While I was at Coaching Leadership Academy, I complained to one of the other attendees that "My Fugitive" is difficult to categorize cleanly into one genre. All the options I found were "close, but not quite", which doesn't help people who are looking for a genre-specific read to find my book.
Her response was simple, concise, and powerful: "So make your own genre."
I was a bit taken aback. Make my own genre? But doesn't that continue to pose the same problem? If it's new, will people think to look for it?
But then, if I have trouble putting it in a genre anyway, what have I got to lose?
So I sat down and started playing with phrases. I decided early on that "Psychological" should be in there, even if it didn't completely capture the feeling I wanted to convey. After that, it was time to round it out.
"Psychological Drama"? Well there's definitely drama in the book, but... maybe it's just me, but that word has collected too many connotations of petty adolescent fits.
"Psychological Tragedy"? While tragedies do occur during the course of the book, using that as the genre just didn't quite feel right.
So why not "Psychological Suspense"? I'd been using that for a while, and it fit fairly well. But while it captured both the tension of the story and its exploration of the human mind, it didn't capture its soul.
Soul...
That was it, wasn't it? It wasn't just psychological suspense, for the sake of feeling tense, scared or suspenseful. It was "Psychological Suspense with a Soul". A deep, gut-wrenching exploration of a strong woman who risked her heart, her life and her mind, and of the man for whom she did it.
That is the genre I am creating.
In honor of this decision, I've given my site a makeover to reflect the heart of my writing, in both "My Fugitive" and my other upcoming books. Please take a moment to check it out, and then comment to tell me what you think. I look forward to hearing from you.
Her response was simple, concise, and powerful: "So make your own genre."
I was a bit taken aback. Make my own genre? But doesn't that continue to pose the same problem? If it's new, will people think to look for it?
But then, if I have trouble putting it in a genre anyway, what have I got to lose?
So I sat down and started playing with phrases. I decided early on that "Psychological" should be in there, even if it didn't completely capture the feeling I wanted to convey. After that, it was time to round it out.
"Psychological Drama"? Well there's definitely drama in the book, but... maybe it's just me, but that word has collected too many connotations of petty adolescent fits.
"Psychological Tragedy"? While tragedies do occur during the course of the book, using that as the genre just didn't quite feel right.
So why not "Psychological Suspense"? I'd been using that for a while, and it fit fairly well. But while it captured both the tension of the story and its exploration of the human mind, it didn't capture its soul.
Soul...
That was it, wasn't it? It wasn't just psychological suspense, for the sake of feeling tense, scared or suspenseful. It was "Psychological Suspense with a Soul". A deep, gut-wrenching exploration of a strong woman who risked her heart, her life and her mind, and of the man for whom she did it.
That is the genre I am creating.
In honor of this decision, I've given my site a makeover to reflect the heart of my writing, in both "My Fugitive" and my other upcoming books. Please take a moment to check it out, and then comment to tell me what you think. I look forward to hearing from you.
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