The reason Multi-Genre is so common is because some genres describe the basic plot, such as mystery, romance, and thriller, while other genres describe the setting, such as fantasy, sci-fi, and contemporary. A fantasy story, for example, is literally any story that takes place in a world with fantastical/magical elements. This means the “setting” genres are extremely flexible and never conflict with the “plot” genres.
Now the question is, do you decide your genre first to make sure everything is coherent theme-wise, or do you write first and slap label after analysimg what you have written? 🤔
I'd say unless you have a reason to want to write a specific genre (namely you have published books in that genre before and want to stay true to that genre because that's what your existing fanbase most likely wants to read), just write the story you want to tell and find out which genre it is later.
Hi Arya, in my opinion, you must write your story first and think about genre later. Because while you're in the process, you'll have many ideas which you would want to execute as you go along. If you decide on a specific genre beforehand, you would feel restricted because of the rules you made for yourself (i.e. rules of that genre). And also, genre isn't supposed to restrict a writer, it's purpose is to serve you. Moreover, I feel genre is more important for the sake of marketing the book & helping it reach the right audience. It's not about putting the writer in a box. I'm planning to make a video on my channel about genre too (just adding my two cents of information to what's already out there!) but until then, I hope this comment helps :)
Honestly even if your readers are used to you writing a specific genre, it doesn't hurt to un-typecast yourself for the sake of writing a good story, you may lose a few faithful readers, but you may gain a whole bunch of new ones who are into your new genre. Honestly, I may be wrong here and will gladly own it if I'm wrong, but I say write the story and then decide what label best fits, because you're creativity may be hindered and your story may suffer and you may fall into cliches and tired tropes trying to stay true to your chosen genre. Tell the story!
You write your story, make sure it is internally consistent within itself, and don't bother worrying about genre until it's time to market your work to others. Genre exists to help readers decide what new work to consume. Genre shouldn't really play into the writing process unless you're doing work for hire that has to fit someone else's requirements.
For me, sci-fi fantasy feels more like a setting; you've got your alien shapeshifters and their stories that range in POVs and narratives; thriller, romance, drama, slice-of-life, etc. I've spent years developing this world and I've come up with tons of ideas to fill it up
Had a conversation about this at the library today. Yes, I understand categories within a library are different than publishing genres but it's interesting to see fairy tales in the nonfiction section of the library.
I thought the genre I wanted was action horror, but it was contemporary/ urban fantasy. Larry Correia says "If the title has a shirtless person it's fantasy romance, if it's a person fighting a monster it's urban fantasy, and if it's a person running from a monster it's horror."
One of the best literary oxymorons is "novel" which first meant (and still does outside literature itself) "unique" or "different" but for books, a novel fits into pre-determined very similar categories.
Great video, thanks for the helpful info. Out of curiosity, do you know much about writing stories about dreams? There's a lot of focus on inception, but I'm curious about other books and stories revolving around dreams.
Crime in and of itself is a genre I define genre as categories that books are sorted in at the library So examples of Genres are Fantasy Crime Paranormal/Supernatural Horror Romance Childrens
Fantasy is my favorite and is what the majority of my story ideas are though I do have a few in the Scifi genre. I like romance in stories but I don't much care for the romance genre. I've read too many books where the conflict could be resolved if the characters just talked to each other.
Another thing that's been helpful for me to define my genre and subgenres is to look at book bub. If you know your bigger umbrella genre like fantasy but are trying to nail your subgenre, or you think you're writing a multi-genre book, look at the categories book bub filters by. Filter what you think you're closest to and then read the descriptions and tags for the results. Look for similarities and try to find an example that looks a bit like your book. There's a lot of variety within each tag! Think about what tags your book might have. Genre is a marketing tool. As long as it's close enough, you have a good cover and a good blurb, people will find your book!
Wasn't "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas" a sci-fi when it came out as submarines were not created yet? I seem to remember something like that. Might have been another book, but I recall that the first book with a submarine is it is considered a sci-fi of its time as it had technology we didn't have for real yet.
Yeah! Verne is considered one of the first (or the first) sci fi novel pioneers! Just like Mary Shelly is considered the mother of the (modern) horror genre! :D
I really wanna buy that mug that says "ask me about my book." I LOVE talking about my story. Unfortunately, I don’t have a bank account or anything like PayPal.😭
Jenna: Drama is a fancy way to say "a play". Also Jenna: If your romance doesn't end well, it will be classified as drama. Wow, either I found a shortcut to becoming a plawright with zero effort or the definitions and word uses really needed a bit more attention.
well… romances that don’t end well usually ARE classified as drama. and a lot of drama books i do believe are easily adaptable to plays, so. i think this is correct. that’s not to say writing a play is the same as writing a book. just that plays and drama novels usually have similar content, haha.
@@JNB0723 of course! yes tragedy is another common category for those. and of course not all dramas are failed romances! what was said was that a lot of failed romances are counted as drama but for sure a lot of other type of stories and storylines are also dramas. there’s just a lot of romance out there
"Fits into 10 genres" Does that include when the author adds a sub-genre that is barely published in and completely irrelevant to the book to get the #1 best seller tag? Like one author, who I stopped reading, who writes fantasy series and they added sub-categories belonging in "Lottery" and "Gambling" categories to get the #1 slot.
The way I see things is that some Genres can be split up into multiple subgenres and thats how I like to categorize things Examples of subgenres are Crime: These are mystery novels that specifically follow individual criminal cases Rather than a broad spectrum of cases (Examples being Murder on the orient express, And then there were none and Mousetrap) Thriller: These are novels that have edge of your seat action, Thrillers can be interweaved with crime, but if that;s the case, they usually follow a wake of murders (Examples being murder house and the Alex Cross series) Supernatural: These are specific horror novels that follow other-worldly creatures (Vampires, zombies, werewolves etc) the creatures are either human, or close to it (Twilight would in my opinion be a good example) Paranormal: These novels are essentially ghost stories, they follow human characters as they battle ghosts and otherworldly spirits (Things like Spectres, Banshees etc)
I ironically think I write exactly the genre combination minus sci-fi that Jenna tells you not to write at 10:13. But I could be wrong. What if your story has BOTH ghosts and human-like, and NOT so human like fantasy creatures, like dragons and trolls? (which are vaguely humanoid but I think they start to get much further from than something like a vampire)?
Stupid question, but could anyone give me advice on how to describe skin tone in a fantasy novel? I have kind of a diverse range of characters and I’m not sure how to get the point across if I can’t relate it to real-world examples. Looking forward to the next video!
Using vague terms like fair, pale, dark etc. could get you in the ballpark. Using more specific yet familiar words might do you well too, like alabaster, olive, ebony etc. Or you could try using the scenery around a character to help you out like comparing complexions to trees, house siding, or other things you have already described. And when in doubt try looking up a bank of skin tone descriptors that your readers might recognize so you get the most accurate idea. Hope that helps.
Look up ‘writing with color’ and skin tones. Writing with color is a blog ran by multiple people of color and they have a post specifically about skin color. They are a huge resource for people looking to diversify their work. A rule of thumb is to not use food items to describe character’s skin. It’s generally agreed that it’s way overdone and come off as dehumanizing. So avoid words like “chocolate, honey, caramel, etc.” Also, brown/black aren’t bad words, use brown/black to describe your brown/black characters. To get more more specific you can use Examples: deep brown, golden grown, smooth black, beige, Try avoid using words like tan when describing a person of color. Or if you do be more specific in your descriptions. Most people will imagine a white person with a tan.
Also, don’t be vague. White is often seen as the standard, so if you leave it up to the readers imagination many of them will just imagine a white person. Give your POC characters the same level description as your white characters. Also, describe the white character’s skin as well or it comes across as you thinking that white is the default.
My WIP is Fantasy, but has no Magic in it or Magical components. There are Paranormal creatures involved and an MC who dies 7 times. Where to place it?
question: what if my main plot is so intertwined with the love story that it wouldn’t happen without it… buut the love story is not a happy end? wouldn’t really know a „love story fantasy“ genre or at least it’s not popular :D?
