Historical Fiction

Historical fiction involves a heavy amount of research into the time period where you’ve chosen to set your novel. What sort of clothes were people wearing during this time period? What were the rich people wearing vs. the poor? What sort of language was being used? What sort of customs were expected? Where would they get a cup of coffee in the morning? What would they do with their free time? Readers of historical fiction are reading in large part for the historical details, so you need to put the work into research and accuracy. It’s one thing to embellish a historical event for the sake of fiction, but the novel should overall be grounded by fact-checked historically accurate details.

Science Fiction

The science fiction genre often involves researching complex scientific concepts. Unlike the fantasy genre, the science fiction genre involves a world with a set of rules that can be explained. This means that the concepts that the world deals with should be able to be explained, oftentimes scientifically. So when you’re writing about high-tech gadgets and the discovery of aliens, make sure that the concepts that exist within your world could be supported scientifically. The last thing you want is to write a virtually impossible event or object into existence into your world, only to have the sci-fi community find out by doing their research (and they will trust us).

Horror/Crime

Horror is a genre most people would be surprised requires research. When we think of horror, we think of a killer walking slowly down the darkened road with a single knife held aloft. Or we think of a serial killer and a detective who is getting a little too close to finding him. That involves a lot of suspense and action… but research?

First, the horror genre may be heavy in suspense, but it should also be heavily researched. One of the most frustrating things for a horror reader is reading a character’s death that is absolutely preposterous in its absurdity. The kind of death that, even without any research, you’re absolutely sure can’t exist in nature. This type of character death can leave the reader both heartbroken and angry, even when it happens to the antagonist if you’ve written them well.

Even though it may leave you with a very questionable search history, you should be making sure that a character being stabbed in a certain area of the body isn’t fatal. You should be researching the states of decomposition of a body over time or how the body would react to being shot in the leg. There are no stakes, and therefore no suspense, in your book if the characters don’t feel real, and part of that involves accuracy.

Additionally, the horror genre often involves creating new and grotesque ways of murder. Doing so involves research in order to both brainstorm ideas (again, sorry about your search history) and make sure that they’d be humanely (or sometimes inhumanely) possible to carry out.

Fantasy

This one probably shocks you, but fantasy novels too require research. The level of research required depends on how removed your fantasy novel is from our world. For example, take the Harry Potter world which involves a magical world that is adjacent to or hidden from our world. This means the story still involves humans in a certain time period, the 90s. Therefore, although the world involves magic, JK Rowling still had to research how the character’s human bodies would react to certain injuries and time-specific details like the technology (or lack thereof) that would be available to the students at the time.

You might instead be writing a high fantasy book, or one that involves another world and oftentimes species other than humans. Research can still be helpful in this case as it can help give the fantasy details a bit more solid ground. For example, let’s say you’re writing about a character who is an elf, researching elf lore from other series and reading up on myths can help you find the details you want to include in your world’s version of elf lore.

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Choose Your Blog’s Focus

The first step to creating your blog is to choose a specific focus. If you’re an author attempting to use your blog to gain an audience for your work, perhaps your focus will be a literary blog which tackles book reviews and interactive lists (favorite romance books, favorite book friendships, etc). This can be an excellent way to build up followers who will be there to support you when you release your own book. On the other hand, your blog could have any number of focuses. It could be a car related blog, a parenting blog, or a movie review blog…just make sure you hone in on a specific focus. A blog that’s just your overall thoughts is likely too broad unless you’ve already built a following in another manner.

Choose Your Blog Name

The next step is to choose your blog name. The title of your blog should be something that is easy to remember, fun, and also gives the reader an idea of what your blog is about. For example, one of the more well-known book blogs is titled Epic Reads, which very quickly alerts the viewer that it’s a book blog while also using the word ‘epic’ to let them know that it’s a fun space. During this process, be sure to do your research to make sure your name is unique. The last thing you want is to create a blog and then find out your name is already taken by a blog that has already built up a huge following.

