I've a slight dilemma here. The only genre that seems to fit for the WIP I'm on right now is the Fantasy genre, but I admit there are going to be very, very few "fantasy" elements in it. There will be no magic, and there will be no magical races, though the main character is identified as Jinn, that is - in fact- superstition created by the culture he grew up in. He's human. I got the idea from a news story I read a few years ago where a woman was stoned to death because the people of her village believed she was a Jinni. There isn't a "sacred quest" that has to happen either, which is usually the bread and butter of most fantasy stories. There are a few exceptions, but not many I can think of.
The story DOES take place in another world, but it is similar in many ways to Earth. While the mythos of this world is different and the customs and some of the terminology isn't the same, everything you find there you would also find in reality.
I'll be frank when I say I usually don't enjoy the fantasy genre much. There's actually really only one series I like that's classified as fantasy, and that would be G.R.R.M.'s a Song of Ice and Fire. Everything else - and I mean no offense to anyone - seems a little cheesy. For whatever reason, I can't really get myself to believe this orphan boy has a mystical sword and is fighting an evil wizard or whatever else the scenario is. It's just not my favorite genre to read.
I do enjoy many classics, and I especially enjoy fiction set in history that uses a lot of detail and even fact. But I'm no history major and so I don't know enough to actually write my own story in a historically accurate setting, and quite honestly I like being able to take cultures I've read about and mish-mash them together in a new way.
The thing I'm not sure of is if my WIP actually falls under the "Fantasy" genre or if it's just going to be considered general Fiction. Are there some unspoken guidelines that writers know of that can separate what IS and ISN'T considered Fantasy?
The story DOES take place in another world, but it is similar in many ways to Earth. While the mythos of this world is different and the customs and some of the terminology isn't the same, everything you find there you would also find in reality.
I'll be frank when I say I usually don't enjoy the fantasy genre much. There's actually really only one series I like that's classified as fantasy, and that would be G.R.R.M.'s a Song of Ice and Fire. Everything else - and I mean no offense to anyone - seems a little cheesy. For whatever reason, I can't really get myself to believe this orphan boy has a mystical sword and is fighting an evil wizard or whatever else the scenario is. It's just not my favorite genre to read.
I do enjoy many classics, and I especially enjoy fiction set in history that uses a lot of detail and even fact. But I'm no history major and so I don't know enough to actually write my own story in a historically accurate setting, and quite honestly I like being able to take cultures I've read about and mish-mash them together in a new way.
The thing I'm not sure of is if my WIP actually falls under the "Fantasy" genre or if it's just going to be considered general Fiction. Are there some unspoken guidelines that writers know of that can separate what IS and ISN'T considered Fantasy?
it just doesn't particularly interest me. Then again I know that historical fiction bores a lot of people while it entertains me quite a bit. All a mater of taste and that - so I say more power to the gargoyles and faeries because there is certainly a market for it !
