Is this a mystery?
From Story Nerd by Melanie Hill, Valerie Francis
June 5, 2026 · 43 min · Season 18 · Episode 1805
About this episode
The episode discusses the challenges of genre mismatch in storytelling, particularly when a story pitched as a mystery does not align with its opening pages.
What happens when a story is pitched in the query letter as a mystery, but doesn't read like one in the opening pages? Where did the confusion creep in and how can you avoid a genre mismatch? We discuss this and much more (including writing unnamed protagonists and passive characters) in today's Hook Your Reader episode. Enjoy! -V.
People in this episode
Hosts: Melanie Hill, Valerie Francis
Topics covered
- mystery
- genre mismatch
- writing techniques
- unnamed protagonists
- passive characters
Keywords
- mystery
- genre mismatch
- writing
- unnamed protagonists
- passive characters
- query letter
- storytelling
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