Defining Story Genre for New Writers

Defining Story Genre for New Writers

 

 Defining the genre (and in most cases) the subgenre of your novel will help you get a clear picture of what your finished novel will read like once it’s been finished. And that can be incredibly helpful for a lot of new writers.

Books on Writing Genres

 

Literary Genres

This is a partial list of the types of book genres that may be used  to define your story.

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Drama

Stories composed in verse or prose, usually for theatrical performance, where conflicts and emotion are expressed through dialogue and action.

Fable

Narration demonstrating a useful truth, especially in which animals speak as humans; legendary, supernatural tale.

Fairy Tale

Story about fairies or other magical creatures, usually for children.

Fantasy

Fiction with strange or other worldly settings or characters; fiction which invites suspension of reality.

Fiction

Narrative literary works whose content is produced by the imagination and is not necessarily based on fact.

Fiction in Verse

Full-length novels with plot, subplot(s), theme(s), major and minor characters, in which the narrative is presented in (usually blank) verse form.

Folklore

The songs, stories, myths, and proverbs of a people or "folk" as handed down by word of mouth.

Historical Fiction

Story with fictional characters and events in a historical setting.

Horror

Fiction in which events evoke a feeling of dread in both the characters and the reader.

Humor

Fiction full of fun, fancy, and excitement, meant to entertain; but can be contained in all genres

Legend

Story, sometimes of a national or folk hero, which has a basis in fact but also includes imaginative material.

Mystery

Fiction dealing with the solution of a crime or the unraveling of secrets.

Mythology

Legend or traditional narrative, often based in part on historical events, that reveals human behavior and natural phenomena by its symbolism; often pertaining to the actions of the gods.

Poetry

Verse and rhythmic writing with imagery that creates emotional responses.

Realistic Fiction

Story that can actually happen and is true to life.

Romance

 

Romantic fiction is those which give primary focus around a love story between two people, usually having an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." 

Science Fiction

Story based on impact of actual, imagined, or potential science, usually set in the future or on other planets.

Short Story

Fiction of such brevity that it supports no subplots.

Tall Tale

Humorous story with blatant exaggerations, swaggering heroes who do the impossible with nonchalance. 

 

 

 Fiction Writing Tips Free Classic Writing Books Index Page

The Plot Dot: An eight-step visual guide to plotting unforgettable fiction and writing a book readers love. by Derek Murphy (Free eBook)

 

 

The Plot Dot: An eight-step visual guide to plotting unforgettable fiction and writing a book readers love. 

by Derek Murphy 

 

Get your free copy of " The Plot Dot: An eight-step visual guide to plotting unforgettable fiction and writing a book readers love."

 

 by Derek Murph

 

Description

Product Description

Writing a book doesn’t have to be so hard.

A plotting guide for fiction authors who hate outlining.

If you’ve read dozens of books on writing but still struggle with finishing or polishing your story, get stuck in the soggy middle, lose motivation to fix your book after the first draft is done, or can’t get readers to stick with your story, this book is for you.

After early criticism made me give up writing for nearly a decade, I spent years studying the craft of fiction and boiled everything into a simple, eight-step framework authors can use to improve their writing. Then I added a unique visual framework for creating powerful scenes that readers will love.

This book will help you:

✓ Organize your story so you can finish a great book, faster
✓ Unlock hidden potential in your scenes that you didn’t know was there
✓ Hook readers faster so they don’t quit too early

Whether you’re a panster or a plotter, the guided exercises in this book will help you gain greater visual clarity, plot and outline your novel, edit and revise your first draft, and renew your enthusiasm for writing fiction.

The Plot Dot makes an excellent workbook for writing retreats, is simple enough for children to use (it’s never too early to write your first novel), and introduces a new and useful way to organize your book, improve your writing, and create unforgettable scenes that will make a deep and lasting impact.

Review

"Dude. Finally implementing your structure into the beats of my story. I know you consolidated your beats down from other authors, but I really think you're on to something here. Particularly in Act 2, you can literally immediately visualize hundreds of movies you know (that worked) based on when certain beats happen." Jake Anderson

 

Get your free copy of " The Plot Dot: An eight-step visual guide to plotting unforgettable fiction and writing a book readers love."

 

 by Derek Murph

 

 

 Fiction Writing Tips Free Classic Writing Books Index Page

Literary Success of any Enduring Kind is Made Only by Refusing to do what Publishers Want by N. Bryllion Fagin | Writing Quote

 Literary Success of any Enduring Kind is Made Only by Refusing to do what Publishers Want by N. Bryllion Fagin

"Literary success of any enduring kind is made only by refusing to do what publishers want, by refusing to write what the public want, by refusing to accept any popular standard, by refusing to write anything to order”?

Excerpt from "Short Story Writing: An Art or a Trade? by N. Bryllion Fagin"

 What do you think about this quote?

 

Buy N Bryllion Fagin Books at Amazon

 

About the Author 

Nathan Bryllion Fagin was a professor of English and drama at The Johns Hopkins University and director of the Hopkins Playshop.

Professor Fagin was born in Russia in 1892 and educated in the United States. He received the Ph. D. degree in English from Hopkins in 1932 and taught there until his retirement in 1957. He was the author of several books including "The Histrionic Mr. Poe" published in 1949. From 1930 to 1957, Professor Fagin was director of the Johns Hopkins Playshop. Nathan Bryllion Fagin died in Sarasota Florida, in 1972.

