I’m not sure if I’d classify the story as full on dark, because there are some light hearted aspects in there. Sometimes it can be very dark when something serious happens, but it never stays that way for too long. Its kind of like real life, you have your really good days and you have your really bad days. I just want to know what genres would suit that kind of story.
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4The answer is any genre really. Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Mystery, Western, Horror, Contemporary, even Young Adult.– CynJun 10, 2019 at 23:22
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Or, perhaps, new-weird? :)– NofPJun 11, 2019 at 8:54
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1Could it be... a drama?– SasugasmJun 11, 2019 at 11:56
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I think most genres have to have a blend -- some serious stakes so you care about the characters in a comedy, some tension relief in a horror film -- it's like the silence is necessary for the sounds to become music. Pointlessly dark is often called "grimdark" where a reprieve is ONLY so things can get worse. If you want an "alignment" chart (like good/evil) for story tones, this may work: freehauleralcione.com/storytelling/story-alignment (grimdark-->noblebright with some neutral levels in there)– April Salutes Monica C.Jun 11, 2019 at 13:42
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Hi again. So when you like an answer, definitely upvote it. You have enough rep to do that. But we ask that you don't accept an answer as "best" for a full day or two. Otherwise you discourage people from answering, and of course the goal is to get multiple quality answers. If J.T.'s answer is still your favorite in a couple days, you can upvote it then. There's no time limit and you'll still get your 2 points.– CynJun 11, 2019 at 19:02
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As was already pointed out in a comment, I am pretty sure that works in most genres. Two things I would keep in mind:
Watch genre expectations: e.g. in Romance especially (where a good ending is kind of expected I've heard) or Children's, as well as YA if you overdo it, this might be a problem.
Integrate it into the marketing: it might not be wise to have a cute cover and purely positive teaser text, since in general people like to be surprised by plot twists but not by overall content and tone, at least not too much. Inside the story itself, hinting at the upcoming escalation at various points with foreshadowing may also help. Otherwise, you may lose readers who wouldn't read purely for the happy part but are willing to stick with it for the darker things.
