List of writing genres explained
Writing genres (more commonly known as literary genres) are categories that distinguish literature (including works of prose, poetry, drama, hybrid forms, etc.) based on some set of stylistic criteria. Sharing literary conventions, they typically consist of similarities in theme/topic, style, tropes, and storytelling devices; common settings and character types; and/or formulaic patterns of character interactions and events, and an overall predictable form.
A literary genre may fall under either one of two categories: (a) a work of fiction, involving non-factual descriptions and events invented by the author; or (b) a work of nonfiction, in which descriptions and events are understood to be factual. In literature, a work of fiction can refer to a flash narrative, short story, novella, and novel, the latter being the longest form of literary prose. Every work of fiction falls into a literary subgenre, each with its own style, tone, and storytelling devices.[1]
Moreover, these genres are formed by shared literary conventions that change over time as new genres emerge while others fade. Accordingly, they are often defined by the cultural expectations and needs of a particular historical and cultural moment or place.[2]
According to Alastair Fowler, the following elements can define genres: organizational features (chapters, acts, scenes, stanzas); length; mood; style; the reader's role (e.g., in mystery works, readers are expected to interpret evidence); and the author's reason for writing (an epithalamion is a poem composed for marriage).[3]
History
Genres are formed shared literary conventions that change over time as new genres emerge while others fade. As such, genres are not wholly fixed categories of writing; rather, their content evolves according to social and cultural contexts and contemporary questions of morals and norms.
The most enduring genres are those literary forms that were defined and performed by the Ancient Greeks; definitions sharpened by the proscriptions of modern civilization's earliest literary critics and rhetorical scholars, such as Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Aeschylus, Aspasia, Euripides, and others. The prevailing genres of literary composition in Ancient Greece were all written and constructed to explore cultural, moral, or ethical questions; they were ultimately defined as the genres of epic, tragedy, and comedy. Aristotle's proscriptive analysis of tragedy, for example, as expressed in his Rhetoric and Poetics, saw it as having 6 parts (music, diction, plot, character, thought, and spectacle) working together in particular ways. Thus, Aristotle established one of the earliest delineations of the elements that define genre.
Fiction genres
- By Age
- Battle royal
- Classic (or literary fiction): works with artistic/literary merit that are typically character-driven rather than plot-driven, following a character's inner story. They often include political criticism, social commentary, and reflections on humanity. These works are part of an accepted literary canon and widely taught in schools.
- Coming-of-age
- Bildungsroman: works that focus on the psychological and moral growth of a character from youth into adulthood.
- Encyclopedic
- Epic: a narrative defined by heroic or legendary adventures presented in a long format.
- Epic poetry: narrative poetry about extraordinary feats occurring in a time before history, involving religious underpinnings and themes.
- Fabulation: A class composed mostly of 20th-century novels that are in a style similar to magical realism, and do not fit into the traditional categories of realism.
- Folklore (folktale)
- Historical: works that take place in the past—which can be real, imagined, or a combination. Many such works involve actual historical figures or historical events within historical settings.
- Metafiction (aka romantic irony in the context of Romantic literature): uses self-reference to draw attention to itself as a work of art while exposing the "truth" of a story.
- Nonsense
- Paranoid
- Pastoral
- Philosophical
- Pop culture: fiction written with the intention of being filled with references from other works and media. Stories in this genre focused solely on using pop culture references.
- Postmodern
- Realist: works that are set in a time and place that are true to life (i.e. that could actually happen in the real world), abiding by real-world laws of nature. They depict real people, places, and stories to be as truthful as possible.
- Religious or inspirational
- Satire: usually fiction and less frequently in non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, with the intent of shaming individuals, corporations, government, or society itself into improvement.[4]
- Social and political fiction
- Theatre-fiction
- Thriller (or suspense): typically dark and suspenseful plot-driven fiction involving a person or group facing imminent harm, and the attempts made to evade that harm. Thrillers regularly use plot twists, red herrings, and cliffhangers, and seldom include comedic elements.
- Urban: fiction set in an urban environment.
- Western: works that follow cowboys, settlers, and outlaws exploring the American frontier and Old West, typically in the late-19th to early-20th century.
Action and adventure
Action fiction and adventure fiction. The hero's journey is the most popular narrative structure of an adventure novel.[5]
Comedy
Comedy (including comic novel, light poetry, and comedic journalism): usually a fiction full of fun, fancy, and excitement, meant to entertain and sometimes cause intended laughter; but can be contained in all genres.
