The Different Genres Vary Depending Upon What Research We Perform Concerning What Type of Book That We Intend to Write

As far as I can surmise from my research is that there are many different genres of stories that can be written, and we will take a quick look at a few of them in this post.

Here are just some Literary Genres:

• Drama: We all know what these are, or at least most of us do. These are typically stories that are composed sometimes in verse and other times with prose. They usually end up being used for theatrical performances, where any conflicts and emotion are typically expressed through dialogue and sometimes even action, but not always.
• Fable: This type of genre usually entails narration demonstrating a potentially useful truth. I would suspect that C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia could easily be called a fable, especially when the animals speak like they are humans. Fables can also be legendary tales or even supernatural tales. This is only a cursory definition, because in other instances, a fable can be so much more. In my own Bermuda’s Secret Series, I have animal characters that talk, so in a way, perhaps my work has some characteristics of being a Fable.
• Legend: This is story, which can sometimes be about a national hero or even a folk hero, which originally had a basis in fact, but has become embellished with additional imaginative material over the years.
• Fairy Tale: These are essentially stories about fairies or other fantastical creatures. There are magical happenings in them too, and they are usually directed at children or to us adults who still harbor the wonder and imagination that we experienced when we ourselves were children. Again, my Bermuda’s Secret series could also fall into this genre too.
• Fantasy: This is fiction which encompasses strange or other-worldly settings or characters. Again, my Bermuda’s Secret series can also easily fit into this category too. This genre is also fiction, but that kind of fiction which invites us to suspend our definition of reality, and forces us to use our imagination.
• Fiction: This genre consists of narrative literary works, the content of which is produced by the author’s imagination. There may be some factual content therein, but the work, itself, is not necessarily factually based. At the risk of being repetitive, my Bermuda’s Secret series can also easily fit into this genre, as well.
• Poetry: This genre of literature is usually written in verse–sometimes rhyming and sometimes not— usually containing imagery that evokes emotional responses.
• Fiction in Verse: These works can easily be “full-length” novels that contain a plot, and perhaps even a subplot or subplots. They can also easily contain another theme or themes. They might also contain major and minor characters. In these works, the narrative is typically presented in verse form, but many times in blank verse form too. My Bermuda’s Secret series fits a few of these characteristics, but not all of them.
• Folklore: These works can consist of a variety of media. There are songs, stories, myths, and proverbs of people from a certain area. In many countries, these people are referred to as “folk“. These works are usually handed down by word of mouth by the descendants of the people who originally comprised these works. They remain essentially the same, but over time, they might become a bit more embellished.
• Mystery: This can either be a fiction work, or a story based on fact. They are typically dealing with the solution of mystery, being either a crime or an occurrence for which no one can figure out a plausible explanation for what happened, and even contain the solutions to secrets. My Bermuda’s Secret series fits in this genre too because of its tie-in to the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle.
• Historical Fiction: This is typically a story with fictional characters and events in a true historical setting. This can also be classified as alternate history, and any similar definition. My Bermuda’s Secret series can also easily fit into this genre too.
• Horror: This is a fiction (or non-fiction) story in which the events therein might evoke a feeling of dread for both the characters in the story and the reader who is experiencing the events as they unfold.
• Mythology: These stories can either be based upon legend, traditional narrative, or both. They are often based in part on historical events. These tend to reveal human behavior, and perhaps natural phenomena often times as a result of the actions of the gods, either Roman, Greek, or any other nationality or religion..
• Humor: This is a fiction (or non-fiction) that is chock full of fun, hilarity, and sheer excitement. The genre is meant to entertain and lift the spirits of the reader. Humor can actually be contained in all the other genres. My Bermuda’s Secret series has many instances of humorous sub-plots littered throughout the 15 books in it.
• Fiction:
  • Realistic: These are stories that can actually happen, and in many cases similar things like this have happened!
  • Science:  These are stories based on and usually pertaining to the impact of actual, imagined, or future science. They are typically set in the future, and many times in other worlds. My Bermuda’s Secret series in a weird way, could also fit in ths genre, but it would be based in the past.

There Are A Few More Genres Out There.

Suffice to say that many blog posts could be done on all the individual different genres listed above. We might visit these in depth eventually in other posts on this site. The point is, as writers, we should have the basic knowledge of these different genres that are available, and then decide which one or one(s) that our potential story would best fit into.

This is some food for thought as we begin to write!

Until next time, KEEP WRITING!