Hi Kyra, looks like your main plot isn't the love story but is a consequence of a love story. In such a case, I would suggest looking at what's happening outside the love story aspect. Basically, focus on the emotions your characters are trying to evoke in the main plot. I'm also planning to make a whole genre video on my channel where I'll cover more information as well but until then, hope this comment helps :)
IDK if you have enough knowledge in this field, but my current WIP is middle-grade, and I’d love to see a video on writing middle-grade/childrens/kid lit books (a genuine tips video or a sarcastic one would both be great). So many people assume it’s easier than writing adult books but it’s really not.
This wasn't as helpful as I was hoping it would be. It clarified what genres really obvious stuff fits into, but didn't touch on not so obvious stuff, which is really the only place the question would come into play. I've been struggling to clarify my current project because I really want to be certain I reach the right audience due to its graphic nature. I don't think a video can be done to touch on this dilemma because it seems specific to each project, but I was hoping for some clarity. I enjoyed the video, just think it should be titled differently. Something like, 'know your genres' or something.
I agree. The basic genres is a good place to start, but my questions come from trying to navigate the blurred lines of subgenre. I also have unsavory scenes that will definitely pivot readers. I want to know what type of 'dark' or 'scary' separates 'dark fantasy' from 'fantasy horror' from 'gothic fantasy' from 'gothic horror with fantasy elements', etc. I'm fine with a label that isn't perfect because I know that the purpose of the label is to guide reader expectations. A reader isn't going to be too upset if you don't meet all the expectations, as long as you nail the important ones and still have a good story. I just don't know where all those important nails are!
I've always wondered... what genre is superhero fiction? Sci-Fi, or Fantasy? Sci-fi/Fantasy? Neither? It's usually in a contemporary setting, with powers that aren't exactly magical, but not exactly science-based, either. Is superhero fiction its own genre? And I do mean in prose, not comic books.
Hi, that would totally depend on what is happening to your superhero in that specific story. In my opinion, Superhero is a trope that you can place in any setting with any magical/scientific background. If your superhero is born as a superhero with powers from birth or has hereditary powers (or any powers that can't be explained scientifically), then that's fantasy for sure despite a contemporary setting. And if your superhero is a regular guy who transforms into a superhero with powers derived from some sort of chemical/scientific source, that would incline towards Sci-Fi. And yes, some stories can totally be hybrid of Sci-Fi/Fantasy having both elements. Hope this helped :)
"Superhero" would be a theme. You can implant that theme into any genre. Multi-genre Contemporary Fantasy or Sci-fi depending on the nature of the super powers could work well, or maybe a sub-genre. But you could also have flat-out Fantasy Superheroes or Scifi Superheroes not in a contemporary setting.
I see superhero stories like the ones from marvel as sci-fi, but there are a lot of fantasy elements too. I think its really best described as sci-fi-fantasy. Same with Starwars
@@zakosist "Science Fantasy" is the term I most often see to describe that kind of mixed genre. See also, "Star Trek is Science Fiction; Star Wars is Fantasy in Space." It could also arguably fit on the Punk Punk spectrum, _a la_ magi-punk or magi-tech.
One of the many genres (maybe it isn't a genre, I dunno) is the alternate reality genre. I typically tend to associate superhero stories as both an alternate reality genre and the superhero genre itself. Since, for example, Winter Soldiers/Bucky Barnes bionic arm is leagues more advanced than what is actually possible now. So can anyone help me better understand the alternate reality genre? Because time and again I've tried to better understand it. But have come up short with little to no examples outside of the superhero genre.
I'm currently planning on writing a novel on Wattpad, it'll be a fanfiction & a re-write of H2o Just Add Water. So basically my novel will be a fantasy genre.
From what I've seen, "Children's Books" is the umbrella term for books aimed at 'younger audiences' aka anyone from toddler to 17. Under the umbrella, there are several important distinctions. For all of these, the parents are usually the ones buying the books for their kids, so marketing is aimed at both. You want the parents to be happy which usually means nothing graphic, unsavory, or controversial. But of course you also want your young readers to be happy. This usually means a lot of humor, characters dealing with problems that kids face like teachers, bullies, annoying little brothers, potty training, etc. What is 'relatable' of course depends on their age. board books: infant. These books tend to focus on things like learning ABC's, counting, shapes, animal sounds. picture books: these are for preschoolers or toddlers that haven't started elementary school. They have a lot of pictures because these children are just learning how to read and they need the pictures to help them form the context of the story with minimal words. Picture books tend to have repetitive language or rhyming and playful ways to help make reading fun and more approachable. If you're writing a picture book, keep the word count in the hundreds. 300 words, for example for the whole book start to finish. Topics might include educational topics like learning about bugs, potty training, types of construction equipment. Stories might be about playing dress up, learning how to share, telling the truth, etc. chapter books: I've also seen these called early readers books. These are for children that are just starting to be able to read longer-form books. These books are very short chapter books. They can have a lot of pictures still, but the focus is more on the words and there is a lot more of them. You can have more words now, but no more than 1,500. Like anything else, there is a range, depending on how strong a reader they are. Some are very simple with 500 words. Others are longer with the max probably being more like 1,500 total. Usually these are numbered to give teachers or parents a sense of the difficulty so they can match the child's level to the book. Middle Grade: middle schoolers. kids around the ages of 8-14. Usually the characters are also young, 12 or 14. The themes are more focused on friendship, adventure, finding your place in the world. Common themes are things like humor, school, friends. Children at this age are starting to find their independence from their parents more and making their own choices about their life, what they like, how they want to spend their time. That's why a lot of MG books feature orphans or stories where the parents or adults are absent from the story. Or the adults are the butt of the jokes. The early Harry Potter books are technically MG and the later ones where Harry is older, getting angsty, starts being interested in dating, etc. I would put in the Young Adult category. Romance in MG is very tame and the build up of the relationship tends to be more focused on just being near them, holding hands, maybe a kiss or two. But nothing beyond that. MG relationships tend to focus more on friendships. Young Adult: teenagers. often the characters are teenagers, 16 or 18 and they're dealing with problems that teenagers face like dating, high school, puberty (although puberty could also be in a MG book too). Teenagers want to be more adult and want more adult content so you will see more graphic and complex subjects like eating disorders, abuse, racism, sex, sexual preferences, homelessness, swearing, etc. They are exploring deeper subjects and starting to grapple with things. However such things aren't as explicit as they would be in an adult book. A lot of YA books are 'coming-of-age' stories and are about finding their place in the world, finding themselves, defining their identity. A lot of YA books also have a rebellious nature to them and feature strong characters taking down, or finding that they're destined to take down, evil institutions. There is no such thing as a book for 'all children' just like there's no such thing as a book for all adults. There is as much variety and preference in children's books as with anything else. If you still have questions, I recommend joining the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). They have a lot of resources for writers that want to write for kids.
I think mine is classified as a Sci-fi Thriller because scientific advancement happens and the villain in the story becomes a villain because of said technology.
It can get complicated quickly, with only one genre and subgenre. I wrote a GL sci-fi story (series, actually). GL (Girl Love) = Adult Romance (despite the name) typically within a Southeast Asian setting, and always happily ever after. The main characters are mostly green flag. Not to be confused with WLW, a western version which can be romance or tragedy, but it's mostly tragedy and mostly with a lot of very large red flags. Here is where the issue comes in. If I am standing on a street corner anywhere in say Thailand, Korea, Japan, or China, and I ask someone what their favorite GL is, I will immediately get an answer. If I ask them what their favorite WLW is, I will get exactly the same answer. They will not be referencing the western WLW above, GL and WLW are synonymous. Now, if I am standing on said street corner anywhere in the West, the genre of “GL” doesn't even exist, so I have to use WLW, but it only works for internet tags. Once you get into literary genres, you basically only have LGBTQ+. This genre encompasses basically the entire universe of anything not straight, as if all those letters together have the same readers. To add a level of complexity, it absolutely doesn't matter what you think your genre is. Amazon is going to figure that out for itself on a day-to-day basis, depending on where the algorithm decides it sits in the various rankings. This will then display it to a different audience. Back to my GL Sci-fi… There is almost no possibility that people on Amazon in the West looking up LGBTQ+ stories are actually looking for, or have ever read, a GL story (statistically). They are probably going to be put off by the all the green flags and happiness. People looking for GL, and are completely steeped in GL, Shipping, etc., are in fact specifically looking for that type of romance, green flags, etc. Since GL is not a Genre anywhere in any of the major booksellers, you will just get a lot of eye rolls, but no eyes on pages. It's not likely to show up on Amazon in the Philippines where it should have been day one because? Yeah, I have no idea either. Genre basically completely fails to do anything useful. This is when you start to find specific outlets that specialize (because only a few billion people are reading and watching GL) in this particular category of books which, more often than not, point their readers back to Amazon.