Customize Your Page

This involves not only decorating your page with captivating images and design elements, but also writing your bio and a summary of what your blog will entail. When it comes to constructing these pieces, make sure you’re writing them so they both show your credentials in whatever area you’re writing in as well as present yourself as friendly and relatable. For example, if you’re building a book blog, it may be helpful to list that you have your bachelor’s degree in writing or editing, any job experience you have in these areas, or an average of how many books you read per year. In addition, to make yourself seem friendly and approachable–you could list your top three favorite books/authors and why.

Research and/or Invent Segments

When people follow your blog they want to see consistency in terms of writing and the segments your blog has. So, to get yourself started, do some research on topics or segments that relate to your specific subject matter. Look into what similar blogs are writing about and tailor the material to work for you. In addition, among the blogging community, there are certain segments that are hashtagged and encourage participation among everyone in the community. For example, among the book blog community, there’s a segment called Top Ten Tuesday which was started by the blog That Artsy Reader Girl. This segment essentially involves creating a top ten list based on specific subject matter chosen by this blog weekly. The topics are released in advance and, once you post your list, you can tag it on her main list. Participatory segments similar to this will allow you to not only gain more followers, but make friends with similar bloggers.

Be Relatable

Ultimately, this is the key rule to blog writing overall. Though you should have some expertise on the subject matter you’re writing, people don’t read blogs to be talked down to or for simply informative pieces. They want your writing to feel relatable and fun and they also want to get to know you through it. Don’t be afraid to be silly, to make jokes, and just be yourself- whatever that may mean. Because of how oversaturated the blogging community is currently, there is likely someone already out there writing a similar blog to yours. You are what makes your blog unique.

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1) Draw on personal experience

The subject matter that you choose for your self-help book should be one that you personally have experience with. So let’s say you’re choosing the topic ‘How to Overcome Depression’- it could be that you have a master’s degree in psychology or it could be that you personally have had–and eventually overcame–a struggle with depression. But don’t shy away from all of the personal, intimate, and uncomfortable details that come along with your experience. The whole point of a self-help book is, fairly obviously, to help. You have to approach the book knowing that the way you overcame a challenge may help others to overcome that same obstacle in their lives. The sacrifice you’re making by putting yourself fully on display could end up drastically changing a lot of lives for the better. So, in the initial stages, you need to overcome any reservations you still have within yourself.

2) Use research to back up your theories

If you’ve been inspired to write this book because of your own personal experiences, that’s a wonderful thing. But you shouldn’t be relying solely on your personal experience, either. If you want the book to really help people, you’ll need to do a ton of research on your subject material as well so you can back up your claims and figure out the best way to advise your audience. For example, perhaps you are writing a book about overcoming an abusive relationship. Give examples of your life experience, but also do some research about abusive relationships. Read other self-help books to learn more about your own motives in your experience. Find statistics on abusive relationships and the psychology behind why people stay with abusive partners. It may even be helpful to reach out to a psychology expert or two to get their insight on certain factors and their advice on overcoming them. You don’t want to write this book as an account of abuse, but rather as someone who overcame that, and, looking back, now has the wisdom to advise others.

3) Balance past knowledge with present understanding

One of the more important aspects of writing a self-help book that draws on your personal experience is finding a way to balance your past and present selves. You want to present your past experiences in a detailed way, rather than merely factual. You want people to feel the struggle and the emotion that accompanied the experiences you’ve overcome. To accomplish this, you’ll want to employ some fiction writing techniques, writing detailed scenes from your past self’s perspective.

However, don’t make the mistake of writing a memoir instead of a self-help book. What differentiates these primarily is that the main focus of the self-help book is displaying practical steps to help people overcome the struggles you went through, versus reading a detailed account of your experiences. Make sure that any flashbacks you detail from your experiences also have the presence of your much wiser present-day self. Pepper in observations that you’ve had about these moments since they’ve past or realizations on why these moments, in particular, have stayed with you. Have an aside in the narrative saying things like, “I’ve often wondered why I didn’t stop then” or “This moment has always stuck with me because…” These asides are good transitions to be able to give the reader the advice that they’re supposed to be getting from witnessing your experience.

