Dr. Nicole Basaraba

Assistant Professor in Digital Humanities, TCD

Nicole Basaraba

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Writing in different genres: A Blog Series

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Welcome to Writers’ Uni-Verse-City (or WUVC for short because every university has an acronym), a place where writers/bloggers can meet to discuss the craft of writing in the Internet age. WUVC will involve independent research, setting a curriculum and hopefully finding other participants (like you – readers/bloggers/writers) to: chip in, give tips, suggest books and other materials for study, teach me the ways of the warrior writer, and offer to guest post here at Uni-Verse-City (contact: [email protected]).

I’ve met a lot of writers through blogging, twitter and participating in A Round of Words in 80 Days – “The writing challenge that knows you have a life” – and I’ve noticed that there are quite a few writers out there who don’t often talk about the genre they write it. I’ve read countless blog posts and books on the writing craft, but the topic of specific literary genres rarely comes up.

So as we’re all here to learn at Writer’s Uni-Verse-City, I will be hosting guest bloggers through the upcoming months in a blog series featuring different literary genres.

Genres are classified by writing style, authorial tone, the content and even word counts play a role. There are crossover stories that combine elements from more than one genre, but what makes a book fit into one genre over another?

This is the question that the guest bloggers will try to answer. So to get straight to it, I will now introduce the upcoming guests and the dates (all Wednesdays) they will appear here at Uni-Verse-City.

Feb. 1: Elizabeth Craig on Mysteries. Elizabeth writes the Memphis Barbeque series for Penguin/Berkley (as Riley Adams), the Southern Quilting mysteries (2012) for Penguin/NAL, and the Myrtle Clover series for Midnight Ink. She blogs daily at Mystery Writing is Murder, which was named by Writer’s Digest as one of the 101 Best Websites for Writers for 2010 and 2011. You may also know her from the “Writer’s Knowledge Base” and her amazing posts of writing links “Twitterific”.

Feb. 8: Barbara McDowell on Horror. Starting with poetry being inspired by Emily Dickinson in her elementary school years, and then discovering Steven King, Sylvia Plath and Shakespeare Barbara’s poetry took on a less romantic tone. Poetry soon evolved in to fiction that had dark, human themes with suspense at each corner and horror waiting at the end. Today, Barbara writes for thrills and chills and blogs about pop culture, writing, music and life at Life Can’t Drive 55.

Feb. 15: Marcia Richards on Historical Fiction. Marcia is creating her debut historical trilogy covering the years between 1917 and 1975. The Donnellys, an immigrant Irish family, struggles with economic troubles and personal tragedy, while striving to maintain their dreams. The trilogy highlights three generations of strong, young women fighting their way to the fulfillment of their dreams, learning who they are along the way. Marcia Richards’ blog Sexy. Smart. From the Heart, offers posts on writing, mid-life, history, and content that’s sexy and smart.

Feb. 22: Amy Sue Nathan on Women’s Fiction. Amy’s debut novel THE GLASS WIVES will be published by St. Martin’s Press in Spring 2013 and is represented Jason Yarn of The Paradigm Agency. Amy keeps a blog, Women’s Fiction Writers, which features interviews and guest posts with a published women’s fiction author and posts on the craft and business of traditionally published women’s fiction.

Feb. 29: Roni Loren on Romance. Roni wrote her first romance novel at age fifteen when she discovered writing about boys was way easier than actually talking to them. Since then, her flirting skills haven’t improved, but she likes to think her storytelling ability has. Her debut novel, CRASH INTO YOU, is now available from Berkley Heat. She also has a passion-fueled blogs: one for writers at Fiction Groupie and another racier blog for romance fans.

Mar. 7: Laurence O’Bryan on Crime Fiction. Laurence’s roots go back to a small estate deep in the Mountains of Mourne in County Down, Northern Ireland. In 2007, he won the Outstanding Novel Submitted award at the Southern California writer’s conference. Laurence’s book THE ISTANBUL PUZZLE is the first in a new series from Harper Collins as was released on January 19, 2012. He also writes a blog at Laurence O’Bryan – Crime & Mystery Writer.

Mar. 14: Jenny Hansen on Memoir. Jenny fills her nights with humor: writing memoir, women’s fiction, chick lit, short stories (and chasing after the newly walking Baby Girl). By day, she provides training and social media marketing for an accounting firm. After 15 years as a corporate software trainer, she’s digging this sit down and write thing. Jenny writes at her personal blog, More Cowbell and at her group blog, Writers In The Storm.

Mar. 21: Lena Corazon on Steampunk. California-based author Lena Corazon writes speculative fiction with a focus on fantasy and steampunk. She builds worlds filled with beauty and danger, populated by fierce women, dashing men, and delightfully evil antagonists. Lena is in her fourth year of graduate school for a PhD and she still find time to write towards her novels and keep the blog at Flights of Fancy.