My world is mixed of tons of subgenres. Fantasy, sci fi, technomancy, horror, dark horror, dark fantasy, futurism, authoritarian, adventure, supernatural, beast something, urban/portal fantasy, alienology, mythology, mystical,dark horror, tragedy, thriller, suspense, dark sci fi, Space Opera,and MAGIC. So far, I found 24 different ones located within my stories and probably more. Considering I just wrote fantasy all my life, I can't believe Terrellium is bringing out these other genres. I wonder what this will be called.
Your story may very well have all elements, but I think it will be needed to cut down on just the number of labels for simplicity if you gonna publish your book and give it a label. Some of the things you mentioned may not be needed in the label because they are sub-gendres of sub-gendres. "technomancy" is just another version of sci-fi for example. "Mythology" goes under fantasy. I think my genres are ironically exactly what Jenna tells you not to use at 10:13, minus sci-fi, kind of a weird coincidence. But I may not need all the labels despite all of them apply
My current WIP I classify as SciFi/Psychological Thriller. Even though it isn't exactly high tech, the plot centralizes around a psychologist in Victorian times who finds out that a world one of his patients talks about exists through the dream state. So, with this information, I'd think it would be classified as SciFi, but am I wrong in making this assumption?
Hi H. L. Dyler, I believe genre is less about what's happening to the characters but more about the emotions those events are evoking in your reader. Looking at your plot (with what you've shared), I am not sure how it would fit into psychological or thriller? (Did you pick those because one character is psychologist & there is a dream state they're investigating?). Well, think again if the story evokes intrigue & mind-bending suspense. Also, since it's set in Victorian times, this could easily be a Historical Sci-Fi. Honestly, since this is still a work in progress, I'd say don't worry about genre right now. Focus on writing the story you want to tell and you can figure out the genre later. Hope this helped :)
@@srishti.rathour Without giving too much away, eventually my protagonist becomes obsessed with this new world he discovers to the point of him slowly losing control of his life and there are moments in the climax of the story where he has to confront his inner demons, hence the reason for my psychological thriller label. I've made the argument back and forth of is it SciFi? Is it Historical Fiction? Is it Psychological Thriller? While it does take place in Victorian England, it honestly doesn't take that much prevalence in the story other than to give readers an idea as to the protagonists own inner conflicts with his profession and with my choice in writing style for the book.
So what if I'm writing say.. alternative realistic, Historical fact based realityish fiction but my book keeps telling me it identifies as some sorta weird Horror SciFi fiction drama...
Then you've got one slippery animal on your hands. You need to tie that octopus down! :-D Seriously, though, I think the whole business of genre's only really important when it comes to marketing. Write whatever you damn well want and slap the best-fitting label on it afterwards, I say! I'm not so sure that readers are quite as fickle as the publishing industry likes to suppose. I've never given up on a novel just because it didn't fit its supposed genre - not if it was good, anyway. If it engages you and gives you pleasure, who cares if you were originally gunning for a ghost story but got a western instead? Bit of variety never killed anyone :-)
@@iancossey105 This is super helpful! Thinking about genre as a wide net that more or less has some important similarities is much less stressful. Thanks for this!
so my story is kind of historical fiction i guess, but it's only historical insomuch as i based it off of some real elements of our history (kind of medieval era-esque), but it's set in a made up world. there isn't _magic_ per say, but the characters have bonds with falcons that go further than is possible with irl people and falcons. like they can't speak to each other or anything, but the birds are a little extra intelligent and they share an emotional understanding with humans that is somewhat fantastical in a sense. but other than that and it being in a world i created, i wouldn't say it's fantasy as there is no magic. i know there's low fantasy as a subgenre, but i read that it still tends to have magic in it? like it's modern world with magic. so i'm still a little unsure how to categorize my story. i might just call it historical fiction and be done with it i guess? though i think people expecting _real/accurate_ history might be disappointed... :/
Question. If in a romance, the couple gets together to live happily ever after, period - then you already know how the story ends. Right? So WHY buy the book?
Same reason someone reads a story about reclaiming a throne. We know they will, but we want to know how and what they sacrifice along the way. If I read a forbidden love story, I want to read how they fought against society and won, not get told they just can't work. I'm not reading it to find out if they succeed, I'm reading to find out how they do it.
@@bloop6111 Yes, I am thinking the technology and the way that the judicial system is structured will be the things that are modern. There is the usage of magic so that’s why it’ll be a fantasy novel. This will be when I revamp my Fanfiction to an actual book. I need to work on the world building of my world before it happens.
@@sparkyjonas8271 If the technology and the judicial system are modern, then what about it is medieval? Sounds just like modern fantasy / urban fantasy.
My story might be a dystopian sci-fi. It is about a world where people with superpowers are severely discriminated against. about 7% of the world, set in 2584, has superpowers. This happened because of a mutation in the human body, people became scared and made laws against them. But this isn't the main part, except I can't write the story without this world-building because then it doesn't make sense any other way. My protagonist is born into a cult-like family and is trying to leave with the help of his, supposed-to-be, enemy.
I'd classify the book I'm writing as erotic romance/urban fantasy novel. It's the story of two couples falling in love as a war between vampires and werewolves breaks out in New York City, and there's a lot of sex.
"Maybe it's fantasy but kinda dark." That is NOT dark fantasy, and now I understand why you incorrectly label your books the way you do. Dark Fantasy has two main definitions, one older and one more modern. The older definition is "Fantasy meets Horror" and you definitely don't write Horror. You've admitted so yourself in a halloween interview. This definition was used for books like Dracula back in the day, and while I don't think it's fully what the genre is ABOUT, it's still a major component. The more modern definition is complex and has spawned from the Age of Trope Awareness we're currently in. Dark Fantasy is Fantasy but subverted, averted, and all-together played with. This can be seen in stories like Berserk, A Song of Ice and Fire, and the original Mistborn trilogy. Either way, Dark Fantasy cannot end with a happy ending and at best it will be bittersweet. Every victory gives rise to more failure than success. The tone is consistently down and dark, characters may have hopes and dreams but they are a struggle to reach and always come with heavy costs. There will be sacrifice and grim determination from our protagonists (who will likely be morally grey to black), but ultimately the universe just doesn't care about what the characters want. Dark Fantasy is about perseverance in the face humanity's weakness, facing the horrors of the world and striving to overcome them, even when it seems futile. There cannot be black and white morality in Dark Fantasy because everything is corrupt; the "heroes" will often do morally questionable things and they know they're doing wrong but for the right reasons. Dark fantasy can be described as two lovers buried in the same makeshift grave an exploding volcano left them in. There used to be love and hope, and those people tried their best, but ultimately it was futile and traumatic. This is all not to be confused with Grimdark, which is basically violence and brutality and gore for the sake of it. Grimdark takes everything that is Dark Fantasy and removes all the lingering traces of goodness and hope and love and replaces it with torture. If Dark Fantasy is Fantasy's creepy older uncle then Grimdark is Dark Fantasy's young child who plays with knives and asks you if you want to see his animal collection in the forest. Looking at your books, The Saviour's Series is definitely a Romance, but your world building, tone (especially character voices), and endings do not fit the genre of Dark Fantasy at all. I've had this problem with your books for a while, and it's good to finally get your own view on it. While most modern media has been skewing darker than it used to, just because there's sex and swearing and violence that doesn't make it Dark Fantasy. The only thing you do RIGHT when it comes to the genre is portray Leila as a complete sociopath/psychopath and make it seem as if she's morally correct, but I think you view her just as a badass instead of as evil as she comes off to the reader. Ultimately, you make the same mistake other people do and it's why I ended up burned by your writing. You should take the advice you layout in this video and apply it.
I never know how to classify my books. I never think in terms of genre when I write; I just write stories that I find interesting. I think people need to make more distinctions between style and subject matter. For example, my prose style tends to be very literary and ornate, but in terms of subject matter, my most recent work could be classified as a thriller/historical book. The problem, however, is that some people might like the style of writing, but not the subject matter. Other people might like the subject matter, but not the style. I suppose it could be classified as an historical literary thriller, but that’s a mouthful.