4) Decide how you want to present your information

As previously stated, the main differentiator between self-help and a memoir is that the structure should prioritize the direct advice over the telling of a story. So, rather than go in chronological order detailing the events of your life, we recommend structuring your self-help book in sections based on specific things you learned from your experience. For example, let’s use the ‘overcoming abuse’ book example. One of your chapters could be ‘why people stay with their abusers.’ The beginning could detail psychological insights on the matter, perhaps even some quotes from a few of the experts you’ve interviewed. This leads into your own experience, presenting the reader with one or two specific flashbacks to your life that illustrates the points you’ve learned from your research (peppering in advice for avoiding your mistakes).

5) Create an Outline

When you’re writing something with so many different elements intertwining, it can be extremely difficult to stay organized. We highly recommend creating an outline for your book before you even begin writing. If you were inspired to write this through your own personal experience, that’s the best place to start. Make a list of all of the specific moments/memories from your life that you feel should be included in your book. Only pull memories that you feel had a valuable and clear lesson that a reader could learn from.

Next, group memories together that have a similar lesson or relating factor. Once you start to notice patterns in the lessons that the memories show, create chapter titles and write the specific memories that will be relayed in each section. Then, dive into your research about each of the topics that the chapters outline. After you finish your research and have all of the necessary tools and sources to write your book, create an order for the chapters that you feel will convey the information in the most effective way. For example, if you’re writing a book called ‘Lessons You Learn After Divorce’- it may be helpful to put the chapters (lessons) in the order that you learned them.

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1) Pick a subject

The first step to writing a How-To book is honing in on a subject. When it comes to this genre, the more specific you are with your subject the better. There are a lot of How-To books out there so you need to make yours stand out. For example, there are a lot of different books to teach you how to play guitar, but Mastering Jazz Guitar in Three Easy Steps is both specific and simplified version. If you have a broad idea, try to take it one step further by narrowing it down. This may even lead to several book ideas.

2) What makes you an expert?

When you’re choosing a subject, make sure its one that you have some experience with or some expertise within. If you’ve spent your life as a woodworker, for example, then writing g a how-to book about woodworking makes sense. People want to get advice on a subject from someone they feel is an expert. No one wants to read a how-to book on building rockets by someone that’s never built one.

3) Who is your audience?

This step should be relatively easy to figure out. When choosing your subject, think about who you envision as your audience. Because, while you do want to be specific with your subject matter, you don’t want to be so specific that there is virtually no audience for your book. For example, a book about how to play basketball will have a market, but a book about vegans who play basketball likely won’t.

4) Outline

Next–and this is crucial–make sure you outline your book before you start writing. Outlining is merely a suggestion in most cases, but when it comes to How-To books, it’s essential. This book should be a step-by-step process regarding the subject matter where the reader gradually gets better at the task as they go. This means your book needs to be ordered perfectly so that it’s not taking large leaps in the level of difficulty, leaving frustrated readers in its wake.

5) Research

Even if this is a subject that you know a lot about (and it should be at this point) make sure you do additional research. This involves factual accuracies as well as field testing. The last thing you want is for another book to be doing exactly what you’re doing, but better. Make sure you’re telling your readers the best methods. In addition, once you’ve finished your first round of writing, grab a friend or two and see if they can learn the required subject matter from your book. If not, they may be able to point out areas that need reworked.

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As we’ve stated previously, using a website like Netgalley is a great way to find reviewers with influence. However, you should always do some additional digging and find bloggers, reviewers, readers, and press outlets to reach out to. The first step to doing this successfully: do your research. You need to make sure you’re reaching out to blogs, readers, and press outlets that relate to your book and/or genre in some way. You likely won’t have much luck if you’ve written a romance and you’re reaching out to bloggers who primarily review suspense novels.

