by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethspanncraig.com
It’s tempting to look at the books doing well in your genre and try to write something like them. But what makes readers remember your work usually isn’t how neatly you fit the mold, but the quirky details and angles that only you would have thought to stick in there.
The Things Only You Notice
Everyone sees the world through their own filter, and yours doesn’t match anyone else’s. Maybe you’re fascinated by how people organize their kitchen cabinets, or you notice the wildly different ways people react to a surprise thunderstorm. Maybe you have firm opinions about the correct way to load a dishwasher, or you’ve always wondered why some people talk to their houseplants. Those oddly specific observations that feel completely normal to you are exactly the kind of thing that sets your writing apart from everyone else’s.
Your Real Interests Come Through Anyway
What you’re genuinely curious about always reads more authentically than what you think you’re supposed to write about. If you’re endlessly interested in small-town politics, that shows up in a cozy mystery as real energy. If you keep gravitating toward stories about people starting over in midlife, that pull tends to make better characters than chasing whichever demographic seems more marketable this year. Your enthusiasm lands on the page whether you meant it to or not.
Where You’ve Been Is Material
Your job, hobbies, family, and everything you’ve lived through hand you insider knowledge other writers don’t have. A nurse writes a hospital scene differently than someone who’s only visited one. Someone who grew up in a military family knows things about that life that others would miss. A person who’s moved a dozen times sees community dynamics differently than someone who’s stayed put. None of that is a limitation. Instead, it’s the stuff that lets you write familiar territory with real detail.
What Makes You Different Is the Point
Maybe you have an unusual hobby, an interesting cultural background, or you’ve lived somewhere most people only pass through. Maybe you’ve got opinions about coffee, know more local history than is strictly reasonable, or understand the daily logistics of a blended family. These parts of you seep into the writing on their own, and they’re what make characters and situations feel fresh. . . because they’re coming from your specific reality instead of generic research.
Knowing the Market Without Copying It
Understanding what’s selling helps you make informed calls; it just shouldn’t make every call for you. Reading widely in your category shows you what readers expect, but that’s a foundation, not a template. Most genre readers want something that feels familiar and surprising at the same time. Your perspective laid over the usual conventions is what hits that sweet spot where a reader feels at home but not bored.
The writers who stand out aren’t the ones running the formula flawlessly. They’re the ones who bring something unmistakably theirs to familiar ground—the kind of thing that makes a reader think, “I never would’ve looked at it that way, but yes, exactly.”
What’s one quirky thing about your perspective that turns up in your writing whether you plan it or not?
Your quirky perspective is what sets your writing apart from others in your genre. Don't hide your weird—embrace it: Share on X