Questions tagged [genre]
Questions about writing in specific genres, such as science fiction, or about genres in general.
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Is there a format to write a good treasure hunt story?
I'm writing a story for an Indian movie that revolves around a bunch of estranged siblings, who come to live in their father's abandoned house a year after his death. They do so because they receive ...
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What's the difference between a fantasy mystery novel and an adventure novel?
I'm setting out to write a mystery that is firmly rooted in the fantasy genre. The MC time travels to another historical era, where the MC has to solve a multi-faceted mystery (having both ...
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How to add the “thriller” in a supernatural thriller?
I’ve had this idea for awhile now and would love to start planning and writing it but I don’t know how to make it a supernatural thriller. I know how to write the supernatural part.
Basically, the ...
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Tips for writing a contemporary story
I have a couple ideas for an upcoming novella that I am writing - one that I am quite excited about happens to fit into the contemporary fiction category. I don't consider myself to be a contemporary ...
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What is the literary form or style of a story with no heroes?
I have a piece of non-fiction to write that I'll be doing by telling a story. It's somewhere between a news report, op-ed, and historical lesson, but told as a short story.
In this story there are ...
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How does a multi-genre author find an agent?
I have made several unsuccessful attempts to find a literary agent, sending out queries, going to conferences, and asking other writers to introduce me to their agents.
For background, I have an ...
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The role of inexplicable events in hard science fiction
The modern world has few true mysteries, among them the fate of the Roanoke colonists and the crew of the Mary Celeste but do such happenings have a place in futuristic settings?
In settings with ...
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Can there be fan fiction of a public domain universe?
Fan fiction generally occupies a gray area of the law - widely tolerated under "fair use" for noncommercial sharing, publication, and performance, but almost never acceptable for profiting ...
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"Find out my secret" Mystery Challenge TROPE Name
I'm looking for the name of a trope or mystery subgenre. The antagonist has a secret and they challenge the main character to find it.
If I have the trope name, it will be much easier to research ...
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Is my work urban fantasy or paranormal romance?
I have been writing a story that for a long time I considered to be an urban fantasy, with supernatural elements in a recognizably modern setting. However, while I thought I was writing a rather ...
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Is there a good book to help someone decide what kind of writing to pursue?
Is there a good book to help someone decide what kind of creative writing they are best suited to pursue? (I'm excluding non-fiction, technical writing, journalism and the like.)
For example, whether ...
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What is the sub-genre/trope of the characters in a multi-POV story all coalescing in violent mayhem called?
Imagine your typical multi-POV story, with an urban setting and within the action genre, boasting a lot of not-so-upstanding citizens for characters. These characters are spread about, some with ...
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Why write in a different genre than what you read?
This question is somewhat linked with Should you read your own genre?, but I believe it is distinct or at least approached in a different way.
I am a sucker for sci-fi/fantasy and read nearly ...
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How seriously can the wild wild west nature of pro wrestling be taken in a story or fictional world that takes place in a modern setting?
I wanted to take a realistic approach to pro wrestling when it came to world-building. If you are not a fan of pro wrestling, I would tell you that pro wrestling is an insane concept when taken ...
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Is there a word for something that is structured like a parody, but utilizes an idealized or improved version of the original context?
(Edit: title frames the question better thanks to @TheRubberDuck)
This has been bugging me for a while; enough to join this wonderful community - thanks for any help you can offer! Keep in mind ...
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What is the ideal word count when shopping a mystery novel to agents?
I know for certain genres, agents and publishers will only consider manuscripts that fit within their expected page count ranges. What's a good target for a standalone mystery novel? My current draft ...
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Is time travel science fiction or fantasy?
The line between science fiction and fantasy is often blurred. And that's okay. Genre is often more about marketing than anything else. As a general rule though: SciFi has science and technology ...
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What is the difference between magical realism story and a low fantasy story?
If you’re creating a real world with fictional powers or magic, when are you creating a low fantasy vs. a magical realism story? Both are in the real world. Where is the line between these types of ...
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What is Literary Fiction?
I keep hearing about literary fiction, and how it is so much better than genre fiction. What exactly is literary fiction?
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A word for a free-form poetic sentence
I'm looking for a word or poetry genre to describe a short free-form lyrical and poetic sentence, verse, or paragraph.
Something like "free form Haiku", but without any rules like number of ...
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What is the difference between a horror and genre shift horror?
I think I have an ok good idea of what makes up a horror piece. But recently I've come across the term genre shift and wondered what exactly makes something not straight up horror but a piece that ...
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What is the opposite of black comedy/dark humour?
What I mean is black comedy (or dark humour if you want) is a subgenre of comedy that consists to make light of otherwise serious topics (in other words, serious and horrible things played for laughs)....
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Can I use pre-existing mythological characters in a story that isn't about any mythology?
I'm writing a fantasy story where I want to incorporate various pantheons of mythology, without having them actually belonging to any pantheon. Is that possible? I mean. I like the idea. But is it ...
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How to avoid promising a romance?
I am struggling with handling reader expectations in my novel. I have clearly telegraphed the genre to the reader so that they know that it's speculative fiction.
However, I have a situation where a ...
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What is the opposite of parody?
What I mean is a parody/spoof is a comical adaptation.
The opposite would be a dramatic adaptation.