From the description of Nathan Bryllion Fagin papers, 1925-1951. (Johns Hopkins University). WorldCat record id: 49310163

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Science Fiction is the Most Important Literature by Ray Bradbury | Writing Quote

 Science Fiction is the Most Important Literature by Ray Bradbury

Science fiction is the most important literature in the history of the world, because it’s the history of ideas, the history of our civilization birthing itself. …Science fiction is central to everything we’ve ever done, and people who make fun of science fiction writers don’t know what they’re talking about. 

― Ray Bradbury

 

About the Author 

Ray Douglas Bradbury (/ˈbrædˌbɛri/; August 22, 1920 – June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of modes, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and realistic fiction. Wikipedia
 

Born: August 22, 1920, Waukegan, IL
Died: June 5, 2012, Los Angeles, CA
Movies and TV shows: Fahrenheit 451, The Ray Bradbury Theater, A Sound of Thunder, and more
Awards: Medal of Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, National Medal of Arts, Pulitzer Prize Special Citations and Awards, and more

Check out Ray Bradbury's work at Amazon:

• Buy Ray Bradbury Books at Amazon
• Buy Ray Bradbury DVDs at Amazon

How to Write a Great Query Letter: Insider Tips and Techniques for Success by Noah Lukeman (Free eBook)

 

 Get your free copy of "How to Write a Great Query Letter: Insider Tips and Techniques for Success by Noah Lukeman"

 Description

"Noah Lukeman, one of the top literary agents in New York, gave writers a great gift."
--James Frey (regarding The Plot Thickens)

"This will certainly help writers of any kind defeat rejection and possibly score."
--Writers.com (regarding The First Five Pages)

Many books have been written about the query letter. But few have been written by literary agents, who receive thousands of queries each year and who grapple with them on a daily basis. Even fewer books have been written by literary agents who are currently active, who are willing to write from the trenches and offer their perspective on why they reject query letters, and why they accept them.

During his last 16 years as a literary agent, New York literary agent Noah Lukeman, President of Lukeman Literary Management Ltd and author of three critically-acclaimed books on the craft of writing, has read thousands of query letters. Now, for the first time, he offers his insights on the query letter, sharing an insider's perspective, giving insights and practical tips about what works and what doesn’t.

"Lukeman’s advice is practical—and often entails multiple, time-consuming steps—without a hint of the flakiness that creeps into many writing guides."
--Publishers Weekly (regarding The Plot Thickens)

This 100,000 word file also includes for free two of Noah Lukeman’s other books--How to Land (and Keep) a Literary Agent and Ask a Literary Agent.

Get your free copy of "How to Write a Great Query Letter: Insider Tips and Techniques for Success by Noah Lukeman"

 

 

About the Author

Noah Lukeman is an American literary agent, actor, script-writer and author of works about writing and literature. A number of his books are widely used in creative writing programmes. Lukeman also contributes to a number of newspapers and journals, including The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.

Most of What I do is Science Fiction by Octavia Butler | Writing Quote

 Most of What I do is Science Fiction by Octavia Butler

 

 

 Most of what I do is science fiction. Some of the things I do are fantasy. I don't like the labels, they're marketing tools, and I certainly don't worry about them when I'm writing. They are also inhibiting factors; you wind up not getting read by certain people, or not getting sold to certain people because they think they know what you write. You say science fiction and everybody thinks Star Wars or Star Trek.

-- OCTAVIA E. BUTLER

  

Buy Octavia E Butler Books at Amazon

 

 About the Author 

Octavia Estelle Butler was an American science fiction author and a multiple recipient of the Hugo and Nebula awards. In 1995, Butler became the first science-fiction writer to receive a MacArthur Fellowship. Born in Pasadena, California, Butler was raised by her widowed mother. Wikipedia
 

Born: June 22, 1947, Pasadena, CA
Died: February 24, 2006, Lake Forest Park, WA
Place of burial: Mountain View Mortuary & Cemetery, Altadena, CA
Education: Pasadena City College (1968), John Muir High School Early College Magnet, More
Parents: Octavia Margaret Guy Butler, Laurice James Butler

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The Organic Unity of a Work of Literature Cannot be Taught by Janet Burroway | Writing Quote

The Organic Unity of a Work of Literature Cannot be Taught

by

Janet Burroway

 

 The organic unity of a work of literature cannot be taught–or, if it can, I have not discovered a way to teach it. I can suggest from time to time that concrete image is not separate from character, which is revealed in dialogue and point of view, which may be illuminated by simile, which may reveal theme, which is contained in plot as water is contained in an apple. But I cannot tell you how to achieve this…5

Excrept from Writing Fiction

 About the Author 

Janet Burroway is an American author. Burroway's published oeuvre includes eight novels, memoirs, short stories, poems, translations, plays, two children's books, and two how-to books about the craft of writing. Her novel The Buzzards was nominated for the 1970 Pulitzer Prize. Wikipedia
 

Born: September 21, 1936, Tucson, AZ
Education: University of Arizona; Columbia University (BA); University of Cambridge (BA); Yale University (MFA)

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