How Fiction Authors Use Genre as a Lens to Shape Reader Perception
The Genre Lie Most Writers Still Believe
Most writers think genre limits creativity.
That’s the lie.
The truth is harder—and far more freeing.
Because genre isn’t a trap.
It’s a tool.
The Core Truth
In Episode 6, Scoot and I dismantled the myth that genre is a creative prison. Authors talk as if choosing a genre locks them into formulas, clichés, or expectations that dilute originality.
But that belief misunderstands what genre actually is:
Genre is a lens.
A lens shapes perception. It gives your reader a stable point of view. It frames the emotional promise of your story. It tells the AI Librarian where your work belongs—and tells readers what kind of journey they’re stepping into.
And here’s the part most authors underestimate:
Readers rely on this clarity far more than writers realize.
Rejecting genre doesn’t make you unique.
It makes you unclear.
Scoot said it plainly: genre is communication. It’s how readers decide whether the emotional experience you’re offering is the one they want. You’re not limiting your story—you’re pointing the camera so the reader can actually see it.
The Reality We Avoid
Writers resist genre because they fear being boxed in.
But the real prison isn’t genre.
The real prison is confusion.
If readers can’t tell what your story is, they can’t connect with it.
If they can’t recognize the emotional destination, they won’t buy the ticket.
Genre doesn’t reduce creativity.
Genre supports it.
You can bend boundaries, mix influences, or innovate wildly—but you must do it intentionally. Without a genre lens, your story becomes a blur. With a genre lens, it becomes a picture your reader can understand.
Clarity doesn’t kill creativity.
Clarity is what makes creativity land.
Your Turn
Which part of this hit closest to home?
Where have you resisted genre because it felt restrictive?
Drop your thoughts in the comments—this is where real breakthroughs start.
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Listen to the Full Episode
If you haven’t heard the conversation yet, you can listen here:
EPISODE 6 – Genre Isn’t a Box — It’s a Lens
About This Podcast
Nothing About This Is Safe is the weekly writing-truth podcast hosted by Jaime Buckley, featuring honest, practical conversations with writers like Scoot.
We tackle the deeper craft, mindset, and discoverability questions showing up in AI searches every day—because if authors are asking it, we’re talking about it.
Ink & Purpose: Why Fiction Matters - The Forgotten Power Behind Every Great Parent and Every Great Storyteller
Why does fiction matter?
Because stories don’t just entertain us—they shape us.
In this inspiring collection, bestselling author and illustrator Jaime Buckley reflects on the power of fiction to spark imagination, build courage, and forge identity. Blending humor, hard-won wisdom, and heartfelt storytelling, Buckley reminds us that the stories we consume are the stories that shape who we become.
Whether you’re a reader, parent, teacher, or writer, this book will challenge you to see fiction not as an escape, but as a guide—a compass pointing toward empathy, resilience, and hope.
Perfect for fans of C.S. Lewis, Madeleine L’Engle, or Neil Gaiman—anyone who believes stories can change lives.
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That's a very interesting question. I don't really write in a "genre" other than what I'd call "literary." Not because what I write is "special," but because I'm so all over the place with my writing. I do like to get into my characters, though. I like to explore what makes them tick, and by doing that, making what I write more of a character study than anything else. I guess you could say I've sort of pigeon-holed myself. I wrote fantasy, and I wrote a dystopian future sci-fi novel, as well. But I like the novella category best, which is not a genre. It allows for exploration though. However, the fact that I can't be put into one specific genre, or more broadly, seen as a literary category, it leaves me hanging. No one reads me as much as they would if I were to write Flash fiction, or Fantasy, or Romance, or Sci-Fi. I might qualify as saying I write Historical Fiction, but come on, is it historical if I'm writing about events in my own life time? Apparently, yes. The story I'm working on now takes place in the 70's. "That's" Historical Fiction? So I'll take the literary label, and I guess the Historical Fiction as well, but what I want to do is carve out a bigger niche with the novella category, which isn't a genre, but a category.
Genre is also a marketing tool created by the publishers, because like librarians book sellers also need to know where to put your books, on the shelf or in the bin.
Until you’ve “made it” as an author to the point where people go looking for “the new book by …” like they do for the new John Grisham / Dan Brown / Stephen King etc etc, you have to live on the shelves with the rest of your peers, that place where your potential readers go to find new things that are like the things that they already like.