@@josephvlogsdon No, it would be classified as fiction, if it's fictional. A writing style does not shift a true story from non-fiction to fiction, nor can it make a fictional story non-fiction. Those are literally defined solely by "Did it actually happen in the way described, or is it embellished or made up?" You remind me of a guy I argued with on a different video because he thought he was oh so brilliant and revolutionary because he was writing a slice of life book that would turn into an intense psychological horror half way. Accept he wasn't going to label it AS a psychological horror because he wanted to "redefine" genre and "surprise" people. He was so caught up in patting his own back with how genius he was that he legitimately couldn't fathom that a person who was excited to read a calm, cute slice of life story would be upset if it suddenly switched to psychological horror without warning, especially those with phobias, sensitivities and trauma. He couldn't grasp that he wasn't being "ground breaking" he was just misrepresenting his book. People choose books by genre first and foremost, writing style secondly. If people don't like the way you write, its either because you've entirely misrepresented your book because you can't let go of the pompous visionary attitude, or they just don't like your writing style, which in no way involves genre. If you write books like you write your comments, full of self-indulgent word salad, I can see how both can be accurate.
Seriously, is "realistic fiction" a genre? Because, if not, my first book, at any rate, MIGHT primarily be a romance, but that's only one of four main plots. This baby's doing a lot of heavy lifting. Jenna, help! 1. Okay, so realistic fiction is NOT a genre, more of a type...? 2. Romance yes, mystery no, thriller no, horror no, fantasy no, sci-fi no, historical fiction no, contemporary fiction yes, children's book HELL no. Not with all the swearing, racism, and child abuse. Question, though: is bildungsroman a genre...? Because it's DEFINITELY that, for all four...and a half...ish...of my mains. 3. So I say ye to the romance thing because Tory and Jeremy ARE together at the end, but for her siblings, I'm also dealing with Adam reconciling to the fact that he now has to live with a broken spine, I'm also-ALSO dealing with the sub-romance of Stephen and Olivia, as well as with him reconciling with his depression and the loss of his past, and with Kayla, I'm also getting her through the loss of her parents...sorta...and HOLY SHIT spoilers. Do you see why my baby is hard to classify? 4. Groan, now I'm even more confused. You know, f*ck it, it's a f*cking bildungsroman. And I can never spell that word correctly on the first go. 5. You: "This is super common." Me: "NO KIDDING." XD Cripes... 6. I know...and I'm TRYING not to make Tory and Jeremy the focal point of this thing, but they kind of are, even though it's evident to all of my readers so far that Stephen is my favourite. He has the most vivid character, at any rate, but he's STILL subsidiary to the "main" plot. I guess I don't HVE to balk at this being a "romance that does a whole lot of other shit". To be real, though, on your point of "could it be removed without messing with the main plot", no, it couldn't be. Neither could Adam's. Kayla's is TECHNICALLY...kinda...the only one whose POV I could sacrifice, but I also CAN'T, because she's the only one in a position to be the catalyst or the climax. I couldn't remove Adam's, because his spinal injury is what leads to me having a plot in the first place. Which is why I'm confused, but which is ALSO why I'm still tmpted to say...hard word to spell. Bildgeonsroman. Nope. Buildensroman. Nope. SPELL CHECK. Bildungsroman. 7. Coastal Florida, near-ish future. I know that the mom dies in 2146, a year which I pulled straight out of my ass when I was in the shower, and it will also be the date her diary, my final book in the series, will be published. Posthumous publication of all the shit she went through in her life, and only had the courage to write about in her very last years. But the story itself takes place, I would say...about twenty years prior to that? Each book covers ABOUT half a year, or so I have it planned out so far, anyway: "On Eagle's Wings" starts in June and ends at Christmas. "Salt of the Earth" picks up on New Year's Eve, so, like, a week later, and ends in July or August of that year. Then the next two, I'm not sure yet, but along those GENERL lines. "Wither Thou Goest", though, the diary, covers ALL of the time in which the main story takes place, because, from the perspective of my four main characters' mother, this story plays out VERY differently. 8. "Does your main plot revolve around people falling in love and living happily ever after?" YES. But NO. Oi...this is why I'm having a problem. Victoria and Jeremy are kind of the focal point...and it's because of Jeremy that the plot gets its training wheels taken off, so to speak, but it's because of Kayla that the shit hits the fan, and like I say, it's because of Adam that they even move out to coastal Florida to begin with, and there's no hint of romance in either Adam's or Kayla's stories. Yet. And then Stephen is thee to tie shit together and be my very-nasty-at-first antihero. And he's got the book's secondary romance going on with Olivia, like I say, but THAT shit hits the fan, too, until it calms down again around Christmastime. 9. Nope, just a normal, human...very abusive father/husband. The dad of the main quartet is my villain, and TRUST ME, he deserves his twenty years behind bars, and that's just in the first damn book. But I want him out of the way. 10. Okay, I actually need help with this: I'm torn between adult and new adult. On the one hand, they're all a bunch of high schoolers, so new adult, theoretically. On the other hand, child abuse, swearing, homophobia, xenophobia, misogyny, religious abuse, physical abuse, verbal abuse, ableism, and themes in support of Communism. Sooooooooooo...adult...? Oh, and also, in later books, let's just say that Victoria and Jeremy have REALLY good sex, and we get a baby out of the deal. Yay. Also, you never see the gay sex, but Jeremy definitely had a boyfriend before this story started, and neither of them is a virgin. This is a well-established fact. I love Austen (ex BF and still bestie): he's comic relief, but he's not STUPID comic relief.
I can't believe I read all that XD you have an interesting and engaging voice-if that transfers to ur book them 👏👏👏 but regarding the actual thing, I honestly can't tell. it ends happy, then? otherwise sounds like tragedy lmao. but if it does end happy then, uh, not. maybe psychological? is there alot of mind stuff like, not as much external action? idk. what's ur actual plot? maybe that might help. idk
ok no. haha got ur attention. **claps hands** while you're here, assist me dear watchers. mines dystopian, the world's organised in a heirarchy based on chess. lowers pieces are being abused so there's a rebellion n stuff happens and there's a rift etc etc I can't be bothered telling it and you likely can't be bothered reading it BUT. I'd say dystopian, obviously. but then, is thriller and action something that comes hand in hand? or are they seperate? and can a book be a mystery if the murder happens later in the book, serving as a sort of, like, extra layer to the person the MCs are already trying to find? (it happens around the 40K mark) and what the hell makes an adventure. HELP.
I think maybe part of the problem is in seeking too narrow a definition for terms which are, in the end, purposely wide. You can twist yourself into knots worrying about whether what you’re writing is this or that - and waste a lot of precious time, too. Unless you’re dead set on writing to a specific formula and churning out yet another cookie-cutter to clog up the shelves, then just let the story breathe and let it turn into whatever it needs to be. You can always worry about what the label on the box says later. The label’s just for marketing, after all; just pick the nearest fit. As to thriller and action going hand in hand… I mean, they can and do, but not necessarily so. Thrillers can be psychological, based on perceptions, moods etc rather than needing anything physically exciting to happen; and action doesn’t always need to be of the heart-stopping variety, it can be (for example) comedic, manic, confusing, in microcosm. Equally, ‘adventure’ covers anything you think could reasonably described as such, be that a ripping, Indiana Jones style yarn or an agoraphobic character’s first trip down the road to the shops in several years. Admittedly, there are certain things which are more likely to spring to most people’s minds when you say ‘thriller’, ‘action’, ‘adventure’ etc just because those elements are better-known/more popular than others, but it doesn’t mean they have the monopoly. And mystery is surely a mystery, wherever or whenever it is that the mystery happens to turn up? I'm not sure if any of the above is of any help, but... I'm just saying it's worth considering the consideration of genre a whole lot less. :-D
With the mystery part, I think that could tie in with the thriller aspect. It sounds like the mystery could be more of a big reveal or plot twist than a genre if it isn’t present throughout the whole book. Thrillers often have mystery tied in, but I feel like it’s not a mystery genre unless the whole book revolves around solving some, well… mystery lol. I hope that made sense x)
Jenna: Fantasy covers anything from "My little Pony" to "Game of Thrones" Me: Why do I suddenly feel the weird urge to read about cute pink ponies who are plotting for power, murdering each other and sleeping with their siblings?
