This course started as a module within my larger course, 'Space opera, steampunk and slashers, oh my!', but I soon realised it would work really well as a standalone project. It grew from there and is now much bigger and more jam-packed than ever!
So although this content is included in the 'Space opera, steampunk and slashers, oh my!' course, too, it's definitely a pretty cool project in its own right! If you get the bug for learning about genre, I'd love you to move on to 'Space opera, steampunk and slashers, oh my!'. You'll get a discount since you've already purchased this project! Scroll to the bottom of this lesson and you'll see an order form to register for the full genre course now.
If you're like me, you love diving into topics you're interested in and learning as much as you can. Sometimes there's an end goal, like writing an essay or blog post about it, but sometimes it's just for fun.
Exploring a favourite genre can be a really enjoyable and interesting task in its own right but there's an even bigger benefit: learning more about the sorts of books you write (or want to write) will help you write better stories that young readers will love. By understanding the history, traditions, conventions and expectations of your chosen genre, you'll have a much better idea of what children and teenagers love about that genre and what they're hoping for when they pick up a book, and how you can surprise them with fresh takes on classic ideas and tropes.
And the benefits don't stop once you've published your book. Being knowledgeable about your genre also means you can talk confidently and enthusiastically with your audience – readers, booksellers, reviewers, teachers, librarians – about other books you're both reading. You can give them recommendations, discuss favourites and chat about what makes the genre tick.
And if you're following the traditional publishing route, you'll be able to find excellent comp titles when you query agents and chat to them (and publishers) about the market.
I'll talk more about this later.
This course guides you through starting and working on a project that I hope will last a lifetime! You'll choose the genre you want to study (probably whatever you're hoping to write) and I'll give you lots of ideas and suggestions for how you can explore, analyse and record information about that genre, from its history to its future.
Just to manage expectations, as much as I want you to feel ambitious and positive about this, you probably won't be a genre expert by the end of this course! Think of it as an ongoing project that you're always adding to in order to be a stronger writer, smarter reader and bigger advocate for your genre.
This project will also be really helpful for any authors who don't know which genre they like or want to write in yet. You can pick a genre you like the sound of, explore it and see if it appeals to you enough to start writing!
No! I want to say upfront that I am absolutely not telling you that you have to go and research your genre and dedicate your life to reading every book ever written! You can be a great author without knowing the history of horror or the 100 bestselling science fiction books or who is credited as writing the first historical novel. This research project is NOT a mandatory requirement of being a middle grade or YA writer!
This course is for anybody who loves their genre and wants to learn more. It's supposed to be fun and exciting, not stressful or exhausting. Don't feel pressured to do anything I suggest here.
You also don't have to focus on an entire genre. Being an expert in fantasy is a pretty big ask! You can narrow this research project down to a subgenre like steampunk or supernatural horror or historical romance or gothic suspense or queer romance.
Just choose something you actively want to learn more about.
The dictionary definition is 'a person who is very knowledgeable about or skilful in a particular area' and I think that's pretty achievable! You absolutely can, and even should, become very knowledgeable about the genre of fiction you've chosen to write in.
We often think of experts as knowing everything there is to know about a topic and being able to easily answer any question or explain any concept but that's a pretty high bar. Do you really need to become one of the world's leading authorities on your genre? Do you need to read every fantasy book ever written or be able to recite a complete history of murder mystery fiction? Do you have to spend 10,000 hours reading up on romance novels?
Of course not! If you do want to be a leading authority on your genre, awesome! That will definitely help open doors when it comes to marketing your book. But this course isn't about becoming a famous academic or genre genius: it's about exploring the genre you love and taking away as much helpful knowledge and inspiration as you can so that you're able to write better books and engage with your readers.
I don't want you to torture yourself trying to learn everything – there's no test at the end of this course! And you shouldn't try to become an expert in a genre you don't like and don't enjoy reading because that will be seriously painful. This course is designed to be fun, empowering, inspiring and eye opening. I want you to fall in love with your genre even more so that you can help children and teenagers fall in love with it, too!
So when the research and reading becomes a chore and you're just not feeling it anymore, stop! Go do something else. Read something totally different. Take a break and come back when you're ready.
‘Space opera, steampunk and slashers, oh my!’ takes the mystery out of genre jargon and guides you through narrowing down your own book’s genre, whether you’re just getting started or already have a completed draft. No idea what genre you want to write? No problem – I’ve got tips for that!
We ’ll explore and explain tropes, genres, subgenres, mashups and the children’s book industry, all while showing you how to apply this learning to your own book and marketing materials.
Sign up below with a £30 discount! Use code SPACE30 to save.