One thing that fascinates me is discovering that what seems like a simple plot idea has been turned into an entire mini-genre of its own. I’m still agog at the wealth of Scottish Highlands time travel romances out there—who knew authors could come up with book after book from the idea?

Today, create or choose what seems to you like a basic plot idea, seemingly too narrow to be a genre or sub-genre. Then spent 20 minutes brainstorming different ways to approach that idea, such that by the time you’re done you hopefully have a whole list of book ideas, as though the plot had become a genre.

This kind of flexibility and expansion exercise can be very helpful when you’re looking at commercial outlets for your work.

This morning I reviewed J.D. Robb/Nora Roberts’s mystery Memory in Death. One of the things that immediately struck me when I read the opening was how over-the-top it was:

Death was not taking a holiday. New York may have been decked out in its glitter and glamour, madly festooned in December of 2059, but Santa Claus was dead. And a couple of his elves weren’t looking so good.

A page or two in, however, it was also clear that the over-the-top style was utterly deliberate—and equally fun. It was enjoyable to just let go of preconceived notions of what’s now considered trite or overly florid, and simply enjoy something larger-than-life.

Today, pick a genre that has—or at some point has had—a style or set of conventions that would now be considered over-the-top, and write a scene, page, or some other short piece in that style. Instead of trying to write it without those conventions, dive head-first into them. Indulge gleefully. Have fun with it, and try to let that sense of fun show in the result!

Write with curiosity