You also want to have either a digital file of your book or some physical copies handy that you can send to these outlets if they’re interested. Offering them a complimentary copy of your book is a great incentive to obtain a review and a great marketing strategy to engage directly with their following. As we’ve said before, though, we’re writers, not PR experts. So for those unsure of how to make contact with these platforms, here are some templates to get you started:

Bloggers or Amazon/Goodreads reviewers

Dear [INSERT REVIEWER NAME],

I discovered your work at [where you found them] and thoroughly enjoyed your review of [name of book]. I recently wrote a book that appeals to a similar audience, [name of my book]. If you think you might be interested in reading it and perhaps reviewing it, I’ll gladly send you complimentary copy. Thank you so much for your time.

Best Regards,
[Author Name]
[Your website]
[Your social media links]

Readers (to put at the end of your book)

Thank you for joining me in telling the story of [x and y characters]. I hope they touched your soul the way they touched mine.

If you loved the book and have a minute to spare, I would really appreciate a short review on the page or site where you bought the book. Your help in spreading the word is greatly appreciated. Reviews from readers like you make a huge difference.

Thank you!
[Author Name]
[Your website]
[Your social media links]

Press Outlets

Dear [INSERT JOURNALIST NAME],

I really enjoyed the piece you did on [date] in [name of publication]. I think that [cause] is very important.

I recently published [name of book], which is very relevant to [name of cause] [link to Amazon or major retailer].

[List your qualifications, i.e. why you are an expert on a given topic.] I would be happy to send you a review copy to possibly include in your next [piece name].

Best,
[Author Name]
[Your website]
[Your social media links]

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Do Sweat the Small Stuff

Possibly the most important and complicated aspect of writing historical fiction is accuracy. You’re writing is set in a time that is tangible to us through history books and research. This means, unlike other forms of fiction where you have the freedom to improvise, you have to really stick to the facts. While there is still some room to be creative, when it comes to things like setting, clothing, items in use, etc.- you need to be incredibly accurate. In this genre, nothing will make a reader lose confidence in you quicker than if they spot historical inaccuracies.

Obviously, avoiding these mistakes involves conducting an immense amount of research- arguably more so than any other form of fiction. You want your readers to be able to see, smell, taste, hear and touch a time that has actually existed for us. You want to convey not only what that time looked like, but what the people were like, what they did for fun, and what their opinions were. We recommend not only conducting thorough research on your own but also working with experts on the topic you’re writing about. They may be able to pick up on some inaccuracies you may have missed so you can avoid potential reader backlash post-publication.

Don’t Go Overboard

While it’s important that you avoid inaccuracies and do the necessary research…don’t go overboard. Historical fiction writers tend to make the mistake of going too far in the opposite direction, including minute details on household items and wallpaper. Though you should always do your research, the last thing you want to do is bore your readers with a bunch of specific details just for the sake of showing your research skills. Include details- yes. But make sure you don’t focus too much on details that don’t pertain to your story. It’s a balancing act.

Stay True to Historical Figures

Often historical fiction or western novels will include characters based on real-life historical figures. If that is the case for you, make sure you’re staying true to the historical figures they’re based on. Historical fiction writers tend to make the mistake of pushing their own political or moral thoughts onto these people. You must remember that the figure you’re writing about is a person from that time- not ours. Allow them to be bigoted or politically backward or wrong. Don’t attempt to change them or have them make amends or make them forward thinking if they weren’t. Even great figures are allowed to be flawed and your readers will thank you for writing them with accuracy.

Pace Yourself Properly

This goes along with what we said earlier about not including too much detail. Historical fiction writers often make the mistake of getting too bogged down with exposition at the beginning of the novel. Your reader doesn’t need to understand everything about the era and your character’s place in the world right away. Pepper your relevant exposition throughout your novel as the information becomes relevant to your character and how they’re operating in the world.

