Are you writing in the genre that's best suited to you? Sometimes writers must try their hand at several genres before finding the right fit. Here's a quiz that can help you determine if you've chosen the right genre for you.

You chose the genre you're writing in because:

1. you're not writing in a specific genre
2. it's an easy genre to break into
3. it's a very hot genre right now
4. it's your favorite genre as a reader
5. what's a genre

Your chosen genre is:

1. crime fiction or horror
2. romance
3. science fiction/fantasy
4. upmarket fiction
5. it's a mash-up

How many books in your genre have you read?

1. fewer than twenty
2. 20 to 50
3. 50 to 100
4. more than 100
5. you're not a big reader

How many books in your sub-genre have you read?

1. fewer than twenty
2. 20 to 50
3. 50 to 100
4. more than 100
5. you're not sure what your sub-genre is

How many books in your genre published in the past three years by debut authors have you read?

1. fewer than ten
2. 10 to 20
3. more than 20
4. more than 50
5. you prefer to read the category killers written by established authors

You could list your genre's obligatory scenes:

1. what would be the point of that
2. I'm still trying to figure that out
3. give me half an hour to think about it and list them
4. off the top of your head
5. what's an obligatory scene

Many genres suffer from tired tropes. You're handling this by:

1. why mess with classic tropes
2. I'm still trying to figure that out
3. I'm not using those tropes
4. I'm reinventing those tropes
5. what's a trope

How well do you know the conventions of your genre?

1. I'm still trying to figure that out
2. conventions were made to be broken
3. well enough to observe them
4. well enough to play with them
5. what are genre conventions

How are you connecting with your genre readership?

1. I belong to a genre book club
2. I have genre fans as beta readers
3. I attend genre fan events and book signings
4. all of the above
5. none of the above

You love your genre so much that you:

1. go to movies in your genre
2. collect first editions by your favorite genre authors
3. named your dog after your favorite genre character
4. all of the above
5. none of the above

You've prepared to succeed in this genre by:

1. joining your genre association
2. taking genre-specific writing classes and workshops
3. befriending both published and unpublished writers in your genre
4. all of the above
5. none of the above

All 11 questions completed!


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The Genre Quiz

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