Write What You Like

I'd say write what you know, but if I followed that advice I would have written books about why I like whiskey. 

And beer.

Kind of a niche audience for that one as opposed to mysteries and thrillers.

Of course, that can make things difficult. These days the big sellers are NF and YA. Well, I'm not good at telling the truth and I disliked growing-up so much that I can't even think of a fictitious account of it that would want me to revisit those feelings. 

So I write mysteries. I like mysteries.

And I write thrillers. I like thrillers.

Though I'm not a fan of complete sentences. See what I did there?

If you really want to follow the market and try to write the book that will get an agent's head to turn just because that genre is hot at the time, good luck and more power to you. 

Personally, if I don't really want to write something it turns into a forced, hackneyed rant. 

Yes, I know I just gave you the underhand, slow pitch set up. I'm comfortable with that. 

If you like romance or fantasy or whatever, just write that. Write about the things you find passion and humor and intrigue in. 

Enjoy writing and it will show through on the pages.

Ask the experts

I've mentioned before that few writers can do it all themselves. I'd like to extend that a little further by adding that regardless of the amount of research, it is next to impossible to get it just right.

So, as authors, I highly advise you go get in contact with people in the know. If you write police procedural, contact your local police department and see if there are any officers that would be willing to spend some time talking about how police work actually happens. 

Just make sure you keep it clear that you are only researching for a novel. I may have been involved in a minor bit of confusion that ended up with the police chief requiring an interview...

Never mind.

If you are writing about fire fighters, talk to a fire fighter. If you are writing about soldiers, talk to a soldier.

If you are writing about dragons...well, talk to yourself. Don't act like you don't. We've all been there.

Someone knows better. You may have a romanticized idea of how a job exists that has been warped by TV, movies and poorly-researched novels. Ask someone in the know. You may be surprised at how willing the experts are to help you tell the story right.