropes, of both of your genres. Jessica Brody in Save the Cat! Writes a Novel stresses that every genre has three or four non-negotiable elements: every buddy-com or romance, for example, features an “incomplete” protagonist, a counterpart, and a relationship complication.
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Every mystery, by contrast, has a sleuth, a secret, and what Brody calls a “dark turn,” or a moment when the sleuth’s own principles are compromised. Therefore, readers of a story featuring two frenemies who eventually grow closer by solving a mystery together will likely be looking for the buddy-com tropes, as well as reading for the mystery elements.
When revising With Regrets, I realized that, even though the story is primarily a thriller, a novel involving friends and frenemies still needed a healthy dose of neighborly drama. I still needed those internal threats, or interpersonal stakes, between the characters, the dark secrets and lies that are typical of domestic suspense. I just had to present and render these elements more efficiently than I had in the first draft.
To accomplish this, I created a “chart of secrets” for my characters, where I sketched out every dinner party guest’s secret, who they’re keeping it from, and why they’re keeping it. Then, whenever possible, I paired the revelations of these hidden truths or agendas with major events occurring in the “external threat” apocalypse plot line (which leads me to my next tip).
Check out Lee Kelly’s With Regrets here:
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Combine Flavors to Enhance Readers’ Experience
For me, whenever a book scene is scary and funny, or embarrassing and tense, the sequence reads far more interesting, multifaceted, and real. Just like with food, combining contrasting story elements can enhance and elevate the entire experience.
Whenever I’m writing a multi-genre novel, I try to draw upon the elements of both genres for every major plot point and scene. For instance, revealing a guest’s betrayal at precisely the moment there’s also a devastating development about the apocalyptic phenomenon; or pairing a tough marital conversation with the discovery of a dead victim on the front lawn.
Experiment With Various Ingredients
I’m in the process of brainstorming another genre-blending novel, and my analytical left-brain is longing to lock in my first iteration, to settle down and flesh out the plot already . . . but my right-brain knows better. I find it helpful to sit with an idea for a while, to lay out all the various genre combinations before hurrying to declare my genre-blending “recipe” finished.
For example, this recent idea I’m thinking about hit me when I was talking to my fellow Girl Scout troop leaders about an overnight camping trip for our girls. A story scene came to me in a flash: moms and daughters running for their lives through the woods (yes, it’s scary the way my mind works). Could this be the start of a women’s fiction novel with a few ghost story elements? Or a then-now murder-mystery thriller? Or maybe a speculative adventure?
Let yourself reflect on which genres will blend best, and which combination you’re most excited to serve up.