Crime and mystery
Crime fiction (including crime comics) centers on a crime(s), how the criminal gets caught and serves time, and the repercussions of the crime
- Caper: fiction told from the point of view of the criminals rather than the investigator. Well-known writers in this genre include W. R. Burnett, John Boland, Peter O’Donnell, and Michael Crichton.[6]
- Giallo
- Legal thriller
- Mystery: fiction that follows a crime (e.g., a murder, a disappearance) as it is committed, investigated, and solved, as well as providing clues and revealing information/secrets as the story unfolds.
- Cozy mystery: mystery fiction that contain no sex, violence, or profanity. Well-known writers in this genre include Dorothy L. Sayers and Elizabeth Daly.[7]
- City mysteries
- Detective: fiction that follows a detective or other investigator (professional, amateur, or retired) as they investigate or solve a mystery/crime. Detective novels generally begin with a mysterious incident (e.g., death). One of the most popular examples is the Sherlock Holmes stories; well-known detective novelists include Agatha Christie and Raymond Chandler.
- Noir
Speculative fiction
Fantasy
Fantasy (including comics and magazines) is a speculative fiction that use imaginary characters set in fictional universes inspired by mythology and folklore, often including magical elements, magical creatures, or the supernatural. Examples: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1885) and the Harry Potter books.
- Action-adventure
- Contemporary
- Cozy fantasy[8]
- Dark
- Fairytale
- Fantastique
- Fantasy of manners
- Gaslamp
- Gothic
- Grimdark
- Hard
- High
- Historical
- Isekai
- Juvenile
- Low
- Magic realism: normal in the world in which the story takes place.
- Mythic: fiction that is rooted in, inspired by, or that in some way draws from the tropes, themes, and symbolism of myth, legend, folklore, and fairy tales.
- Mythopoeia: fiction in which characters from religious mythology, traditional myths, folklore, and/or history are recast into a re-imagined realm created by the author.
- Mythpunk
- Romantic
- Science: science fiction based in elements of fantasy.[9]
- Superhero
- Supernatural
- Shenmo
- Weird West
Horror
Horror (including comics and magazines) involves fiction in which plot and characters are tools that elicit a feeling of dread and terror, as well as events that often evoke fear in both the characters and the reader. Horrors generally focus on themes of death, demons, evil spirits, and the afterlife.
Science fiction
Science fiction (including comics, magazines, novels, and short stories) is speculative fiction with imagined elements that are inspired by natural sciences (physics, chemistry, astronomy, etc.) or social sciences (psychology, anthropology, sociology, etc.). Common elements of this genre include time travel, space exploration, and futuristic societies. (Sci-fi was originally regarded as scientific romance.)
Romance
Romantic fiction primarily focuses on a love story between two people, usually with an optimistic, emotionally satisfying ending. Also Romance (literary fiction) – works that frequently, but not exclusively, takes the form of the historical romance.
Nonfiction genres
- Academic
- Bibliography: an organized listing of books or writings
- Biography: a written narrative of a person's life; an autobiography is a self-written biography.
- Memoir: a biographical account of a particular event or period in a person's life (rather than their whole life) drawn from personal knowledge or special sources (such as the spouse of the subject).
- Misery literature
- Slave narrative
- Consilia
- Cookbook: a kitchen reference containing recipes.
- Creative nonfiction: factual narrative presented in the form of a story so as to entertain the reader.
- Essay: a short literary composition, often reflecting the author's outlook or point of view.
- Journalistic writing: reporting on news and current events
- Reference work: publication that one can refer to for confirmed facts, such as a dictionary, thesaurus, encyclopedia, almanac, or atlas.
- Self-help: a work written with information intended to instruct or guide readers on solving personal problems.
- Obituary
- Travel: literature containing elements of the outdoors, nature, adventure, and traveling.
- Guide book: book of information about a place, designed for the use of visitors or tourists
- Travel blog
- True crime
Literary fiction vs. genre fiction
Literary fiction is a term that distinguishes certain fictional works that possess commonly held qualities to readers outside genre fiction. Literary fiction is any fiction that attempts to engage with one or more truths or questions, hence relevant to a broad scope of humanity as a form of expression. Genre fiction is fiction written to appeal to fans of a specific genre.[12] There are many sources that help readers find and define literary fiction and genre fiction.[13] [14]
Other nonfiction genres
These are genres belonging to the realm of nonfiction. Some genres listed may reappear throughout the list, indicating cross-genre status.
