Hit the Shelves
You want your novel to be unique, a story that is busting to come out, one that you can tell with authenticity, skill, and passion. But that doesn’t mean you should be unaware of what else is out there in your category. Like nonfiction, you want to be educated about your genre. It’s important to try to read everything that is germane to your concept. If you love Sherlock Holmes and you are writing a mystery with a Holmes-like character as your detective, you should read the entire canon of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle stories and novels, and you should be familiar with how other modern writers have treated the great detective. Otherwise, you might spend months writing a certain type of mystery novel, only to discover that there was ...