When I was writing one of my early Pawsitively Organic Mysteries, I hadn’t done a great job with the roadmap of the book. Most of it was me “pantsing” it—flying by the seat of my pants.
In the middle of the book, I somehow extracted my characters from their small Connecticut town where they were trying to solve the mystery of the missing uncle and plopped them down in Boston Harbor, where they awaited a ship full of gangsters? A missing priceless artifact? I really wasn’t sure.
And I wasn’t sure what they were going to do when the ship came in, since they were ill-equipped to handle gangsters. You know, being normal people without law enforcement training and all.
So there they stayed for weeks on that harbor, until my deadline started pressing down on me and my anxiety was going through the roof. Lamenting this to one of my author friends, she pointed out that I’d somehow started writing a thriller in the middle of my cozy mystery. And my job now was to get my people back to their town and get on with solving the mystery like, well, an amateur sleuth would, rather than a team of highly trained special agents.
This is why it’s SO IMPORTANT to know in which subgenre you’re writing. And while I obviously did know this since I was in the middle of a series, somehow I lost sight of the key components of my genre—community is key in solving the mystery.
Genre is only one of the five decisions that, when you know it, saves you from mid-draft meltdowns. Whether you’re plotting your first whodunit or leveling-up book ten, in this episode I’m taking you through the five decisions—genre, series scope, timeframe, setting, and point of view—that set the rails for an anxiety-free, focused writing process.
Key Takeaways
- Genre defines the promise. Nail it early so pitches, comps and word counts line up.
- Series ≠ stand-alone. Ongoing arcs demand different character blueprints than one-off stories.
- Timeframe shapes clues. Technology (or the lack of it) dictates how your sleuth solves the case.
- Setting sells atmosphere. Real places boost authenticity; fictional towns give you total freedom. Mash them together and it’s a perfect world (literally!).
- POV is your camera. Choose the lens that delivers maximum tension and reader intimacy.
Resources & Links
- 🎁 Free PDF: Five Key Decisions Cheat Sheet – snag it here.
- Pre-order Cat Café #9, Claws Out → https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250883995/clawsout/
- Want deeper coaching? Get on the waitlist for the Mindful Mystery Writer’s Masterclass (Sept cohort)!
Connect with Liz
- Instagram → @lizmugavero - DM your chosen genre + POV!
- Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite app so you never miss an episode.
Spread the Word
If today’s episode helped untangle your plot, leave a quick rating or share it with your writing group—every star helps another mystery find its ending.