which genre this should be in?

jedimaster107 · Apr 4, 2008

I’ve been working on an idea that I have. At first I started it out as a manga. I even started writing it in script format. My husband told me it would probably be better in novel form since I can’t draw. My drawing sucks. I can only draw stick figures.

The question I have is, which genera should this labeled as? Brief summery below.

The two main characters loves each other very much. They come from two different worlds. One is filthy rich and the other is poor. They live in a society where the poor is treated like crap and filth. The wealthy wants to kill off the poor. The wealthy believes that if rich marries a poor, that the rich people will be contaminated and so will the family. The rich kid’s dad is an asswhole (it’s the only way to describe the dad). He is forcing him to marry his best friend to bring both families together (other motives hidden in reasoning). The two main characters try to figure out how to stop it. The rich dad has the poor killed. But the poor is still alive and his parents and rich kid’s mom and other siblings work together to stop the party.

There is a party held every year by the wealthy of the world. The party is basically wealthy parents forcing their kids to get engaged to told strangers (that is if an arrangement hasn’t already be made). The rich kid’s dad is forcing him to participate in this.

It’s kinda had to sum it all up in a short paragraph. If it’s confusing, let me know.

The manga was originally suppose to be an yaoi (yes I love yaoi stories). But since I’m moving over to be novel, I’m not sure what it should be. Any help would be great.

Both main characters are males and the best friend is male as well. Hopes that helps.

CaroGirl · Apr 4, 2008

What genre is it? It depends on where the focus is, how it’s written and how it ends. If the focus is on the relationship between the lovers and it ends happily, it’s a romance. If it ends badly (or ambiguously), and is written extremely well, it’s literary. If it’s a gritty, mean streets kind of story, it might be contemporary or urban. If the MCs are teens, it might be YA.

jedimaster107 · Apr 4, 2008

It does end happy and the lovers are 18 and 17. but i don't think this should be a ya book. the rich kid is abused and raped by his best friend who he is being forced to marry.

jedimaster107 · Apr 4, 2008

Almost forgot, the rich kid become suicidal (mispeled).

Charlie Horse · Apr 4, 2008

Sort of echoing what CaroGirl said. The genre will depend on how you want to write it. If it were me, I'd go ahead and write the book first, then figure out what the genre (note spelling) is. But then again, I do things sort of half-arsed most of the time.

CaroGirl · Apr 4, 2008

jedimaster107 said:
Almost forgot, the rich kid become suicidal (mispeled).

Actually, you spelled suicidal correctly and misspelled, well, misspelled! Have you read any YA lately? Rape, drug addiction and other violence and strong themes appear in most novels for young people. YA ain’t what it used to be.

DeleyanLee · Apr 4, 2008

If both MCs are male, then it falls into gay/lesbian fiction, I'd think, subgenred as CaroGirl described. I don't know much about that market.

Good luck.

jedimaster107 · Apr 4, 2008

Thanks on the heads up on the mispelling. I"m at work and doing this on the sly. Crap boss is back. gotta go

.

Vomaxx · Apr 4, 2008

jedimaster107 said:
"The rich kid's dad is an asswhole"...

I just wanted to say that I love this new word of yours. It implies that the person is a really complete ass.

jedimaster107 · Apr 4, 2008

**looks around edge of cubby hole aka desk** That is what the rich dad is. only cares about himself and image and not about what's important. Hell he was going to let the mc basically kill himself as long as he was fine for the party.

i haven't read any ya books for a long time. i last ones i've read were by RL Stine back in the late 90's. So i'm not sure what ya books are like now. is there swearing them? at one point in the story, the rich mc tells his dad to "F**k" off.

Thanks for the info everyone. This is something new to me. LIke i had stated before, this was suppose to be a yaoi manga turned novel. The rate I'm going on this, I'll probably start writing it here and the outline isn't even finished yet.

Cassidy · Apr 4, 2008

Yes, there is swearing in many contemporary YA books. Not a problem. Good luck with your book-- maybe it'll become clearer as you write who your readers will be. It sounds like it could easily be YA but it doesn't have to be YA just because your MC's are teens.

virtue_summer · Apr 4, 2008

I think classifying your work should be the least of your problems. First write the story. Then edit it. I hate to have to say it, but your posts indicate that you need to spend some time brushing up on basic grammar and spelling. You said you gave up on manga because you couldn't draw. Writing novels requires certain abilities as well. These abilities include, among other things, the ability to construct grammatical sentences, and the ability to spell most words correctly. This isn't nitpicking. I had trouble following some of the meanings of your posts because of these errors. Can I ask a question? What was the last novel that you read? You need to be reading novels if you intend to write one. Reading novels will show you the way that they are formatted. It will expose you to correct grammar and spelling (in general) and will let you know if this is really something you want to do. It is also what will answer your original question. When you read different novels, keep an eye out for ones that remind you of your own story. Then find out what genre that book is classified as. That will be your answer.

Willowmound · Apr 5, 2008

jedimaster107 said:
Thanks on the heads up on the mispelling. I"m at work and doing this on the sly. Crap boss is back. gotta go .

