Combining Genres to Keep Readers Guessing: A Chat with Rob Hart
Writers, are you curious about how to combine genres? Want to know what it’s like to incorporate elements of mystery, science fiction, espionage, and romance? Look no further than the curious mind of author Rob Hart.
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In this interview with Writer’s Digest, editor-in-chief Amy Jones and content editor Michael Woodson sit down with Rob to discuss his newest novel, The Paradox Hotel, why combining genres means you get to break all the rules, and more.
From the Episode:
Rob Hart on humor: “Humor is a really important thing in fiction. It’s this way to get your audience on your side, to make them like your characters, to make them laugh and have a good time. And what I find is that it opens them up. And then the emotional moments in the end just hit like body-blows.”
Rob Hart on combining genres: “It lets you get away with a lot more. All of a sudden, your toy box gets so much bigger. All of a sudden, you have so much more stuff to play with. … I knew that I wanted to have both fantastical elements but also make it feel kind of grounded. Make it feel like, OK, this a whodunit. I’m going to adhere to these rules that, if you’re really, really paying attention, you might be able to figure it out. Or you might be able to guess who that bad guy is at the end. But at the same time, I wanted to shove in all this other stuff. That comes from me wanting to have the absolute best time possible.”