Help me with my next ABCs of Fiction Writing article!
My ‘F’ article is up – Flashbacks – Remember when . . .
My next article up is ‘G’, and I’ve chosen the topic of genre.
These are the basics I have rolling around in my head right now:
Literary
Fantasy (because it’s what I write! I know there are many sub-genres: steampunk, epic, sword & sorcery – is this the same as epic? . . .)
Science Fiction (not so familiar with these sub-genres, though I know they’re there)
Romance
Paranormal
Horror
Thriller
Mystery
Christian – which can be paired with almost any other genre
Western
Chick Lit
And these are just what I can think of at the moment.
So my question is, if I don’t mention your preferred genre or sub-genre, what would you like to see me cover in this article? I can’t go higher than a PG-13 rating for these articles, so keep that in mind when suggesting genres. I need your feedback ASAP, this article needs to be in by the end of the week.
Thanks for your input!
Self-Help 🙂
Historical Fiction
Non-Fiction
Poetry
Biographies
As far as I know, there are only 4 genres. After literary or mainstream or simply “fiction” as it is sometimes called, there are the genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy (though these two are generally grouped together on the shelf), Mystery and Romance. Some might add a 5th with Western (Historical Fiction) or perhaps Horror, though Horror most often falls as a sub-category under the other four.
Everything else is a derivative or sub-category (subgenre). I said, as far as I know, the only point and purpose of dividing fiction even to this extent is so the publisher can tell the bookseller where to stick it on the shelf. It is so a reader can get a bit of a head start on finding the type of story they like to read. Otherwise, there are no intrinsic “genres.” It is all just fiction.
-Michael
The Fiction Side: The Storyteller http://mgkizzia.wordpress.com/
The Non-Fiction Side: Word & Spirit http://michaelkizzia.wordpress.com/
Greetings, SheWrites sister. I found this site on classifications and genre quite helpful, though I was disappointed that erotica wasn’t even even mentioned *sob*. http://literaticat.blogspot.com/2010/10/big-ol-genre-glossary.html
Looking forward to seeing your piece.
Hi Beverly! So glad you stopped by! That is a very helpful site, but I’ve actually already finished my article, I just haven’t had a chance to post anything today yet :).
I didn’t cover erotica as a genre in my article because I have to maintain a PG-13 rating or less for Associated Content, and I just didn’t want to deal with that possible can of worms! So I’m sorry that it’s going to be excluded again.
I’m off to putter around on your blog now, check back tomorrow for a link to the genre article, etc 🙂