You misspelled genre too.

Birol · Apr 5, 2008

Okay, guys, let's ease up on pointing out the misspellings, okay? You wouldn't believe the typos and misspellings that sneak into my text when I'm distracted or short on sleep. If I'm both, there's no chance I'll get everything right.

What about the topic at hand? How do you determine a genre for your manuscript? What about the OP's particular manuscript? Based on the description, I could see it falling under the speculative fiction umbrella.

mscelina · Apr 5, 2008

I agree, Lori. Once I read the description, I immediately thought of two markets. The first was G/B/L urban fantasy. Great for either a graphic novel or a spec fic novel.

The second market I thought of (and it's growing quickly) is G/B/L paranormal romance. It has all the elements for it, and a nice creepy little dark fantasy twist to it that should (if the story is written well) attract the attention of several agents I could list off by memory. You know...the ones who loved my book after requesting a full, but passed on it.

At any rate, my advice is NOT to worry about genre right now. As you can see, there are several genres it COULD be, but we can't know until the book is finished. And that doesn't happen the first time you type "THE END" on the manuscript then sit back and crack open a beer. It happens when, after several rewrites and beta readers, you find yourself in a place where you know you have a tight, well-written manuscript, a story that makes people want to read more of it. Then, and only then, do you have to pigeonhole your story into a neat little slot. Genre twisting is going on every day and is something that my last few manuscripts have really tested the limits. Just slap your rear in the chair, and GET THE BOOK WRITTEN.

And best of luck to you.

virtue_summer · Apr 5, 2008

Birol said:
Okay, guys, let's ease up on pointing out the misspellings, okay? You wouldn't believe the typos and misspellings that sneak into my text when I'm distracted or short on sleep. If I'm both, there's no chance I'll get everything right.

What about the topic at hand? How do you determine a genre for your manuscript? What about the OP's particular manuscript? Based on the description, I could see it falling under the speculative fiction umbrella.

You don't think it helps an aspiring writer to point out that a writer needs to be concerned about their writing? I'd agree with you if we were talking about a few obvious typos, but the misspellings were not typos. They were consistent. The grammar errors were the same. I'm sorry but I see a serious problem where someone who wants to do manga or comic books or whatever is discouraged because they don't have the requisite drawing skills, but that same person is encouraged to become a novelist when their writing skills don't seem to be much better. I'm not trying to be mean. Writing skills can be improved. If the OP writes and sends out a manuscript right now and doesn't make an effort to improve their writing skills first, they are going to get an automatic rejection. On the other hand, if they take the time to improve their writing skills first, then they just might have a future in writing.

Birol · Apr 5, 2008

It's one thing for people to suggest that an aspiring writer learn and use the tools of the trade. It's another thing for posters to follow-up with one another playing the "what typos can I find in someone else's post."

What I see in JediMaster107's posts is someone who understands how to construct a sentence, who knows how to make one thought lead to another without being overt about it, who has a command of structure, and an ability to speak directly to others in a fun and engaging way. Yet, the rest of the posters seem to fixate strictly on the periodic misspellings in a thread that has absolutely nothing to do with what Jedi needs to learn to improve his/her craft. Why is that? What purpose is it serving?

Did you know that F. Scott Fitzgerald was purportedly a horrible speller? Did you catch that Jedi was in the office and typing on the fly, as it were?

jedimaster107 · Apr 7, 2008

mscelina said:
I agree, Lori. Once I read the description, I immediately thought of two markets. The first was G/B/L urban fantasy. Great for either a graphic novel or a spec fic novel.

The second market I thought of (and it's growing quickly) is G/B/L paranormal romance. It has all the elements for it, and a nice creepy little dark fantasy twist to it that should (if the story is written well) attract the attention of several agents I could list off by memory. You know...the ones who loved my book after requesting a full, but passed on it.

G/B/L paranormal romance? that's new on me. What are they about?

Birol · Apr 7, 2008

A G/B/L paranormal romance is a romance that has paranormal elements where the love interests are gay, bi-sexual, or lesbian. Beyond that, they're about the same things that any other story is about.

IceCreamEmpress · Apr 8, 2008

Birol said:
Did you know that F. Scott Fitzgerald was purportedly a horrible speller?

He was a totally horrible speller. As was James Joyce.

jedimaster107, this sounds like a solid manga idea to me. Why not write it and then find someone to illustrate it? There are a lot of good manga artists out there; you can find them on most fanboards, or on DeviantArt.com.

which genre this should be in?

jedimaster107

CaroGirl

Living the dream

jedimaster107

jedimaster107

Charlie Horse

Speaking in metaphors

CaroGirl

Living the dream

DeleyanLee

Writing Anarchist

jedimaster107

Vomaxx

jedimaster107

Cassidy

writing for kids and teens

virtue_summer

Always learning

Willowmound

Lightly salted

Birol

Around and About

mscelina

Teh doommobile, drivin' rite by you

virtue_summer

Always learning

Birol

Around and About

jedimaster107

Birol

Around and About

IceCreamEmpress

Hapless Virago