Is it Horror? Science Fiction? Bizzaro?

[KodyBoye]

How do you determine a genre's novel if it has elements from all three genres above?

[Torrain]

...reading it? ;)

More seriously, if the primary focus of the novel seems to be to induce fear or (sympathetic) misery, horror. If it's an exploration of something which could not happen without advanced science/technology and its applications (and that is not just a MacGuffin, but the focus), SF. If the point of it is to engage you through the strangeness, Bizarro.

L&c,
F

[veinglory]

In the absence of a synopsis and excerpt, I doubt I could.

[Stacia Kane]

Ditto Veinglory and Torrain. Without knowing anything more about the project we can't determine what it might be, honestly. Did you have a particular genre in mind when you started writing?

Of course, it does all fall under the umbrella of "speculative fiction." So that's an option, though of course it's better to narrow it down a bit.

[KodyBoye]

Ditto Veinglory and Torrain. Without knowing anything more about the project we can't determine what it might be, honestly.

I had posted a synopsis, but I thought that was what was keeping people from buying it.

[Note: I'm paranoid, so I edited the description of the story out, hahahaha.]

[veinglory]

It sounds like sci fi to me, not bizarro anyway unless there is more weirdness in the narrative than the synopsis suggests.

[Torrain]

Setting definitely sounds SF, though if the focus is on people not doing what they're told and society suffering deprivation and breaking down as a result, you can make an argument for the genre being horror.

FWIW, I'm not seeing the Bizarro; it seems like a not-shockingly-implausible setting and chain of events.

L&c,
F (now has "Two Cats from Kilkenny" stuck in her head)

[NewKidOldKid]

It's definitively NOT horror.

[Stacia Kane]

I'm going to ditto sci-fi. I think that fits best. :)

[KodyBoye]

It sounds like sci fi to me, not bizarro anyway unless there is more weirdness in the narrative than the synopsis suggests.

I thought it had a bit of a bizzaro vibe mainly because of the 'God' that floats above them.

Setting definitely sounds SF, though if the focus is on people not doing what they're told and society suffering deprivation and breaking down as a result, you can make an argument for the genre being horror.

FWIW, I'm not seeing the Bizarro; it seems like a not-shockingly-implausible setting and chain of events.

L&c,
F (now has "Two Cats from Kilkenny" stuck in her head)

The focus is on the people, for the most part. The entire story is about groups of people having to deal with the hardships of their life, then the realization that their God might not actually be a 'God' in the first place, but something other than a being that thinks for them.

It's definitively NOT horror.

What would you call it then?

I'm going to ditto sci-fi. I think that fits best. :)

Thank you. :)

[NewKidOldKid]

What would you call it then?

Thank you. :)

I'd go with sci-fi too.

[Torrain]

I had posted a synopsis, but I thought that was what was keeping people from buying it.

Why? I mean, everyone knows Dracula, roughly, and that thing's been in print for over a century. For a more current example, Stephen King's stuff still sells, and I don't think the backlist is getting much new promotion--a good chunk of sales of that probably come from people who heard summaries from their friends or online and thought it sounded interesting.

...or, you know, there's all those summaries on the backs of book jackets. ;)

If you think that the summary needs polishing, and you meant editors/agents aren't into the idea, I think there's a place here where you can get advice...

It's definitively NOT horror.
I'm curious; why?

I'd personally call Lord of the Flies and Heart of Darkness horror, and both of those involve small societies breaking down and people whose idea of an overseeing deity leads them to be miserably vicious to others, but since the summary was deleted that's all I can remember right now. Mind, I agree that neither of those are usually filed in the horror section.

I thought it had a bit of a bizzaro vibe mainly because of the 'God' that floats above them.

Ah, I getcha. When I think of Bizarro, I think of something unexplained or that can't logically work (not can't be understood by the characters, but literally makes no sense). A technologically-advanced satellite floating above an island is the kind of thing that makes sense. (On the other hand, the short story I read last night--"The Last Great Clown Hunt" by Chris Furst--with the last-century vibe about the great tribes of clowns, and the hunters who'd go after them with laughtracks to lure them in, and the great stilt dance--would fit more with my understanding of Bizarro. If nothing else, where is all the greasepaint and cotton candy expected to come from?)

L&c,
F

[veinglory]

IMHO Bizzarro is more than a vibe, it is a full on, relentless extreme. Many genres including sci fi have some bizarre things in them or a bizarre backdrop. Bizarro starts WTF and just keeps on going.

[KodyBoye]

Why? I mean, everyone knows Dracula, roughly, and that thing's been in print for over a century. For a more current example, Stephen King's stuff still sells, and I don't think the backlist is getting much new promotion--a good chunk of sales of that probably come from people who heard summaries from their friends or online and thought it sounded interesting.

...or, you know, there's all those summaries on the backs of book jackets. ;)

If you think that the summary needs polishing, and you meant editors/agents aren't into the idea, I think there's a place here where you can get advice...


When I initially said 'from buying,' I meant 'from posting' (i.e, my synopsis was initially too long. I removed it because I'm paranoid, haha.)