For examples, both Batman: the Movie (1966, Leslie H. Martinson, Disney/20th Century Studios) and ...
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Is it easy to change genre?
I read somewhere that one should choose ones genre carefully, as it is hard to change later. Although there are exceptions, most writers, even established ones, find it hard to change genre, and have ...
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Have merpeople been depicted this way in a story before?
Basically, I'm wondering if there's a fantasy novel or series of novels that has already met these broad characteristics.
As I was considering ideas for a novel, I noticed that the mythical creature ...
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How to avoid overdoing deconstructive tendencies in writing?
The Issue
I'm a person who likes to take things apart to see how they work, and someone who likes to poke holes in ideas. As a result, it's not surprising that I've always been drawn to a writing ...
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How do I manage audience expectations for a paranormal romance story?
A big part of writing is managing audience expectations, especially as it pertains to the genre. I.e., if a story is pitched as an action-adventure story, people expect a story of fight scenes and ...
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Writing an American-style book as an outsider to the culture
I am an aspiring writer from Pakistan. It's a south Asian country rich in culture. Our cultural heritage and history is very interesting, twisting and multifaceted. However, I have grown up reading ...
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Is there any such thing as a Thriller/Action Stream-of-Consciousness writing style?
Is there any such thing as a Thriller/Action Stream-of-Consciousness writing style?
Would that be considered to be essentially a normal writing style.
If not, how will this be done? (Structurally ...
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What is this Genre?
So I'm starting a story right now that isn't non-fiction but idk if it could be classified as fiction. It's set on Earth in the USA, basically the main thing is that a tsunami occurs. I'm debating on ...
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How to Categorize Novel Set in 1930s where people got married at 11+ years
I am writing fiction novel with historical event as backdrop.
During 1930s British India people got married at 11+ years old and had full adult responsibilities.
My story is a memoir of a fictional ...
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YA novel with old protagonist?
Edit:
There have been a few very good answers and comments. The feedback I've got so far has made me question whether I'm even going into the right direction with my story. I felt like the themes and ...
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Is it okay to change plots/genres multiple times?
My question is rather simple, and means exactly what it looks like. I'm writing a book in which there have been a genre change, from a not-very-good suspense novel to more of an action, however, the ...
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When does something become "torture porn"?
I've heard this term thrown around sometimes in a derisive way (obviously), and usually not just to refer to Saw movies. I don't remember who it was, but I remember someone saying how the movie "...
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How do I avoid the "chosen hero" feeling?
In many works of genre-fiction (I'm talking mainly about fantasy and sci-fi, but others genres can apply), and across many forms of media, the main characters ends up being special in some ways.
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How do I ratchet down expectations in a genre that seems to have gone gonzo?
I've done worldbuilding and extensive plotting for a Book 1 based around a "detective" (not a literal detective but someone who fills that role) who hunts and resolves (neutralizes) occult objects. ...
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Asking about a possibility of a genre [closed]
Can I mix science-fiction and history in a story? I mean a story that is based in historical events with a touch of science fiction, is that possible or am I trying to invent something "...
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Does this genre/setting have a name? [closed]
So, I'm tryng to figure out if there is a name for a specific sort of genre I've seen around. Well, it's more of a setting oriented subgenre, I suppose (probably of fantasy? though it can have sci fi ...
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Story that's too depressing?
(Warning, mention of sexual abuse!!)
In the near future where humans have polluted and radiated the Earth so much that animals and plants have been going extinct at alarming rates and humans ...
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Is my novel Fantasy or Sci-Fi?
I have a Wattpad account and I've been entering contests... I've been using the fantasy genre to describe my novel, but I just saw descriptions of fantasy and sci-fi and now I'm wondering if my novel ...
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Mixing humour with horror in fiction
I got into trouble last year for submitting an assignment (Masters in Creative Writing) that included a story that sprinkled elements of humour (think Despicable Me) into a gritty and frankly ...
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What is the relationship between legend and epic? [closed]
My superficial understandings of these terms are quite distinct: a legend is told and retold, exists independently of a particular telling, is often held by some to have some grounding in historical ...
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What genre is a book in an imaginary world but no other fantasy element?
I'm trying to figure out what genre the following is, if any. (I asked a similar question, but this is different now, and more detailed.)
The story takes place in an imaginary world. It's more or ...
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Literary magazines that publish surreal/absurdist fiction?
Does anybody know of any literary magazines that publish surreal/absurdist fiction? I have a short story I'm looking to submit. The closest comparisons I can think of are A Clockwork Orange, Brave New ...
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What makes something "anime"?
I read the following question on WorldBuilding.SE last week: What early middle ages weapons would suit an extremely strong child? I thought the premise was interesting, but I noticed a comment that ...
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What genre would a fictional eyewitness account of a real historical event fall under?
I've written a short story about a true historical incident which involves a very famous person in history. The incident is true as are the people involved in it. But the story is a fictional ...
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The unknown and unexplained in science fiction
Science fiction has been defined as a genre where the "incredible" elements are "recognizable as not-true, but also as not-unlike-true, not-flatly- (and in the current state of knowledge) impossible" (...
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Is it the right call to title my romance a 'legend'?
I am writing a book and I plan to call it "Legend of (name of the protagonist)". But I'm writing in first person (protagonist). Searching the meaning of the word "legend" in google I get: "a ...
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