Many Genres, One Craft:Lessons in Writing Popular Fiction

Headline Books, Inc.Terra Alta, WV

Michael A. Arnzen and Heidi Ruby Miller

Edited by

Many Genres, One Craft: Lessons in Writing Popular Fiction

Edited by Michael A. Arnzen and Heidi Ruby Miller

copyright ©2011 Michael A. Arnzen and Heidi Ruby Miller

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any other form or for any means, electronicor mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage system, without written permission from HeadlineBooks, Inc.

To order additional copies of this book or for book publishing information:

Headline Books, Inc.P. O. Box 52Terra Alta, WV 26764www.headlinebooks.com

Tel/Fax: 800-570-5951Email: mybook@headlinebooks.comwww.headlinebooks.com

Michael A. Arnzenarnzen@gorelets.comwww.gorelets.com

Heidi Ruby Millerheidirubymiller@gmail.comhttp://heidirubymiller.blogspot.com

http://manygenres.blogspot.com

ISBN-13: 978-0-938467-08-3

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Many genres, one craft : lessons in writing popular fiction / edited by Michael A. Arnzen and HeidiRuby Miller. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-0-938467-08-3 1. Fiction--Technique. 2. Popular literature--Technique. I. Arnzen, Michael A. II. Miller, HeidiRuby. PN3365.M265 2011 808.3--dc22 2011006932

P R I N T E D I N T H E U N I T E D S T A T E S O F A M E R I C A

10

Many Genres, One Craft

Putting Our Heads Together:An Introduction to Many Genres, One Craft

by Michael A. Arnzen

Once upon a time, writers worked with editors like apprentices under mastercraftsmen. Writers were understudies to their editors, who would patiently walkthem through every step of the revision process, teaching them about the finer pointsof style and training them in the business side of publishing along the way. Editorswere a kind of educator, and writers were their students, working on their finalthesis: a published book.

Yes, once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away, the writer-editor relationshipwas like getting your Master’s degree in fiction writing. Writers, once they got theirfoot in the publisher’s door, worked with mentors who they could call or lunch withfor advice as they collaborated on a title, refining a raw book into a best-selling workof great merit. And, just like Pygmalion, these advisors would transform the writerfrom a hack dreamer into a celebrated master wordsmith along the way.

As you might guess, this “My Fair Manuscript” scenario is a nostalgic fantasy.It simply doesn’t work that way in publishing. Today, more than ever, economicneed drives the business—which in most cases is a relatively cold corporate busi-ness that can’t afford the luxuries of yesterday’s independent operations—and edi-tors have to answer to a publishing house’s marketing team more than they do theliterati down the street. It is true that writers learn a great deal of their art from theireditors, and editors often do have to educate their writers about the way the bookbusiness really operates. But the rules of the game have drastically changed since theearly days of publishing and the writer-editor relationship has sadly suffered.

Editors don’t teach writers so much as they manage them and usher their manu-scripts like footballs through the corporate goalposts. Writers are already expectedto be “masters” of their art when they first come knocking on their door; there is notime for teaching and that’s not what editors are paid for. The competition for aneditor’s attention, moreover, is tougher than it’s ever been, because so many of themanuscripts that come over-the-transom are written by well-educated writers. Pub-lishing is more like Donald Trump’s The Apprentice than a true apprenticeship, andif you don’t know what you’re doing when you enter the boardroom, you’re goingto get fired (imagine the trademarked finger point when you open your letter: “You’rerejected!”).

Writing is a tough business and it’s only grown colder as the trade has evolved.

11

Arnzen and Miller

That’s why writers turn to each other for a little human warmth. They findcommunities of like-minded people on the internet, whether on genre fiction discus-sion boards or in mutual support systems like National Novel Writing Month(NaNoWriMo.org). They join local writing workshops or travel to conventions; theytake seminars and read scores of how-to books. They find mentorship in writer’sgroups or unions or graduate schools, or they head to the library or the bookstore togive themselves a crash course in the art and business of writing.

