SECRETS TO SUCCESSFUL (FELINE) FICTION, Part 1

As a grateful member of the Cat Writers’ Association, I’ve had the pleasure of working with some amazing fiction authors. In two panels in which I participated, several questions came up multiple times. I’ve presented these questions here, and in a my next post, I will try to answer them.

But first, what is fiction?

Fiction is usually described as something that isn’t true, an imaginary scenario. Fiction almost always has some basis in fact, but the story and characters are made up by the author. The Cambridge Dictionary defines it as: a book or story that is written about imaginary characters and events and not based on real people and facts.

Fiction has many genres and subgenres. Some writers write across two or more genres.

Popular Fiction Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Adventure, Romance, Crime & Mystery, Horror, Thriller, LGBTQ+, Historical Fiction, as well as Young Adult and Children’s fiction. There are also an unlimited number of sub-genres and cross-genres.

 SECRETS TO SUCCESSFUL FELINE FICTION: The Questions

Questions asked of the panel at the St. Louis CWA Conference 2109 and the Online Conference 2022. Panelists included fiction authors Debbie De Louise, Patricia Fry, Mollie Hunt, and Sandra Murphy, 

Where do ideas come from? Write what you know—or don’t?Creating realistic characters, including cats. How do you make the cats in your fiction realistic? Are they based on your own cats?Do you write from the feline POV, or does another character “narrate” your cat character’s actions? Do the cats in your books talk, or are they silent except for cat sounds?How do you create realistic dialogue?That pesky first draft, and other stages of fiction writing. (Revisions, edits, etc.)A daily writing process. Plotting vs. Discovery Writing (Pantsers)How to create a believable Backstory.How do you edit your books? Read them out loud to your cats? Listen to a “Read Aloud” feature on your computer? Beta Readers, Editors, & Self-Editing.Tips on writing a series: Coming up with a unique new theme, which is a different process than developing a single story. Setting and character lists. Do’s and don’ts, such as don’t give away what happened in the previous book. If you write more than one cat series, how do you make them unique?Never kill the cat, and the times you can break the rule.Red herrings, MacGuffins and twists.Avoiding info-dumps.Research: Facts in fiction—even fiction must be factual in essence. Can people learn something from reading your books?What is world-building? How do you use description, character, environment, and situation to create a fictional world?When is that book really finished?

Bonus question: What the heck is a cozy mystery anyway?

Answers, from my point of view, will be coming soon. Meanwhile, if you have any more questions, please feel free to add them to the list.