Unsure of Genre

Maiden · Apr 6, 2009

I started out writing fantasy and spent agreat deal of time writing fantasy. recently I have tried something new and I am not really sure of what area I am writing in.

Is there a way to tell what genre I am writing in if it is not clear?

I suppose what I am asking is what is it that makes a book fit into one area appose to another.

Maiden · Apr 6, 2009

Forgive typos and grammar errors. It has been a long day and I have three kids. So I have a get-out-of-jail-free card.

bsolah · Apr 6, 2009

I guess people would be have to read what you've written first to determine what genre it might be in, or at least get a general gist of what it's about.

Don't worry too much about it though, just write it first and then begin to work out what genre it is.

Maiden · Apr 6, 2009

I know I am putting the cart before the horse. I have written in the same genre for awhile though and even when I stepped outside of that it was pretty cut and dry (ie essays, reports, journals, poetry, etc.)

Now I am entering into a whole new area but I am not really not sure what to call it.

What would qualify a story/book to be in a certain genre?

bsolah · Apr 6, 2009

Again, different genres are based on different things. Someone would have to read your work.

Dale Emery · Apr 6, 2009

Maiden said:
What would qualify a story/book to be in a certain genre?

In general, a genre consists largely of a set of conventions. If your story meets many of the conventions of the genre, it's in that genre.

For example, some of the conventions of a mystery story are:

A crime has been comitted.
The protagonist is trying to find out who committed the crime and why.
The reader learns clues along with the protagonist.
The story is largely an intellectual puzzle.

A thriller has different conventions, including:

Someone is threatening to commit a crime (usually of major proportions, such as assassination or mass murder).
The protagonist is trying to prevent the crime.
The story is written so as to sustain a sense of dread.
The reader often knows things that the protagonist does not know (which heightens the sense of dread).

So you learn what genre your story is in by learning the conventions of the various genres, and assessing which set of conventions best fits your story.

Dale

Juliette Wade · Apr 7, 2009

Paul Carlson has a great list of keywords that distinguish certain types of genres. I'm not sure it will answer your question, but you might enjoy looking at it:
link

Sophia · Apr 8, 2009

Here is a brief description of several genres, from writing magazine Vision. It might help you narrow down your story a little. Each genre also has several sub-genres. This article is one that describes some of the sub-genres of Mystery, for example.

Maiden · Apr 8, 2009

Thanks for the links that helped a little.

My work has aspects of several genres in it, which is what gets confusing for me. I am still torn if I should only take the genre that the writing reflects the strongest or if it should be concidered all of them.

TheIT · Apr 8, 2009

Sometimes the same book can be shelved under different genres. At this point, write what you want to write and deal with categorizing it after it's finished. The further you progress in your story, the better you might be able to answer your own question.

Good luck!

Dave.C.Robinson · Apr 8, 2009

Genres really come into their own when it's time to sell the book rather than write it. Once you've got it written you may find it easier to determine the best genre.

Eric San Juan · Apr 9, 2009

Maiden said:
I know I am putting the cart before the horse

True.

Honestly, I'd advise you to not even worry about such questions right now. Worry about telling a great story with great writing and great characters. Then worry about figuring out which agents to pitch it to. Let those folks, the professionals, worry about which publishers to shop, who will in turn worry about how to market your work. You'll have some degree of a say, of course, though not much.

The questions you're having right now are better asked when you've finished the work. Don't let them distract you. WRITE.

shokadh · Apr 9, 2009

Your work might end up being cross-genre, but it's always helpful to know which genres it's crossing! Just be sure to identify them at some point along the way, as most agents don't want to hear that your new anime novel is like Stephen King placing Harry Potter in an adult cozy romance with elements of War and Peace or Grapes of Wrath sprinkled throughout.

Stijn Hommes · Apr 10, 2009

shokadh, that's because that's whole bunch of genres put together with no clear indication which are the major ones. I recommend just writing the story and play up a particular genre (if it's cross-genre) in the query depending on what the agent/publisher is looking for. Often, it's not really a problem to combine two genres anyway...

Maiden · Apr 10, 2009

Thanks for everyone's comments. I know I tend to get ahead of myself so I will worry about genre later. But I have been asked and didn't know what to say.

I appreciate the input and it did help put things in a better perspective on my end.

Cathy C · Apr 10, 2009

The first part of my class on genres might help you out, Maiden. The links to the other parts introduce romance as a secondary genre, but the first post is just about bookstore shelving to help you decide what to call your book.

bonitakale · Apr 11, 2009

There's a lot of genre-crossing these days. Garden Spells and Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen have strong fantasy elements, but were published as mainstream fiction. And the J.D.Robb books have elements that could put them in with science fiction or romance, but they're shelved as mysteries by almost all libraries. Then there are the Charlaine Harris vampire books, which are sometimes called mysteries, sometimes romance, sometimes straight fiction -- but never fantasy, although you couldn't exactly call them realistic! Katie MacAlister's books, too, are shelved under romance or straight fiction in libraries, although they are about dragons. It's a weird world out there.

Unsure of Genre

Maiden

Maiden

bsolah

AW's Resident Commie

Maiden

bsolah

AW's Resident Commie

Dale Emery

is way off topic

Juliette Wade

Interprets for aliens

Sophia

Maiden

TheIT

Infuriatingly Theoretical

Dave.C.Robinson

... with the High Command

Eric San Juan

Boxy But Safe

shokadh

Now serving Table for 300

Stijn Hommes

Know what you write...

Maiden

Cathy C

Ooo! Shiny new cover!

bonitakale