They turn to books like the one you are holding.Many Genres, One Craft is like a graduate writing program housed between

the covers of a book. We mean this quite literally: every author in this collection ofinstructional advice is a college teacher, published graduate, or visiting writer of meritattached in some way to Seton Hill University’s MFA program in Writing PopularFiction—the country’s only graduate writing program exclusively dedicated to writ-ing novels intended for the mass market. Our program is custom-tailored to com-mercial novelists who want to write genre fiction well. We are an educational com-munity like any other graduate writing program, but unique because we are moreinterested in helping writers produce books that are actually read by a wide audi-ence than we are in debating inside the funhouse of literary theory. Our pragmatismsets us apart, but we are not a hack factory: We are driven to help others succeedas freelancers and entrepreneurs, and our advice about the entertainment industry ishard-nosed and realistic, earned from hard-won experience. Our teaching is notcrassly commercial: we know that writing popular fiction takes as much craft andthoughtfulness as any other form of storytelling, and that it carries as much influenceon our culture as fine literature. Perhaps its writers carry even more responsibility forwhat they write because of their potential impact on readers worldwide.

If you’re just getting started, you might be surprised to learn that your interest inwriting in the genre you love may identify you as a lowbrow hack. A bias existsagainst those who want to write for profit and fame, because writers—ostensibly—are producing literary art in the service of mankind. But all books serve mankindequally, and it is a shame that our society tends to separate books into “literary” and“popular” works of fiction. We know this boundary between “high” and “low” cul-ture is arbitrary, based on the assumption that it takes one part genius and one partschooling to become “literary” and write the books that will stand the test of time,while —the logic goes—any dumb clown can write the dross that the masses con-sume like so much prefab macaroni and cheese.

Yes, and anyone can write a book, right? If you’ve tried, you know how hardit really is. And how many obstacles there are along the way from inventing an origi-nal idea to seeing it ushered into print. Even Shakespeare and Dickens—some of themost popular writers of their day—knew how hard this craft really is.

12

Many Genres, One Craft

Everyone enjoys a good read, and most of the literati will concur that yesterday’spop fiction is today’s classic literature, but the prevailing attitude that genre fiction isgutter entertainment still circulates—especially in academia—because, for many,entertainment is a guilty, almost bodily, pleasure. The notion that popular fiction iseasy fiction is a self-congratulatory myth perpetuated by elites. Most graduate schoolswon’t teach it, not only because it is “mere entertainment,” but because their facultyare trained in scholarly approaches to highbrow literature that eschew popular genres.And, perhaps rightfully so, they know that teaching good writing in general will ben-efit any writer, whereas teaching, say, science fiction writing will likely only maketheir students better at writing science fiction, and worse, may produce formulaicrubbish. Thus, most grad schools focus only on the craft and spend time amplifyingthe writer’s individual voice—and often will reject genre writers from their rankswithout ever lending them their ear in the first place.

We’re a little different. We realize it takes good writing to break into the literarymarketplace at every level. Whether highbrow or low, literary mainstream or cat-egorically genre, there is ultimately one core skill that all writers must have: the abilityto tell a good story through effective writing. But when a writer is spinning a yarn ofa particular type, a genre tale, then even more special knowledge is required to winover an audience, not less. On top of voraciously reading within the genre to knowits history, genre writers have to meet particular requirements that editors are lookingfor. This is why you find so many amateur workshops at genre conferences, or evenfull-fledged genre writing retreats hosted by veteran authors: because genre writersneed to learn about their genre’s elements to write it successfully. It’s too bad thetraditional world of academia can’t find a home for many of these groups, which areoften far more professional and literary than most people realize.

We believe that an open-minded, concentrated study of popular fiction canonly build on the more general craft of writing. And we believe that when writers—no matter what their genre or background—put their heads together, shamelessly,they write better books.

We have put our heads together to create this book, in the hope that it will helpyou write a better book, too.

