Questions about writing in specific genres, such as science fiction, or about genres in general.
4
votes
5answers
179 views
How to tell a story with the least amount of writing?
I love to invent stories and come up with ideas, but I don't have the patience to fill out all the details that is usually a part of a novel. (For those of you familiar with Myers-Briggs or Jungian ...
-1
votes
4answers
179 views
What genre appeals to the widest audience?
My writing is focused primarily on love stories, i.e. the romance genre, and I believe this reaches a relatively small audience.
Is there one genre that appeals to a far wider audience than its ...
9
votes
7answers
316 views
How little “fantasy” can be in a story and it still be recognizably fantasy?
How little "fantasy" can be in a story and it still be recognizably fantasy, and not mainstream fiction?
The "recognizable fantasy" question is one I struggle with all the time. Fantasy exists on a ...
4
votes
8answers
282 views
How to distinguish if a novel is science fiction or fantasy?
Through the process of writing my novel, I've found that I really don't know where it fits in the written realm. I believe I should have a clear understanding to identify what genre my book belongs ...
8
votes
4answers
245 views
Will science fiction as a genre ever go the way of the western?
It is a fairly undisputed fact that the genre of western fiction has had a declining audience for decades. The Western Writers Association still exists, but if I had never worked in a Border ...
11
votes
3answers
93 views
Where can subject matter experts volunteer to work on proofing the technical details in fiction?
I am not a writer (yet!), but I have been working in the computer field for over 10 years and would love to put in some time volunteering my services as a subject matter expert (SME) for programming ...
1
vote
3answers
155 views
Is writing a light read or “chick lit” a good option for an aspiring literary fiction author?
I live in India and here light reads and "chick lit" have made a great impression. The youth are picking up such books like petrol on fire. Even non-readers are giving reading these genres a try. ...
4
votes
3answers
158 views
What is the name of the genre of stories with multiple realities?
The movie "Sucker Punch" and the "Once Upon a time" series make it hard to distinguish what state of reality is the "real" one (not that it matters).
In "Fixing the Shadow" we encountered a character ...
8
votes
7answers
409 views
Writing different genres
I like to write many different genres in my fiction writing but I think that this would be confusing as an author's name becomes somewhat of a brand. Is it therefore a good idea to invent pen names ...
5
votes
3answers
221 views
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 ...
3
votes
4answers
229 views
What genre is my writing?
I'm working on a couple pieces that take place in imaginary worlds. They involve made-up cities, countries, rivers, history, etc.
However, the level of technology and the social structures in the ...
9
votes
8answers
316 views
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?
12
votes
8answers
348 views
Is it so bad to end up with a “done before” plot?
I'm not delusional about the nature of the science fiction novel I'm (very) slowly working on. A brief run down might be as follows:
Set 10's of millennia in Human's future but in a neighbouring ...
12
votes
7answers
286 views
Should you read your own genre?
In terms of novel writing, I tend to avoid my own genre, at least for the most part. Some of the reasons why:
Genre Blindness / Genre Trap:
Too much reading of your own genre blinds you to the ...
12
votes
5answers
417 views
What is flash fiction?
Is it simply defined by its short word count? Or are there other accepted conventions in flash fiction? If it's just the word count, how short is too short? How long is too long?
6
votes
2answers
1k views
What are common attributes of the Steampunk genre?
These attributes could be character archtypes or traits, attributes of the setting, characteristics of plot or pacing, and broader themes. Essentially, I'd like to build a definition of the genre by ...
2
votes
3answers
156 views
What genre is this?
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 ...
0
votes
2answers
624 views
Give me a complete list of fiction genres [closed]
I know about some fiction genres. These are the genres I've seen mentioned online or that have a section in the Borders I go to.
I tried to add an example when I could think of one in two seconds.
...
4
votes
1answer
121 views
Good sites for descriptions/rules of different genres?
I just listenend to an episode of Writing Excuses where they discussed genre blending. I found the topic very inspirational, but as one tend to only read books of certain genres, I was wondering if ...
6
votes
2answers
148 views
What determines genre?
Is the "genre" a piece of fiction belongs to determined by the author, or by the editor and publishing house? Is there an established definition for each genre, or is it largely ad hoc?
I ask ...
