There is Only One Genre: Mystery

I’ve heard it said that all novels are mysteries, in a broad sense.

And I can see some of the reasoning. If an engaging novel is about change from page one to the end of the book, and if an engaging novel requires obstacles to overcome, then how those happen to an unsuspecting character do constitute a kind of mystery.

None of us knows what is coming next. Even when we think we know, there are surprises, sometimes presaged by clues. Sometimes not. In real life. But in novels, the surprises and changes and obstacles are always set up by the author. Out of the blue doesn’t happen in novels as it might in real life.

My online dictionary lists three examples in its first definition:

•something that is difficult or impossible to understand or explain

• the condition or quality of being secret, strange, or difficult to explain

• a person or thing whose identity or nature is puzzling or unknown

See how that does fit, that all novels are mysteries?

Not traditional mysteries where a crime has occurred, necessarily, but a puzzle to unravel. A problem to be resolved. A secret to be uncovered. Explanations to reveal. Characters to understand.

So writers, no matter what genre you thought you wrote, welcome to my world, mystery writer.

Agree or disagree? Let me know in the comments. And if you disagree, convince me, if you can!

Did you find this intriguing? Let your social media outlets know about the post.

Facebook: Sharon Arthur Moore posits that all novels are actually mysteries, ultimately. Read her argument see if you agree. http://bit.ly/2k3PI5x

Twitter: #Writers, forget what you thought you knew. There is only one genre, mystery. http://bit.ly/2k3PI5x