As you’ll see, there is a rich diversity to this collection, and this is intentional:we feel that writers of all genres benefit from studying all elements of the craft, evenin genres that they might not normally read. Indeed, in our program at Seton HillUniversity, “inter-genre” learning is one of the unexpected benefits that students of-ten discover. A vampire novelist might learn a great deal from a category romancewriter if, for example, their neck-biter happens to be a seductress. Likewise, if aromance writer’s alpha male lead character is a firefighter, she might pick up somegreat tips for depicting a suspenseful firefight scene from a writer of action thrillers.

13

Arnzen and Miller

And if you are a writer interested in writing “hybrid” or “cross-genre” fiction likeparanormal romance, then you’ve found a handy resource in this anthology, whichcombines such a rich spectrum of genre advice between its covers.

A book is no substitute for the hands-on experience of a writing workshop orthe one-on-one mentoring one would get from a faculty member assisting them withtheir novel. This text is not a “bible” descended from our degree program. Yet HeidiRuby Miller and I do like to think of this book as a “snapshot” of any given residencyin our college’s Writing Popular Fiction program, and we followed its model in orga-nizing its contents. Half of the program’s curriculum is focused on “core” classes inthe craft of writing (seminars in the basic elements of fiction like character, plot,setting, and dialogue) in addition to practical elements of the profession (like critiqu-ing, researching, marketing manuscripts, etc.). This establishes a common dialogueand a foundation for learning that all writers share. The other half of the curriculumallows students to pick and choose elective courses in their chosen “genre”—withcourse titles ranging from the necessary and important, like “Talking the Talk in Crime(and Other) Fiction” to the quirky and wildly specific, like “To Dream a Dragon.”The diversity of our program, like the diversity in genre fiction, emphasizes a balancebetween fresh invention and familiar convention.

Here, in Many Genres, One Craft, you’ll get a smorgasbord of genre learningthat has a similar balance. But devise your own curriculum: you can pick and choosechapters according to your special interests, skipping the parts that seem irrelevant—or you can read it cover to cover in order, absorbing every speck of wisdom andinspiration that awaits you. With about sixty contributors on board, I think you’ll findthis a satisfying buffet.

They say writing can’t be taught. There’s some truth to that. Writers must writeto learn. Only by applying ideas do we really learn what we need to know. Welearn from our own mistakes, as much as from the wisdom of others. And the learn-ing process is often fuzzy and highly individualized. But in the decade-plus that I havebeen teaching in the Writing Popular Fiction program at SHU, I have learned thatthere is no such thing as a wasted effort when it comes to improving. Every act ofwriting—even when it seems like busy work—pushes you one step closer to mas-tery. We don’t always learn how to write from “how-to” books like this one; insteadwe learn how readers read, how editors think, and how people experience this funnybusiness called fiction.

You could just as easily learn all of this on your own from the proverbial schoolof hard knocks, but why bother with the hard knocking when you can get all thisadvice here, in addition to so many other shortcuts and tips? Knowing the experi-ences of others helps to prepare us to engage them in our own writing. There is a lotof wisdom in this book. Wisdom you won’t find elsewhere.

14

Many Genres, One Craft

A fringe benefit of attending a graduate program—perhaps the primary ben-efit—is building a network of partners, a community of kindred spirits. We hope thatyou will find those like-minded colleagues in the pages of this book. We’re all in thisgenre business together. We suspect you’ll get just as excited reading this book aswe do when we assemble together on campus to study the genres and craft that welove so much. At the end of each graduate residency, our students and faculty alikedepart inspired, eager to put into practice all that they’ve learned. We hope that—above and beyond all the valuable information and instruction you will pick up in thisrich and diverse anthology—you will be just as energized, just as excited to return toyour own writing, renewed, empowered and ready to tackle the challenges thatevery writer must face, ultimately, alone with the blank page.

But if it gets too lonely, look us up. We’re online at http://fiction.setonhill.eduWe offer a Master of Fine Arts degree to those who are qualified...but we also havean annual conference and retreat that the alumnae host, which features great guesteditors, agents, and writers, and is open to all comers.

However, this is not a sales pitch for our writing program, nor an advertisementfor our school. This is a writer’s residency in a bottle. In fact, coffee break is overand class is about to begin. Let’s get started, shall we?