I truly prefer it when the title doesn't contain some kind of negativity. The videos that have like "Your Characters Suck" or "Your Love Story Sucks". I mean... is that an accusation that your followers are dumbasses? Are we supposed to go in on the bullying of poor writers with Jenna? Is negativity supposed to motivate us in some way? I just don't get it.
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BUT JENNA!!! Actually I have nothing to disagree with, I just always wanted to say "but Jenna". 😆 Love the channel.
The reason Multi-Genre is so common is because some genres describe the basic plot, such as mystery, romance, and thriller, while other genres describe the setting, such as fantasy, sci-fi, and contemporary.
A fantasy story, for example, is literally any story that takes place in a world with fantastical/magical elements. This means the “setting” genres are extremely flexible and never conflict with the “plot” genres.
Good refresher for experienced authors, excellent for brand new writers, and well-timed for authors in the anxiety throes
Now the question is, do you decide your genre first to make sure everything is coherent theme-wise, or do you write first and slap label after analysimg what you have written? 🤔
I'd say unless you have a reason to want to write a specific genre (namely you have published books in that genre before and want to stay true to that genre because that's what your existing fanbase most likely wants to read), just write the story you want to tell and find out which genre it is later.
Hi Arya, in my opinion, you must write your story first and think about genre later. Because while you're in the process, you'll have many ideas which you would want to execute as you go along. If you decide on a specific genre beforehand, you would feel restricted because of the rules you made for yourself (i.e. rules of that genre). And also, genre isn't supposed to restrict a writer, it's purpose is to serve you. Moreover, I feel genre is more important for the sake of marketing the book & helping it reach the right audience. It's not about putting the writer in a box. I'm planning to make a video on my channel about genre too (just adding my two cents of information to what's already out there!) but until then, I hope this comment helps :)
Honestly even if your readers are used to you writing a specific genre, it doesn't hurt to un-typecast yourself for the sake of writing a good story, you may lose a few faithful readers, but you may gain a whole bunch of new ones who are into your new genre. Honestly, I may be wrong here and will gladly own it if I'm wrong, but I say write the story and then decide what label best fits, because you're creativity may be hindered and your story may suffer and you may fall into cliches and tired tropes trying to stay true to your chosen genre. Tell the story!
You write your story, make sure it is internally consistent within itself, and don't bother worrying about genre until it's time to market your work to others. Genre exists to help readers decide what new work to consume.
Genre shouldn't really play into the writing process unless you're doing work for hire that has to fit someone else's requirements.
For me, sci-fi fantasy feels more like a setting; you've got your alien shapeshifters and their stories that range in POVs and narratives; thriller, romance, drama, slice-of-life, etc. I've spent years developing this world and I've come up with tons of ideas to fill it up
Had a conversation about this at the library today. Yes, I understand categories within a library are different than publishing genres but it's interesting to see fairy tales in the nonfiction section of the library.
“Do some research to see what genre your book fits into.” Good advice.
I thought the genre I wanted was action horror, but it was contemporary/ urban fantasy. Larry Correia says "If the title has a shirtless person it's fantasy romance, if it's a person fighting a monster it's urban fantasy, and if it's a person running from a monster it's horror."
One of the best literary oxymorons is "novel" which first meant (and still does outside literature itself) "unique" or "different" but for books, a novel fits into pre-determined very similar categories.
Thanks Jenna. So my project is leaning towards contemporary/Action/Thriller, but got to do more research to get this right.
As a young author,I absolutely love your videos
Please do more on historical fiction!
I just clapped when you pointed out that YA is a category and not a genre. Thank you! So many people calling it a genre have been driving me.
Great video, thanks for the helpful info.
Out of curiosity, do you know much about writing stories about dreams? There's a lot of focus on inception, but I'm curious about other books and stories revolving around dreams.
You might enjoy the new story on Royal Road made by WetDemonKing.
The story is called He Who Cannot Be.
When deciding genres I tend to think about what type of movie my story might become. What audience would watch it and what age are that audience.
As I write crime fiction, finding the genre of my stories has never been very difficult.
Crime in and of itself is a genre
I define genre as categories that books are sorted in at the library
So examples of Genres are
Fantasy
Crime
Paranormal/Supernatural
Horror
Romance
Childrens
Fantasy is my favorite and is what the majority of my story ideas are though I do have a few in the Scifi genre.
I like romance in stories but I don't much care for the romance genre. I've read too many books where the conflict could be resolved if the characters just talked to each other.
Another thing that's been helpful for me to define my genre and subgenres is to look at book bub. If you know your bigger umbrella genre like fantasy but are trying to nail your subgenre, or you think you're writing a multi-genre book, look at the categories book bub filters by. Filter what you think you're closest to and then read the descriptions and tags for the results. Look for similarities and try to find an example that looks a bit like your book.
There's a lot of variety within each tag! Think about what tags your book might have. Genre is a marketing tool. As long as it's close enough, you have a good cover and a good blurb, people will find your book!
That's amazing advice! Thank you so much! 😁
Wasn't "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas" a sci-fi when it came out as submarines were not created yet? I seem to remember something like that. Might have been another book, but I recall that the first book with a submarine is it is considered a sci-fi of its time as it had technology we didn't have for real yet.
Yeah! Verne is considered one of the first (or the first) sci fi novel pioneers! Just like Mary Shelly is considered the mother of the (modern) horror genre! :D
@@xAlecto Thank you for the info! :)
I'm currently writing historical fantasy with spiritual themes.
I really wanna buy that mug that says "ask me about my book." I LOVE talking about my story. Unfortunately, I don’t have a bank account or anything like PayPal.😭
What's your story about?
My story genre: Action, mystery, and romance. I'm still deciding how the plot of the story will play out.
thanks for sharing this.... my series Terrellium is a mixed genre of sorts
Jenna: Drama is a fancy way to say "a play".
Also Jenna: If your romance doesn't end well, it will be classified as drama.
Wow, either I found a shortcut to becoming a plawright with zero effort or the definitions and word uses really needed a bit more attention.
well… romances that don’t end well usually ARE classified as drama. and a lot of drama books i do believe are easily adaptable to plays, so. i think this is correct. that’s not to say writing a play is the same as writing a book. just that plays and drama novels usually have similar content, haha.
@@RenaissanceK It may also be categorized as a tragedy. Also, all dramas do not involve failed romance.
@@JNB0723 of course! yes tragedy is another common category for those. and of course not all dramas are failed romances! what was said was that a lot of failed romances are counted as drama but for sure a lot of other type of stories and storylines are also dramas. there’s just a lot of romance out there
"Fits into 10 genres" Does that include when the author adds a sub-genre that is barely published in and completely irrelevant to the book to get the #1 best seller tag? Like one author, who I stopped reading, who writes fantasy series and they added sub-categories belonging in "Lottery" and "Gambling" categories to get the #1 slot.
Those are more like specific themes or topics within the story, rather than a genre/sub-genre.
The way I see things is that some Genres can be split up into multiple subgenres and thats how I like to categorize things
Examples of subgenres are
Crime: These are mystery novels that specifically follow individual criminal cases Rather than a broad spectrum of cases (Examples being Murder on the orient express, And then there were none and Mousetrap)
Thriller: These are novels that have edge of your seat action, Thrillers can be interweaved with crime, but if that;s the case, they usually follow a wake of murders (Examples being murder house and the Alex Cross series)
Supernatural: These are specific horror novels that follow other-worldly creatures (Vampires, zombies, werewolves etc) the creatures are either human, or close to it (Twilight would in my opinion be a good example)
Paranormal: These novels are essentially ghost stories, they follow human characters as they battle ghosts and otherworldly spirits (Things like Spectres, Banshees etc)
I ironically think I write exactly the genre combination minus sci-fi that Jenna tells you not to write at 10:13. But I could be wrong.
What if your story has BOTH ghosts and human-like, and NOT so human like fantasy creatures, like dragons and trolls? (which are vaguely humanoid but I think they start to get much further from than something like a vampire)?
This was the best video I've seen from Jenna. Well done. Very helpful.
