Reading outside your genre can be useful if you want to pick up tricks and tips that your own genre might not be known for. Each genre has its strengths. For example:
- romance is useful to look at if you want to see how to go about creating emotional arcs
- crime writers tend to be skilled at pacing and tension
- and fantasy novels often have rich worldbuilding
Borrowing techniques from other genres can really enrich your storytelling.
I coach a fantasy writer, and today we’ve been looking at M.W. Craven’s Fearless to see how scene transitions can be handled when pace is the aim.
![It was 7 a.m. by the time Samuel finally announced he was happy [...]
Apart from the trip to get some suitable clothes for dinner, I spent the rest of the day at J.T.’s [...]
We spent the next hour looking at mirrors.
The drive to GU Solar Energy Systems headquarters didn’t take long.](https://cherryedits.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/it-is-past-midnight-on-agness-wedding-night.jpg?w=1024)
Here we see Craven using transitions to keep the story moving briskly. Sometimes, a simple summarising sentence is all it takes to bridge one scene to the next.
What about you? Have you picked up any tricks from reading outside your genre? Share your experiences in the comments!
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