#265. What Is Cozy Fiction? 10 Characteristics Cozy Writers Need to Know

Savannah Gilbo (0:00)

If you are thinking about writing cozy fiction, you might be wondering what actually makes a book count as cozy fiction in the first place. Is it the charming setting, the low stakes, a tea shop with a big orange fluffy cat in the window, or is it just an emphasis on cozy vibes? Well, everything that I just mentioned can be a part of what makes a cozy story work, but there is a bit more to it than that. And that's exactly what we're going to talk about in today's episode.

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In today's episode, we're talking about writing cozy fiction, and specifically, I'm going to share the 10 characteristics that make cozy fiction unique. So if you're someone who wants to write a cozy story, whether that's a cozy mystery, a cozy romance, a cozy fantasy, or any other kind of cozy story, we are going to talk about what actually makes a story count as cozy in the first place, where the boundaries are between true cozy fiction and stories that just so happen to contain cozy elements, and how the 10 characteristics help you create the kind of warm, reassuring, and cozy experience that readers are coming to cozy fiction for. But first, I want to share a definition of what cozy fiction is just so that we're all on the same page. Now, cozy fiction at its most simple is a marketing label for stories that promise readers a warm, emotionally safe, and ultimately hopeful reading experience. So, they literally make readers feel cozy, hence the name. And they are kind of like the literary equivalent of a warm, cozy hug. No wonder so many people like them, right? Now, contrary to popular belief, these stories are not conflict-free. So, don't let the name fool you, because cozy stories can absolutely contain things like conflict, grief, and darker elements. But the goal is always to maintain that larger sense of warmth, connection, and reassurance that readers have come to expect. And so, even when there is conflict or when things go wrong, readers can ultimately trust that things will be okay in the end. We're going to talk about this more as we get into the 10 characteristics in a little bit. But really quick, let's talk about the difference between a truly cozy story versus a story that just contains cozy elements, because there is an important difference. Now, some books are explicitly marketed as cozy fiction. So think about you go into a bookstore and there is a cozy mystery section, there might be a cozy fantasy section, maybe even a cozy romance section, I mean, you name it. And the stories you would find on these bookshelves are things like Legends & Lattes, The House in the Cerulean Sea, Howl's Moving Castle, The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, and The Thursday Murder Club. So all of these are commonly marketed and referred to as cozy fiction. And for each of these books, coziness is part of the positioning. So it affects everything from the cover design and the back cover copy, to the expectations that readers bring with them when they go to a bookstore or are browsing books online, right? Because readers pick up these kind of books expecting a very particular kind of reading experience, and these books deliver on that promise. So we're going to talk a little bit later about kind of what that promise looks like and how the characteristics help you deliver on that promise, but that is what true cozy fiction is like, right? Now on the other end of the spectrum, we have books that have cozy elements. So these are books that are not marketed as cozy fiction, but they do contain cozy elements. So these are books like the Harry Potter series, The Lord of the Rings, and even the A Court of Thorns and Roses series. Each of those contains cozy elements, but it would not be marketed as cozy fiction. All right, so take Harry Potter as an example, right? We get Hogwarts, there are shared meals in the Great Hall, we have found family with Ron and Hermione, and there are people and places that readers love returning to. But the bigger story also contains life and death stakes, and there's violence, and there is also significant loss. All right, so this story would not be marketed as cozy fiction, even though it contains arguably cozy elements. All right, so that's the important distinction, cozy elements can appear in all kinds of fiction. But what makes a novel truly count as cozy fiction is the overall reading experience it promises and delivers. So now that we're clear on that, let's go ahead and dive into the 10 characteristics that make cozy fiction unique. And the first characteristic is a contained and lived in world. Now, in cozy fiction, the story usually stays rooted in one small, knowable part of the larger world. That might be a village, a retirement community, or even a single street in a much bigger city. That smaller scope is important because it gives you room to develop your setting in more depth. You can establish reoccurring places, familiar faces, local history, and routines that readers come to recognize. So for example, maybe there's a farmer's market that happens every Thursday in the summer, or maybe the same regulars always claim the table in the diner by the window because they've been sitting there since high school. Or maybe there is one streetlight that's always out and everyone in town jokes about that one streetlight. You know, just a few examples. And it's these kinds of rhythms, routines, shared history, and inside jokes that make the setting feel lived in. Like life is already happening there beyond the immediate plot. And as readers run into those same places, people, and routines again and again, the story world is going to start feeling really familiar. And that familiarity is what creates attachment, which is a big part of what makes the cozy reading experience feel safe and comforting. All right, so that is characteristic number one, a contained and well lived in world. Characteristic number two is specific, comforting, sensory details. Now, one of the great parts about cozy fiction is that it pays extra attention to the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures of everyday life, especially the ones that feel comforting or inviting. But I want to be really clear about what this means, because the goal is not to write really lush or poetic description. You can of course do that if you want, but that is not what makes cozy fiction cozy fiction. Instead, the goal is to choose a few concrete details that let readers experience your key places for themselves. So instead of describing a cozy coffee shop just generically, and telling the readers that it's cozy, you might instead show mismatched mugs, a radiator that clanks twice before it settles, and maybe even the smell of cinnamon because the owner puts it in everything. Now, notice what that last detail is doing because it's doing double duty. So let's pretend the owner is a little old lady and that's her signature. It's a habit that she's kept up long enough that the whole shop smells like her. And the whole town knows that everything that they're going to order from that shop or that bakery, whatever, it is going to taste and smell like cinnamon because of that person, right? So think of opportunities to do stuff like that in your story as well, because I think the best cozy details carry a little character or history with them as well. And if you're not sure which details to choose or which ones to focus on, just ask yourself if I were standing in this scene, in this setting right now, what would I notice first? Start there and extrapolate as needed and your readers will feel like they're standing in the room with you too. All right, so that is characteristic number two, specific comforting sensory details.