Know your genre

If you want to write in a genre, you’re wise to immerse yourself in it.

I have gotten to know a lot of screenwriters through the years. In talking with or interviewing them, one thing I find they pretty much have in common: They know their genre.

That is a lesson for all of us.

When you write an original screenplay within a specific genre, you really should know the heart, soul and guts of that genre. This will inform every step of your creative and writing process: concept, character development, brainstorming, plotting, tone, style, atmosphere, voice, pace, and so on. There are patterns, tropes, memes and attributes common to certain genres, and you need to know as much about them as possible, if you want to follow, reverse or break those conventions.

If you are an action writer, you need to know the action genre.

If you are a comedy writer, you need to know the comedy genre.

If you are a science fiction writer, you need to know the science fiction genre.

And so forth down the list of genres, sub-genres and cross genres.

There are so many reasons why this is the case. Here are a few:

• Knowing a genre means you will be informed about what has come before which can help you avoid too closely duplicating scenes or…