Keys to Genres (1)

Authors who self-publish often have trouble classifying their work. I recently did a post on the different levels of heat in romance. But what is a romance novel? A romance novel must have two main characters the reader likes and can connect with. These characters must develop some sort of emotional connection that grows with the characters throughout the book.

Fantasy deals with the realm of magic. If something is magical or supernatural (like spiderman) it is in the realm of fantasy. This includes magical creatures and monsters.

Science fiction is similar to fantasy. The difference is there is no magic. Science fiction takes place in the future from when the book was written. (So 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is science fiction even though we now have submarines.) Science fiction can also take place in an alternate reality. Anything that scientists might talk about--time travel, faster than light speed travel, etc. is game even if science could never actually accomplish it. 

Magical realism is different from fantasy in that the magical things that happen are more along the lines of miracles that are then accepted by people who are living in today's society. 

Non-fiction is still considered non-fiction even if you have changed the names and identifying traits of some of the people. I am currently reading a book that claims to be both fiction and well-researched, conspiracy theory truth (and no, I don't think the guy is trying to do this for literary reasons). Non-fiction (except for something like a memoir or literary fiction, poetry, cookbooks, etc.) usually requires research and footnotes or a bibliography. There are a few fiction books that imitate this with footnotes (Jonathon Strange and Mr. Norrell comes to mind). If the footnotes are real and not made up, it is non-fiction. 

Poetry can cover a lot of things. The problem is that it must have either rhyme, shape, meter, imagery, or some other literary device, usually one that includes the repetition of sounds. 

Dystopian--the end of the world is grim. Usually, these are futuristic books with awful governments and people trying to escape them. 

Action/Adventure books--these books usually have a quest or mission and the daring feats or physical action drives the plot more than character relationships, world building, or character building.

Horror fiction is meant to scare or disturb you. There are a variety of ways this can be done from detailing grotesque torture to paranormal events. 

A thriller doesn't necessarily want to scare or disturb you, but it more is keeping you on the edge of your seat to find out what is going to happen next. 

If there is a genre you aren't sure about, feel free to leave me a comment and I will try to address it in a future post.