ContentsPutting Our Heads Together: An Introduction to Many Genres, One Craft

by Michael A. Arnzen ......................................................................... 10

CRAFT

STYLE AND PROCESSYou Have to Start with SOMETHING, So It Might As Well Be

Something Like This by Gary A. Braunbeck ............................................ 16Don’t Be a Bobble-Head, and Other Bits of Guidance by Timons Esaias .......... 24Tuning Up Your Writing by Michael A. Arnzen .............................................. 32Dumping the Info Dump by Maria V. Snyder ................................................ 39Powerman Writes Women’s Fiction: On Writing What You Know

by Matt Duvall .................................................................................. 43Your Very First Editor by Lee Allen Howard ................................................. 47Make Revising Work for You, Not Against You by Adrea L. Peters .................. 53Perfect Disaster: Don’t Let Perfectionism Squash Your Creativity

by Anne Harris .................................................................................. 59

CHARACTER AND DIALOGUEM&Ms for Characters by Sharon Mignerey ................................................. 64Tough Love: Make Your Protagonist Suffer by Randall Silvis .......................... 69

BE AN ARCHETYPE, NOT A STEREOTYPE by Heidi Ruby Miller .............................. 71Going Deeper: Point of View Beyond the Basics by W.H. Horner .................... 73

A HELPFUL TACTIC: THE TEMPLATE TEXT by Timons Esaias ............................. 76Empowering Female Characters by Barbara J. Miller ..................................... 78

PLOT AND STRUCTUREDemystifying What Editors Want by Venessa Giunta ..................................... 82Give Your Reader Whiplash: Pacing in Fiction by KJ Howe ............................. 86Pick Up the Pace by Tim Waggoner ............................................................ 91Deus Ex Machina Undergoing Repairs: Save Your Characters by

Letting Them Save Themselves by Mike Mehalek ................................... 96Blurring the Line: How Reality Helps Build Better Fiction

by Scott A. Johnson ......................................................................... 100Put a Little Love in Your Life: The Perks and Perils of Romantic Subplots by Ron Edison ................................................................................ 105

PREVENTION: TECHNIQUES TO CONTROL ROMANCE by Ron Edison .............. 109

SETTINGSetting as a Character: It’s More than a Backdrop by Susan Crandall ............ 111Painting Your Setting with Concrete Nouns by Jason Jack Miller ................... 115

SETTING LIMITS: WORKING IN SMALL SPACES by Jason Jack Miller ................ 119Writing from Place Across Cultures by Karen Lynn Williams ......................... 121Set in History by M.A. Mogus ................................................................. 125

GENRE

GENRE AND ORIGINALITYGenre Unleashed by Michael A. Arnzen .................................................... 130No Such Thing as Original Sin by Thomas F. Monteleone ............................. 138I Write Genre Fiction but Want to Be a Real Writer Someday

by John DeChancie .......................................................................... 142Readers Resent Change by Tess Gerritsen ................................................. 147

ROMANCE AND WOMEN’S FICTIONWrite from the Heart by Crystal B. Bright ................................................ 150Creating My Niche in Romantic Suspense by Dana Marton .......................... 154

HEROES IN ROMANCE by Barbara J. Miller ............................................................ 157Talking About Dialogue by Natalie Duvall .................................................. 158A Serious Look at the Funny Bone by Elaine Ervin ....................................... 163Tomorrow’s Kiss: The Duality of SF Romance by Heidi Ruby Miller ............... 167

SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASYBuilding Science Fiction and Fantasy Worlds by Nancy Kress ........................ 172Description on the Edge: The Sublime in Science Fiction

by Albert Wendland .......................................................................... 177Cyperpunk Remastered: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love

Postmodernism by K. Ceres Wright .................................................... 182THE BRASS TACKS OF STEAMPUNK by Christopher Paul Carey ........................ 185

To Dream a Dragon by Rachael Pruitt ...................................................... 187Sex, Death, and Chocolate in the Middle Ages:

