Does your mystery novel have a romance in it? Does your speculative fiction have a mystery element? Does your romance take place on another planet?
It seems that there’s a lot of cross-genre writing going on. I attribute this to indie- publishing. Traditional publishing houses used to refuse books that transversed genres claiming that they wouldn’t know which shelf to put it on (my own Regency-set fantasy romance was rejected for this reason twenty years ago). But today, when authors can publish whatever they want, readers are discovering the joy of having a mystery in their romance or other-worldly creatures in their mystery.
The wonderful thing about this is that you are no longer confined in what you write. Kerry Nietz discovered this ten years ago when they published Amish Vampires in Space. But the question inherent in all this fun is which genre expectations you follow because, as you know, every genre has certain elements which must be included. In a romance, there has to be a happily ever after; in mystery, the mystery must be solved in a believable fashion by the end of the book.
The answer is both. If you’re writing in two genres, you need to follow the conventions of both of them.
So, how do you get started writing cross- genre fiction?
Easy. Just write what con want to read. Has no one ever written a book about a witche who falls in love with an alien and you’d really like to read such a story? Then write it! The key is that the story your writing is one you love.
But here’s a word of warning: don’t write a cross-genre novel just because everyone else is doing it, i.e. don’t write to market. Yes, Romantasy is very hot right now, that doesn’t mean you have to write it too. (See previous paragraph.)
Another key thing to keep in mind is that a novel is never just one story. Your protagonist needs two goals: an inner goal and an outer goal. That two stories right there. But then don’t forget about your antagonist. They might have a third goal which has nothing to do with your protagonist’s goals, but will certainly get in the way of their achieving them. Each one of those goals could be the foundation for a story in a particular genre, and they can all be different genres. Here’s an example just off the top of my head: Our hero’s inner goal is to find love and happiness (romance), and their outer goal involves easing tensions between the vampires and were-creatures (fantasy). The antagonist however is taking advantage of the chaos between creatures to steal a magical item. If the item is found, all the creatures agree to live in peace (mystery).
You see how easy it is to mix and match genres, and much fun it is to do so? What are your favorite genre mash-ups?