Notes and References
- Web site: November 8, 2020. What Are the Different Genres of Literature? A Guide to 14 Literary Genres. live. April 17, 2021. MasterClass. April 14, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210414143718/https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-are-the-different-genres-of-literature-a-guide-to-14-literary-genres.
- Web site: Neto. Bill. March 16, 2021. Literary Genres. live. April 17, 2021. eBooks Discounts. April 17, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210417202707/https://ebooksdiscounts.com/literary-genres/.
- Book: David, Mikics. A New Handbook of Literary Term. Yale University Press. 2010. 9780300164312. 132–133.
- Book: Elliott, Robert. The Power of Satire: Magic, Ritual, Art. Princeton University Press. 1960. 9780691012766.
- Web site: November 8, 2020. How to Write an Adventure Story. live. April 17, 2021. MasterClass. April 14, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210414114609/https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-write-an-adventure-story.
- Web site: November 8, 2020. What Is the Mystery Genre? Learn About Mystery and Crime Fiction, Plus 6 Tips for Writing a Mystery Novel. live. April 17, 2021. MasterClass. April 17, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210417202711/https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-is-the-mystery-genre.
- Web site: What Makes a Cozy Just That?. live. April 17, 2021. Cozy Mystery List. April 14, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210414144124/https://cozy-mystery.com/definition-of-a-cozy-mystery.html.
- Web site: Appendix C (For Cozy!) . 25 January 2022 .
- Web site: November 8, 2020. What Is Science Fiction Writing? Definition and Characteristics of Science Fiction Literature. live. April 17, 2021. MasterClass. April 17, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210417202708/https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-is-science-fiction-writing-definition-and-characteristics-of-science-fiction-literature.
- Cruz. Ronald. December 2012. Mutations and Metamorphoses: Body Horror is Biological Horror. Journal of Popular Film and Television. 40. 4. 160–168. 10.1080/01956051.2012.654521. 194091897.
- Web site: The Romance Genre: Romance Literature Subgenres. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20100727064017/http://www.rwanational.org/cs/romance_literature_subgenres. July 27, 2010. April 17, 2021. Romance Writers of America. mdy-all.
- Web site: French. Christy. Literary Fiction vs. Genre Fiction. live. April 17, 2021. AuthorsDen. October 20, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20111020114032/http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewArticle.asp?id=18884.
- Book: Pearl, Nancy. Now Read This III: A Guide to Mainstream Fiction. Libraries Unlimited. 2010. 9781591585701.
- Book: Saricks, Joyce. The Readers' Advisory Guide to Genre Fiction. American Library Association. 2001. 9780838908037.
- Dumville. David. 1976. Echtrae and Immram: Some Problems of Definition. Ériu. 27. 73–94. 30007669. JSTOR. 2021-04-17. 2021-04-18. https://web.archive.org/web/20210418214650/https://www.jstor.org/stable/30007669. live.
- Deane. Bradley. 2008. Imperial Barbarians: Primitive masculinity in Lost World fiction. Victorian Literature and Culture. 36. 1. 205–225. 10.1017/S1060150308080121. 40347601. 162826920. JSTOR. 2021-04-17. 2021-04-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20210417202707/https://www.jstor.org/stable/40347601. live.
- Book: Weaver-Hightower, Rebecca. Empire Islands: Castaways, Cannibals, and Fantasies of Conquest. University of Minnesota Press. 2007. 9780816648634.
- Book: Coogan. Michael. A Brief Introduction to the Old Testament: The Hebrew Bible in Its Context. Chapman. Cynthia. Oxford University Press. 2019. 9780190903756.
- Book: Christiansen, Rupert. Romantic Affinities: Portraits from an Age 1780–1830. Random House UK. 2004. 9781844134212. 192–196.
- Web site: Picker. Lenny. March 5, 2010. Mysteries of History. live. April 17, 2021. Publishers Weekly. March 14, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210314163021/https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/new-titles/adult-announcements/article/43024-mysteries-of-history.html.
- Web site: Jewish fiction. live. April 17, 2020. Goodreads. March 8, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210308143157/https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/jewish-fiction.