Thanks Jenna, always dropping knowledge
Looking forward to your take on Nonfiction because you often have useful information.
Thank you Jenna~
10:13 that's actually exactly how I would categorize the book I'm trying to write, minus sci-fi
Stupid question, but could anyone give me advice on how to describe skin tone in a fantasy novel? I have kind of a diverse range of characters and I’m not sure how to get the point across if I can’t relate it to real-world examples. Looking forward to the next video!
Using vague terms like fair, pale, dark etc. could get you in the ballpark. Using more specific yet familiar words might do you well too, like alabaster, olive, ebony etc. Or you could try using the scenery around a character to help you out like comparing complexions to trees, house siding, or other things you have already described. And when in doubt try looking up a bank of skin tone descriptors that your readers might recognize so you get the most accurate idea. Hope that helps.
Beige, almond, cashew, dark-skinned and biscuit color to name a few
Look up ‘writing with color’ and skin tones. Writing with color is a blog ran by multiple people of color and they have a post specifically about skin color. They are a huge resource for people looking to diversify their work.
A rule of thumb is to not use food items to describe character’s skin. It’s generally agreed that it’s way overdone and come off as dehumanizing. So avoid words like “chocolate, honey, caramel, etc.”
Also, brown/black aren’t bad words, use brown/black to describe your brown/black characters. To get more more specific you can use
Examples: deep brown, golden grown, smooth black, beige,
Try avoid using words like tan when describing a person of color. Or if you do be more specific in your descriptions. Most people will imagine a white person with a tan.
Also, don’t be vague. White is often seen as the standard, so if you leave it up to the readers imagination many of them will just imagine a white person. Give your POC characters the same level description as your white characters. Also, describe the white character’s skin as well or it comes across as you thinking that white is the default.
Thank you guys so much!
My WIP is Fantasy, but has no Magic in it or Magical components. There are Paranormal creatures involved and an MC who dies 7 times. Where to place it?
question: what if my main plot is so intertwined with the love story that it wouldn’t happen without it… buut the love story is not a happy end? wouldn’t really know a „love story fantasy“ genre or at least it’s not popular :D?
Hi Kyra, looks like your main plot isn't the love story but is a consequence of a love story. In such a case, I would suggest looking at what's happening outside the love story aspect. Basically, focus on the emotions your characters are trying to evoke in the main plot. I'm also planning to make a whole genre video on my channel where I'll cover more information as well but until then, hope this comment helps :)
My series is military sci-fi (with a romance subplot).
Do you think you can do a video on romances in scifi please?🥰 🙏🥺
6:43 Yes....the 80s and 90s are now part of the Historical setting now.
IDK if you have enough knowledge in this field, but my current WIP is middle-grade, and I’d love to see a video on writing middle-grade/childrens/kid lit books (a genuine tips video or a sarcastic one would both be great). So many people assume it’s easier than writing adult books but it’s really not.
what about if you have multi interests in reading and are not one track minded. How do you choose a bloody genre then ?
My genre is 'awesome genre'
This wasn't as helpful as I was hoping it would be. It clarified what genres really obvious stuff fits into, but didn't touch on not so obvious stuff, which is really the only place the question would come into play. I've been struggling to clarify my current project because I really want to be certain I reach the right audience due to its graphic nature. I don't think a video can be done to touch on this dilemma because it seems specific to each project, but I was hoping for some clarity.
I enjoyed the video, just think it should be titled differently. Something like, 'know your genres' or something.
I agree. The basic genres is a good place to start, but my questions come from trying to navigate the blurred lines of subgenre. I also have unsavory scenes that will definitely pivot readers. I want to know what type of 'dark' or 'scary' separates 'dark fantasy' from 'fantasy horror' from 'gothic fantasy' from 'gothic horror with fantasy elements', etc.
I'm fine with a label that isn't perfect because I know that the purpose of the label is to guide reader expectations. A reader isn't going to be too upset if you don't meet all the expectations, as long as you nail the important ones and still have a good story. I just don't know where all those important nails are!
I've always wondered... what genre is superhero fiction? Sci-Fi, or Fantasy? Sci-fi/Fantasy? Neither? It's usually in a contemporary setting, with powers that aren't exactly magical, but not exactly science-based, either. Is superhero fiction its own genre?
And I do mean in prose, not comic books.
Hi, that would totally depend on what is happening to your superhero in that specific story. In my opinion, Superhero is a trope that you can place in any setting with any magical/scientific background. If your superhero is born as a superhero with powers from birth or has hereditary powers (or any powers that can't be explained scientifically), then that's fantasy for sure despite a contemporary setting. And if your superhero is a regular guy who transforms into a superhero with powers derived from some sort of chemical/scientific source, that would incline towards Sci-Fi. And yes, some stories can totally be hybrid of Sci-Fi/Fantasy having both elements. Hope this helped :)
"Superhero" would be a theme. You can implant that theme into any genre. Multi-genre Contemporary Fantasy or Sci-fi depending on the nature of the super powers could work well, or maybe a sub-genre. But you could also have flat-out Fantasy Superheroes or Scifi Superheroes not in a contemporary setting.
I see superhero stories like the ones from marvel as sci-fi, but there are a lot of fantasy elements too. I think its really best described as sci-fi-fantasy. Same with Starwars
@@zakosist "Science Fantasy" is the term I most often see to describe that kind of mixed genre. See also, "Star Trek is Science Fiction; Star Wars is Fantasy in Space."
It could also arguably fit on the Punk Punk spectrum, _a la_ magi-punk or magi-tech.
See my issue with my series is that it's horror with a tiny bit of fantasy. Not sure if that still qualifies as dark fantasy 😂
One of the many genres (maybe it isn't a genre, I dunno) is the alternate reality genre. I typically tend to associate superhero stories as both an alternate reality genre and the superhero genre itself. Since, for example, Winter Soldiers/Bucky Barnes bionic arm is leagues more advanced than what is actually possible now. So can anyone help me better understand the alternate reality genre? Because time and again I've tried to better understand it. But have come up short with little to no examples outside of the superhero genre.
I'm currently planning on writing a novel on Wattpad, it'll be a fanfiction & a re-write of H2o Just Add Water. So basically my novel will be a fantasy genre.
Maybe I'm alone here, but I've never found genre that complicated. XD
Can you make a video about writing childrens books? Specifically middle grade?
Children’s books or middle grade books? Two different things
@@Akigirl2004 Children in general maybe? Age 3-14? I'm also writing a book for all children.
@@Akigirl2004 middle graders are older children
From what I've seen, "Children's Books" is the umbrella term for books aimed at 'younger audiences' aka anyone from toddler to 17. Under the umbrella, there are several important distinctions. For all of these, the parents are usually the ones buying the books for their kids, so marketing is aimed at both. You want the parents to be happy which usually means nothing graphic, unsavory, or controversial. But of course you also want your young readers to be happy. This usually means a lot of humor, characters dealing with problems that kids face like teachers, bullies, annoying little brothers, potty training, etc. What is 'relatable' of course depends on their age.
board books: infant. These books tend to focus on things like learning ABC's, counting, shapes, animal sounds.
picture books: these are for preschoolers or toddlers that haven't started elementary school. They have a lot of pictures because these children are just learning how to read and they need the pictures to help them form the context of the story with minimal words. Picture books tend to have repetitive language or rhyming and playful ways to help make reading fun and more approachable. If you're writing a picture book, keep the word count in the hundreds. 300 words, for example for the whole book start to finish. Topics might include educational topics like learning about bugs, potty training, types of construction equipment. Stories might be about playing dress up, learning how to share, telling the truth, etc.
chapter books: I've also seen these called early readers books. These are for children that are just starting to be able to read longer-form books. These books are very short chapter books. They can have a lot of pictures still, but the focus is more on the words and there is a lot more of them. You can have more words now, but no more than 1,500. Like anything else, there is a range, depending on how strong a reader they are. Some are very simple with 500 words. Others are longer with the max probably being more like 1,500 total. Usually these are numbered to give teachers or parents a sense of the difficulty so they can match the child's level to the book.