Mar. 28: Kait Nolan on Paranormal. Kait is stuck in an office all day, sometimes juggling all three of her jobs at once with the skill of a trained bear—sometimes with a similar temperament. After hours, she uses her powers for good, creating escapist fiction. The work of this Mississippi native is packed with action, romance, and the kinds of imaginative paranormal creatures you’d want to sweep you off your feet…or eat your boss. Kait is represented by Laurie McLean of Larsen-Pomada Literary Agency in San Francisco. A passionate believer in helping others, she has founded a writing challenge designed for people who have a life: A Round of Words in 80 Days and she also blogs at Kait Nolan – action-packed paranormal romance.

Apr. 4: Stacy Green on Suspense vs. Thrillers. Stacy grew up watching crime shows with her dad and soap operas with her mom (R.I.P As The World Turns and Guiding Light), so it’s no surprise that she’s a sucker for a good suspense novel with some romance thrown in. She has completed a suspense novel of her own set in Las Vegas, titled INTO THE DARK. She also blogs at Stacy Green – Turning the Page.

Apr. 11: Piper Bayard on Sci-Fi. Piper Bayard is a recovering attorney with a college degree or two. She’s also a belly dancer from waaaay back, and she currently pens post-apocalyptic sci-fi and spy novels when she isn’t SCUBA diving, blogging, baking cookies, visiting Hospice patients, and chauffeuring her children to their various teenaged immediacies. You can find Piper at her blog “Author Piper Bayard“, on Twitter at @piperbayard or on Facebook.

Apr. 18: Julie Glover on Young Adult. Julie writes adult mysteries and young adult fiction. As a city girl from the Lone Star State, she owns both go-go boots and cowboy boots. Julie is currently seeking representation for a mystery, GRACE & FIRE, and completing a middle grade novel, A YEAR OF FIRSTS. Julie blogs at Julie Glover, Author and writes about the wonders of language on Amaze-ing Words Wednesdays and on various pop culture topics (movies, books, and more) on Deep-Fried Fridays! You can also find her on Twitter.

Apr. 25: Sonia G Medeiros on Fantasy. Sonia G Medeiros is a writer of fantasy, science fiction, and horror. She’s the author of more than a dozen short stories and flash fiction pieces, blogs at Sonia G Medeiros, and is working on her first novel, a dark fantasy.

And so there we have it, an awesome line-up for the blog series, which I can’t wait for. Thanks so much to all contributors and I’m looking forward to learning and creating a discussion among the writing community.

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Nicole Basaraba

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41 thoughts on “Writing in different genres: A Blog Series”

  2. Nicole,

    I am honored to be in this list with my little ol’ pregnancy memoir. Thanks for having me!! I’m excited for Wednesdays, and Elizabeth Craig is a great way to kick off your series. 🙂

  5. Eeeeekee…fahhhbulous and I am so uber excited for this series to launch!! It’s gonna ROCK!! Astounding authors guest posting – thanks for pulling this together Nicole!!

  6. So looking forward to this series. I struggle because I write across genres, the same way I read. I’m so intrigued by the idea of genres, especially authors that feel drawn to a particular one. Thanks for organizing this. I’m waiting with great anitcipation to read each and every one!

  8. I love this idea – it will be a real education for me, especially “steampunk” and a few other newer genres. I’ll be sure to check in.

    Judith

  9. You’ve lined up a fantastic list of writers, Nicole! I think this will be a hugely popular series! I’m happy to be included and sooo looking forward to all the other posts!

  10. It will be interesting to see what makes a novel fit into a particular genre. And like Tia mentioned, how genres could potentially cross-over or have elements from others. Thanks to all for being my guests and I look forward to the discussions we shall have.

  26. I found my way here via Kait Nolan. The idea of a genre series is interesting, but I can’t help wondering why literary fiction isn’t included. I know that some people don’t consider it a genre, but it does have its own category on sales sites.

    1. Thanks for the comment Catana. I enlisted the help of bloggers that I know who also write in these specific genres. Unfortunately, I didn’t know of someone who could write about literary fiction. If you happen to know someone who could shed some light on this genre, please feel free to contact me. 🙂

  28. Nicole, I found my way here via Catana, above. I write literary fiction, taught Fiction Writing workshops at Byron College in the early 2000s and am a freelance manuscript assessor. I presently have only short stories published (not all in the lit genre; I write them for money, so they need to be more mainstream), but I’m happy to have a go at the lit fiction section, if you like. I have a blog at: danielledevalera.wordpress.com if you’d like to get a bit of a feel for what I’m like; I just put up a review of Australian literary writer Michael Sala’s debut novel THE LAST THREAD.
    Best,
    Danielle

  29. I also found my way here through Catana’s post. I am a writer of literary fiction with degrees in creative writing and magazine journalism and a long career as writer. I blog about writing of many kinds (but mostly fiction) at http://audreykalman.wordpress.com. I haven’t written formal reviews but would be interested if you have a need to round out your genres.

  30. Nicole, please give the lit reviews to Audrey, rather than me. I have a fair amount of editing and manuscript appraisal work on this year; also I must write the last 40,000 words of my new novel. I offered because i didn’t want to see you stuck – it’s such a great idea – but if Audrey’s happy to do it, please consider her first.
    All the best,
    Danielle

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