5 Tips for Using Genre Tropes to Generate New Work
It is a truth (and cliché) universally acknowledged that the blank page is the most intimidating thing to a writer in search of a draft. It’s far easier to edit even bad first drafts—even first drafts so terrible you’re pretty sure it’s way beyond the pale of other writers’ bad first drafts—than it is to generate a story out of thin air.
When writing my second book, The Hurricane Blonde, I could not get myself to get words on the page in the way I was used to. Second books are notoriously hard (well—writing is just notoriously hard), and writing one during the midst of a global pandemic does not make it any easier. But one way I found to get enough (terrible) words down on the page was to play against genre tropes.
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I write crime fiction, with a particular noir bent, and the use of the tropes of those genres have been very generative for me. Having something to write towards—or against—when I’m stuck always helps me get words down on the page, regardless of whether or not those scenes actually wind up in the book itself. I know I can fall into the trap of wanting to be the most efficient writer I can be–only writing scenes that I’ll use—but that’s not really possible. Sometimes it’s enough to get your fingers moving on the keyboard to loosen things up.
Here are my best tips for using genre tropes to break out of a rut and generate new writing. While I used specifically tropes falling into noir and crime fiction, I believe these tips can work for any genre (even literary fiction, which, yes, is a genre unto itself) as long as you’re well versed in the tropes that define it (and you better be, if you’re working in that genre!).
What’s your genre’s thesis?
What’s the central question or statement on life that defines your genre? For science fiction, it might be exploring the unknown. In noir, I think of two definitions from writers I like: “Dreamers become schemers” (paraphrased from Laura Lippman) and “Finding the truth is the most painful outcome” (paraphrased from Steph Cha).
I use these two thesis statements as tentpoles for outlining where I start and where I end my stories: Who is my dreamer and why must they resort to schemes? And what truths are they going to unearth by the end of the book that will hurt worse than not knowing? Even if I realize I want to take the book in a different direction than I started out, these offer me a starting point, and an endpoint to work towards in a first draft.
Flip the expected story beats.
Every genre has expected story beats. Think of a romance novel: the meet-cute (or the hate-cute, as the case may be); the first kiss; the declaration of love; the obstacle that keeps the lovers apart just before the third act; the resolution and happy ever after. These story beats are what readers will expect to see from your book, and you can use these beats as additional tent poles for scenes you need to write.
However, when you’re stuck, one of the most useful tricks I’ve learned is to write a scene that goes the opposite direction of the story beat. Using the example of the romance genre above, instead of writing a scene where my love interests finally kiss for the first time, I might instead write a scene they decide to rob a bank together. Or my main character kisses someone else. Or they discover a hidden library with magical books that link them to new worlds. It doesn’t matter; the point is that you’re trying to free yourself from your own expectations to get something on the page that feels real and alive.
Even if the scene can’t exist in your book’s final form, I’ve never done this exercise and regretted it. I always wind up with some nugget I can use elsewhere, some revealed truth about who my protagonist really is, or some new way of looking at a plot point that makes it easier to get back to my story. Sometimes you need to give yourself permission to break the rules to get some creative juice flowing.
Breathe life into stock characters or settings.
Your genre will have stock characters and settings that you can use to people your stories until you know them better. A question I like to ask myself when drafting is, What will my readers expect to see in this book? If I was picking it up from the shelf in a bookstore, what scenes or premises would I hope to have fulfilled?
For example, using noir, readers expect a private detective who is disillusioned at first blush, but believes in justice deep down; a femme fatale who is up to no good; and a bevy of side characters that might include crooked cops, the girl next door, and shadowy figures from my protagonist’s past, usually who skew to the wrong side of the law. You can use these characters as stereotypes while you figure out your story, learning intricacies that make them unique—or you can create a new character by adding something totally anathema to their character. What about a femme fatale who is also a policewoman? Or a private investigator who also teaches kindergarten? Putting these pieces together will help you form a unique character that makes your work feel more alive and original immediately.
In addition, your genre will have stereotypical settings that you may or may not want to use. Noir is frequently set in San Francisco, Los Angeles, or New York—deciding to set it elsewhere will immediately create new tensions and a tilt on the genre, and give you fresh takes on old scenes.
Plant some easter eggs.
Keeping yourself engaged long term in a project like writing a novel is like running a marathon, not a sprint. You need to find ways to keep yourself connected to the project. I play a game when I’m stuck, or uninvested in a scene, where I try to weave in as many noir genre allusions to other works I love as subtly as possible. You can turn this into an exercise to bust a writing slump by setting a challenge for yourself: Can you write five genre allusions into a 1,000-word scene?
Or how about creating a mashup for your protagonist? For example, if I were writing a science fiction novel, I might challenge myself to write a scene with my protagonist on the Nostromo spaceship from Alien, without ever once using the words Alien, Nostromo, Ripley, or face hugger.
Again, these might not be scenes that wind up in your novel—although you never know!—but the point is to free yourself to tap into new areas of creativity, while still staying engaged and open to your project.
Put your main character in a new genre.
When I’m truly stuck, I take my protagonist from my work-in-progress and drop them into a world completely opposite the one I want her to live in. Taking my private investigator into a gothic romantic suspense novel or a classic Western for a scene or two will of necessity unlock something new.
This practice also helps me understand my main character more effectively. Sometimes, when you get wrapped into genre tropes, it’s easy to write reactions or scenes that feel static because it’s hard to tell what is your character’s choice or drive versus the expectation of your genre. Moving your main character into a new place will help you better understand why she makes the decisions she does, and who she is at her core.
Writers often look upon outlines with fear and trembling. But when properly understood and correctly used, the outline is one of the most powerful weapons in a writer’s arsenal. With the help of the book Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Way to Success by K.M. Weiland, you will learn how to write an outline as you explore what type of outline is right for you, brainstorm plot ideas, and discover your characters.