Middle Grade: middle schoolers. kids around the ages of 8-14. Usually the characters are also young, 12 or 14. The themes are more focused on friendship, adventure, finding your place in the world. Common themes are things like humor, school, friends. Children at this age are starting to find their independence from their parents more and making their own choices about their life, what they like, how they want to spend their time. That's why a lot of MG books feature orphans or stories where the parents or adults are absent from the story. Or the adults are the butt of the jokes. The early Harry Potter books are technically MG and the later ones where Harry is older, getting angsty, starts being interested in dating, etc. I would put in the Young Adult category. Romance in MG is very tame and the build up of the relationship tends to be more focused on just being near them, holding hands, maybe a kiss or two. But nothing beyond that. MG relationships tend to focus more on friendships.
Young Adult: teenagers. often the characters are teenagers, 16 or 18 and they're dealing with problems that teenagers face like dating, high school, puberty (although puberty could also be in a MG book too). Teenagers want to be more adult and want more adult content so you will see more graphic and complex subjects like eating disorders, abuse, racism, sex, sexual preferences, homelessness, swearing, etc. They are exploring deeper subjects and starting to grapple with things. However such things aren't as explicit as they would be in an adult book. A lot of YA books are 'coming-of-age' stories and are about finding their place in the world, finding themselves, defining their identity. A lot of YA books also have a rebellious nature to them and feature strong characters taking down, or finding that they're destined to take down, evil institutions.
There is no such thing as a book for 'all children' just like there's no such thing as a book for all adults. There is as much variety and preference in children's books as with anything else. If you still have questions, I recommend joining the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). They have a lot of resources for writers that want to write for kids.
@@ebduddles ummm... I knew all that already .....
I think mine is classified as a Sci-fi Thriller because scientific advancement happens and the villain in the story becomes a villain because of said technology.
The actual information starts at 3:13
You're welcome.
If you ever seen the TV series Supernatural, what genre would place it?
It can get complicated quickly, with only one genre and subgenre.
I wrote a GL sci-fi story (series, actually).
GL (Girl Love) = Adult Romance (despite the name) typically within a Southeast Asian setting, and always happily ever after. The main characters are mostly green flag.
Not to be confused with WLW, a western version which can be romance or tragedy, but it's mostly tragedy and mostly with a lot of very large red flags.
Here is where the issue comes in. If I am standing on a street corner anywhere in say Thailand, Korea, Japan, or China, and I ask someone what their favorite GL is, I will immediately get an answer. If I ask them what their favorite WLW is, I will get exactly the same answer. They will not be referencing the western WLW above, GL and WLW are synonymous.
Now, if I am standing on said street corner anywhere in the West, the genre of “GL” doesn't even exist, so I have to use WLW, but it only works for internet tags. Once you get into literary genres, you basically only have LGBTQ+. This genre encompasses basically the entire universe of anything not straight, as if all those letters together have the same readers.
To add a level of complexity, it absolutely doesn't matter what you think your genre is. Amazon is going to figure that out for itself on a day-to-day basis, depending on where the algorithm decides it sits in the various rankings. This will then display it to a different audience.
Back to my GL Sci-fi…
There is almost no possibility that people on Amazon in the West looking up LGBTQ+ stories are actually looking for, or have ever read, a GL story (statistically). They are probably going to be put off by the all the green flags and happiness. People looking for GL, and are completely steeped in GL, Shipping, etc., are in fact specifically looking for that type of romance, green flags, etc. Since GL is not a Genre anywhere in any of the major booksellers, you will just get a lot of eye rolls, but no eyes on pages. It's not likely to show up on Amazon in the Philippines where it should have been day one because? Yeah, I have no idea either.
Genre basically completely fails to do anything useful. This is when you start to find specific outlets that specialize (because only a few billion people are reading and watching GL) in this particular category of books which, more often than not, point their readers back to Amazon.
My world is mixed of tons of subgenres. Fantasy, sci fi, technomancy, horror, dark horror, dark fantasy, futurism, authoritarian, adventure, supernatural, beast something, urban/portal fantasy, alienology, mythology, mystical,dark horror, tragedy, thriller, suspense, dark sci fi, Space Opera,and MAGIC. So far, I found 24 different ones located within my stories and probably more. Considering I just wrote fantasy all my life, I can't believe Terrellium is bringing out these other genres. I wonder what this will be called.
Your story may very well have all elements, but I think it will be needed to cut down on just the number of labels for simplicity if you gonna publish your book and give it a label. Some of the things you mentioned may not be needed in the label because they are sub-gendres of sub-gendres. "technomancy" is just another version of sci-fi for example. "Mythology" goes under fantasy.
I think my genres are ironically exactly what Jenna tells you not to use at 10:13, minus sci-fi, kind of a weird coincidence. But I may not need all the labels despite all of them apply
@@zakosist Thanks for mentioning this, yes, I would pick mixed if I can. Each story has 4 or 5 different labels. The thing is just mad you know.
My current WIP I classify as SciFi/Psychological Thriller.
Even though it isn't exactly high tech, the plot centralizes around a psychologist in Victorian times who finds out that a world one of his patients talks about exists through the dream state. So, with this information, I'd think it would be classified as SciFi, but am I wrong in making this assumption?
Hi H. L. Dyler, I believe genre is less about what's happening to the characters but more about the emotions those events are evoking in your reader. Looking at your plot (with what you've shared), I am not sure how it would fit into psychological or thriller? (Did you pick those because one character is psychologist & there is a dream state they're investigating?). Well, think again if the story evokes intrigue & mind-bending suspense. Also, since it's set in Victorian times, this could easily be a Historical Sci-Fi. Honestly, since this is still a work in progress, I'd say don't worry about genre right now. Focus on writing the story you want to tell and you can figure out the genre later. Hope this helped :)
@@srishti.rathour Without giving too much away, eventually my protagonist becomes obsessed with this new world he discovers to the point of him slowly losing control of his life and there are moments in the climax of the story where he has to confront his inner demons, hence the reason for my psychological thriller label.
I've made the argument back and forth of is it SciFi? Is it Historical Fiction? Is it Psychological Thriller?
While it does take place in Victorian England, it honestly doesn't take that much prevalence in the story other than to give readers an idea as to the protagonists own inner conflicts with his profession and with my choice in writing style for the book.
I went in knowing my main book would be a contemporary sci-fi/fantasy.
I read GENDER instead of GENRE in the title and for a second got extra confused :D
DON’T YOU MISGENDER MY NOVELLA!
12:38
Ironic because she said that children's books are a genre at 6:53.
Like do you not that that is a demographic too???
I can’t tell if I’ve written fantasy or supernatural 🤦♀️ I’m pretty sure it’s fantasy with paranormal elements, but I’m unsure 😑
So what if I'm writing say.. alternative realistic, Historical fact based realityish fiction but my book keeps telling me it identifies as some sorta weird Horror SciFi fiction drama...
Then you've got one slippery animal on your hands. You need to tie that octopus down! :-D Seriously, though, I think the whole business of genre's only really important when it comes to marketing. Write whatever you damn well want and slap the best-fitting label on it afterwards, I say! I'm not so sure that readers are quite as fickle as the publishing industry likes to suppose. I've never given up on a novel just because it didn't fit its supposed genre - not if it was good, anyway. If it engages you and gives you pleasure, who cares if you were originally gunning for a ghost story but got a western instead? Bit of variety never killed anyone :-)
@@iancossey105 This is super helpful! Thinking about genre as a wide net that more or less has some important similarities is much less stressful. Thanks for this!
I find it very funny a site I post on, quotev, has a genre called anime/manga.
Divided into sub-genres: isakai, Magical Girl, Harum,
Supernatural Girlfriend, Mecha, Kaiju, Sports, Cookery, Moe, and Yuri,
You're the first, wise arrow of Ravenclaw
I definitely feel like i write Epic Scifi Fantasy
so my story is kind of historical fiction i guess, but it's only historical insomuch as i based it off of some real elements of our history (kind of medieval era-esque), but it's set in a made up world. there isn't _magic_ per say, but the characters have bonds with falcons that go further than is possible with irl people and falcons. like they can't speak to each other or anything, but the birds are a little extra intelligent and they share an emotional understanding with humans that is somewhat fantastical in a sense. but other than that and it being in a world i created, i wouldn't say it's fantasy as there is no magic. i know there's low fantasy as a subgenre, but i read that it still tends to have magic in it? like it's modern world with magic. so i'm still a little unsure how to categorize my story. i might just call it historical fiction and be done with it i guess? though i think people expecting _real/accurate_ history might be disappointed... :/
Question. If in a romance, the couple gets together to live happily ever after, period - then you already know how the story ends. Right? So WHY buy the book?