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1) Introduce your Detective, Culprit, and Crime Early On

One of the most important aspects of a mystery novel is the payoff. Your protagonist needs to go on a journey, search for clues, and it needs to amount to a satisfying climax. It’s made satisfying when the reader can go back and find the clues you left them throughout the book. That may seem tricky, but the first step to getting there is making sure you’re introducing all the key elements to the story as soon as possible.

The protagonist of the story must always be ‘the detective’. Not to say that they have to work in law enforcement, but rather that they need to be the one trying to piece together the clues. Then there’s the culprit, who should also be introduced in the beginning. The longer the audience has seen that character in the story, the more shocking and satisfying the payoff at the end. Finally, experienced writers recommend introducing the crime within the first three chapters of the book (at least). That may seem tricky, but waiting longer would risk losing some readers. Mystery fans are reading for the crime. Give the people what they want.

2) Believability

Another key element to weaving the mystery novel web is believability. One of the biggest ways to ruin a mystery novel is getting to the climax and realizing the crime wouldn’t physically be possible. Your readers will feel cheated by this. It’s your job to make the crime real. This may require some questionable google searches on disemboweling and knife wounds, but we promise your readers will thank you for it. Make sure you know every detail of how the crime occurred, as though you’re a lawyer presenting to a jury in a court of law. Think of the timing, the murder weapon, the perp’s movements, motives, fingerprints, blood, hair- everything.

The other facet of believability is in the solving. Make sure your protagonist isn’t having suspicions or drawing conclusions out of thin air. Every time they get a step further in the mystery, there should be something tangible that they experienced, saw, or remember that led them there.

3) Don’t over explain, leave clues

Now, this may seem contradictory to what we just said, but hear us out. While the reader should always be able to see clearly where your protagonist’s head is, make sure you’re not over-explaining. For example, say there’s a vase in an apartment that is (eventually) going to be the place where the murder weapon was stashed. Don’t write a whole paragraph about the vase- write a sentence. You should be merely leaving clues for the reader throughout your novel. Some clues your protagonist may notice, but others your readers may notice first. Don’t make it too obvious where the reader should be looking. Otherwise, you’re taking the mystery out of mystery novel.

4) Use Red Herrings

This is possibly the best tool for the mystery novel writer. The toughest part of writing a mystery novel is trying to make the reader surprised and satisfied with your ending. It involves a very tricky juggling act between leaving clues while also not making the clues too obvious. That’s not an easy balancing act. Your best tool to achieve this is to use what are called red herrings.

A red herring is a clue or a piece of information which is intended to be misleading or distracting. In order to surprise your readers by the end, you have to lead them down some false trails, distract them, and make them miss some of your clues. You could include a character that is initially acting suspiciously. You could have your detective find a clue, only later to realize it was placed there by the villain to lead them the wrong way. You could even have an object that seems to have more significance than it really does. Whatever route you choose, distraction is the key.

5) Create Suspense through Dialogue and Character

The other tricky part of crafting a mystery novel is creating suspense. Creating a good crime is part of that, but there are a few other facets to keeping suspense consistently high throughout the novel. The first is character and character development. While the plot of a mystery novel is crucial, in order for readers to care about the journey, they have to care about the character. You want your reader to love your protagonist- to care about their safety, desires, and overall success on their journey. This will only happen if your character is well-written, so spend time really fleshing out who your detective is (as well as other important characters in the story).

The other facet of this is dialogue. Every second of your story must keep the reader on edge, so use dialogue to further engage your audience. Have a character lie, while your protagonist knows they’re lying. Have another say or do something unexpected or out-of-character. Your detective should be pulled in a lot of different directions and, once the mystery starts, virtually every conversation they have should make them feel uneasy in one way or another.

Though the prospect of tackling a mystery novel may seem monstrous, if you work hard at mapping out your plot and characters it becomes a lot less terrifying. Much like a Scooby Doo episode, the monster isn’t ever as scary as it first appears.

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