Adding Realism to Your Fantasy by Russ Howe .................................... 191

HORROR, MYSTERY AND SUSPENSE THRILLERSRuining Everything: Tips for Plotting a Mystery by Victoria Thompson .......... 196Talking the Talk in Crime (and Other) Fiction by David Shifren ...................... 200The Element of Surprise: Psyching-out Readers of Horror,

Mystery and Suspense by Michael A. Arnzen ....................................... 205

MAKING MODERN MONSTERS: by Michael A. Arnzen ......................................... 213Dark and Story Nights: Mood and Atmosphere in Horror

by Mary SanGiovanni ....................................................................... 216The Shifting Grail: A Quest for a Good Read by Heidi Ruby Miller ............... 220To Thine Own Self Be True: Five Pieces of Advice for Potential

Thriller Writers by David Morrell ........................................................ 223

CHILDREN’S AND YOUNG ADULT FICTIONTen Ways to Avoid Losing Your YA Reader by Patrice Lyle ........................... 227Linking Past to Present by C. Coco De Young ............................................ 232Keeping It Real: Mixing Truth and Fiction in YA by Jenn Brisendine ................ 236

AND THE AWARD GOES TO by Teffanie Thompson White .................................... 240If You Write It, They Will See It: Picture Book Illustrations

from the Writer’s Point of View by Karen Lynn Williams ......................... 242

ALTERNATIVE APPROACHESI Write Short Stories by Michael Bracken .................................................. 246Magical Realism as Genre: Or Waiter, There’s an Angel in My Soup

by Jason Jack Miller ......................................................................... 250ESSENTIAL MAGICAL REALISM: By Jason Jack Miller .......................................... 254

The Manga Explosion by Sally Bosco ........................................................ 256FROM FAR EAST TO WEST by Sally Bosco ........................................................... 261

A Primer for Writing Media Books by Steven Piziks .................................... 263

THE WRITER’S LIFE

LEARNINGLessons from the Vampire Slayer by Catherine Mulvany .............................. 270Pursuing the Graduate Degree by Chun Lee ............................................. 275The Pot-Bellied Pig Method of Critiquing by Kaye Dacus ............................ 279Working the Workshop: How to Get the Most Out of Critique Groups

(Even the Bad Ones) by Michael A. Arnzen .......................................... 283

WORKINGOne Writer, Many Genres by Ryan M. Williams .......................................... 289Writing More by Susan Mallery ............................................................... 293Time Management: Creative Paths to Productivity by Lee McClain ............... 297

NEARLY FINISHED by Nicole Peeler ........................................................................ 301The Seven Habits That Got Me Published by Shelley Bates .......................... 303

How to Get an Agent by Ginger Clark ...................................................... 308eFabulous: Publishing in a Paperless World by Penny Dawn........................... 311The Teaching Writer by Lawrence C. Connolly .......................................... 315Teaching Young Writers by Diane Turnshek................................................ 319Where Do I Go From Here? Being Orphaned by Leslie Davis Guccione ......... 323

PROMOTINGGetting Your Words Out: The Basics of Promoting Your Fiction

by Rebecca Baker ............................................................................ 328I’ll Scratch Your Back and You Promote My Book by Heidi Ruby Miller ......... 334

TOURING VIRTUALLY by Heidi Ruby Miller ........................................................... 337To Be Reviewed or Not to Be Reviewed by Lynn Salsi ................................. 339Successful Book Signings: The Personal Touch by David J. Corwell ............... 344

THE TOP TEN EXCUSES PEOPLE GIVE WHEN THEY HAVE NO INTENTION OFBUYING MY BOOKS by David J. Corwell .................................................................

Guerilla Marketing: The Reality of Selling Your Book by Patrick Picciarelli ...... 350Networking at Conventions by Lucy A. Snyder .......................................... 354PERSIST! by Michael A. Arnzen .............................................................. 358

Resources and ReferencesRelated How-To Books ........................................................................... 360In Print ................................................................................................ 361Websites & Other Media ........................................................................ 378

http://manygenres.blogspot.com