Same reason someone reads a story about reclaiming a throne. We know they will, but we want to know how and what they sacrifice along the way.
If I read a forbidden love story, I want to read how they fought against society and won, not get told they just can't work. I'm not reading it to find out if they succeed, I'm reading to find out how they do it.
What genre would angels and demons fit into?
This isn't enough information to go off of
Is there such thing as a “Modern Medieval Fantasy Genre? Because that’s what I want for my book to be around.
Oooo what aspect is modern, is it the tech?
@@bloop6111 Yes, I am thinking the technology and the way that the judicial system is structured will be the things that are modern. There is the usage of magic so that’s why it’ll be a fantasy novel. This will be when I revamp my Fanfiction to an actual book. I need to work on the world building of my world before it happens.
@@sparkyjonas8271 If the technology and the judicial system are modern, then what about it is medieval? Sounds just like modern fantasy / urban fantasy.
My story might be a dystopian sci-fi. It is about a world where people with superpowers are severely discriminated against. about 7% of the world, set in 2584, has superpowers. This happened because of a mutation in the human body, people became scared and made laws against them. But this isn't the main part, except I can't write the story without this world-building because then it doesn't make sense any other way. My protagonist is born into a cult-like family and is trying to leave with the help of his, supposed-to-be, enemy.
I'd classify the book I'm writing as erotic romance/urban fantasy novel. It's the story of two couples falling in love as a war between vampires and werewolves breaks out in New York City, and there's a lot of sex.
"Maybe it's fantasy but kinda dark."
That is NOT dark fantasy, and now I understand why you incorrectly label your books the way you do. Dark Fantasy has two main definitions, one older and one more modern. The older definition is "Fantasy meets Horror" and you definitely don't write Horror. You've admitted so yourself in a halloween interview. This definition was used for books like Dracula back in the day, and while I don't think it's fully what the genre is ABOUT, it's still a major component.
The more modern definition is complex and has spawned from the Age of Trope Awareness we're currently in. Dark Fantasy is Fantasy but subverted, averted, and all-together played with. This can be seen in stories like Berserk, A Song of Ice and Fire, and the original Mistborn trilogy.
Either way, Dark Fantasy cannot end with a happy ending and at best it will be bittersweet. Every victory gives rise to more failure than success. The tone is consistently down and dark, characters may have hopes and dreams but they are a struggle to reach and always come with heavy costs. There will be sacrifice and grim determination from our protagonists (who will likely be morally grey to black), but ultimately the universe just doesn't care about what the characters want. Dark Fantasy is about perseverance in the face humanity's weakness, facing the horrors of the world and striving to overcome them, even when it seems futile. There cannot be black and white morality in Dark Fantasy because everything is corrupt; the "heroes" will often do morally questionable things and they know they're doing wrong but for the right reasons. Dark fantasy can be described as two lovers buried in the same makeshift grave an exploding volcano left them in. There used to be love and hope, and those people tried their best, but ultimately it was futile and traumatic.
This is all not to be confused with Grimdark, which is basically violence and brutality and gore for the sake of it. Grimdark takes everything that is Dark Fantasy and removes all the lingering traces of goodness and hope and love and replaces it with torture. If Dark Fantasy is Fantasy's creepy older uncle then Grimdark is Dark Fantasy's young child who plays with knives and asks you if you want to see his animal collection in the forest.
Looking at your books, The Saviour's Series is definitely a Romance, but your world building, tone (especially character voices), and endings do not fit the genre of Dark Fantasy at all. I've had this problem with your books for a while, and it's good to finally get your own view on it. While most modern media has been skewing darker than it used to, just because there's sex and swearing and violence that doesn't make it Dark Fantasy. The only thing you do RIGHT when it comes to the genre is portray Leila as a complete sociopath/psychopath and make it seem as if she's morally correct, but I think you view her just as a badass instead of as evil as she comes off to the reader.
Ultimately, you make the same mistake other people do and it's why I ended up burned by your writing. You should take the advice you layout in this video and apply it.
Its what they say, "You can be a fan of Jenna's YT content, and a fan of Jenna's writing but never both at the same time."
I never know how to classify my books. I never think in terms of genre when I write; I just write stories that I find interesting. I think people need to make more distinctions between style and subject matter. For example, my prose style tends to be very literary and ornate, but in terms of subject matter, my most recent work could be classified as a thriller/historical book. The problem, however, is that some people might like the style of writing, but not the subject matter. Other people might like the subject matter, but not the style. I suppose it could be classified as an historical literary thriller, but that’s a mouthful.
Writing style is unique from person to person, it has nothing to do with genre.
@@RiveroftheWither if a book has a poetic style of writing, it will often be classified as literary fiction.
@@josephvlogsdon Literary fiction isn't a genre. It's a category.
@@NomenEstLegio Depending on the style guide one looks at, it has been classified as both.
@@josephvlogsdon No, it would be classified as fiction, if it's fictional. A writing style does not shift a true story from non-fiction to fiction, nor can it make a fictional story non-fiction. Those are literally defined solely by "Did it actually happen in the way described, or is it embellished or made up?"
You remind me of a guy I argued with on a different video because he thought he was oh so brilliant and revolutionary because he was writing a slice of life book that would turn into an intense psychological horror half way. Accept he wasn't going to label it AS a psychological horror because he wanted to "redefine" genre and "surprise" people. He was so caught up in patting his own back with how genius he was that he legitimately couldn't fathom that a person who was excited to read a calm, cute slice of life story would be upset if it suddenly switched to psychological horror without warning, especially those with phobias, sensitivities and trauma. He couldn't grasp that he wasn't being "ground breaking" he was just misrepresenting his book.
People choose books by genre first and foremost, writing style secondly. If people don't like the way you write, its either because you've entirely misrepresented your book because you can't let go of the pompous visionary attitude, or they just don't like your writing style, which in no way involves genre. If you write books like you write your comments, full of self-indulgent word salad, I can see how both can be accurate.
literary fiction: *disappears into the darkness*
Not me watching to figure out my next read
YAY IM EARLY
You're first. Congrats 👏
Urban fantasy gang rise up
Seriously, is "realistic fiction" a genre? Because, if not, my first book, at any rate, MIGHT primarily be a romance, but that's only one of four main plots. This baby's doing a lot of heavy lifting. Jenna, help!
1. Okay, so realistic fiction is NOT a genre, more of a type...?
2. Romance yes, mystery no, thriller no, horror no, fantasy no, sci-fi no, historical fiction no, contemporary fiction yes, children's book HELL no. Not with all the swearing, racism, and child abuse. Question, though: is bildungsroman a genre...? Because it's DEFINITELY that, for all four...and a half...ish...of my mains.
3. So I say ye to the romance thing because Tory and Jeremy ARE together at the end, but for her siblings, I'm also dealing with Adam reconciling to the fact that he now has to live with a broken spine, I'm also-ALSO dealing with the sub-romance of Stephen and Olivia, as well as with him reconciling with his depression and the loss of his past, and with Kayla, I'm also getting her through the loss of her parents...sorta...and HOLY SHIT spoilers. Do you see why my baby is hard to classify?
4. Groan, now I'm even more confused. You know, f*ck it, it's a f*cking bildungsroman. And I can never spell that word correctly on the first go.
5. You: "This is super common." Me: "NO KIDDING." XD Cripes...
6. I know...and I'm TRYING not to make Tory and Jeremy the focal point of this thing, but they kind of are, even though it's evident to all of my readers so far that Stephen is my favourite. He has the most vivid character, at any rate, but he's STILL subsidiary to the "main" plot. I guess I don't HVE to balk at this being a "romance that does a whole lot of other shit". To be real, though, on your point of "could it be removed without messing with the main plot", no, it couldn't be. Neither could Adam's. Kayla's is TECHNICALLY...kinda...the only one whose POV I could sacrifice, but I also CAN'T, because she's the only one in a position to be the catalyst or the climax. I couldn't remove Adam's, because his spinal injury is what leads to me having a plot in the first place. Which is why I'm confused, but which is ALSO why I'm still tmpted to say...hard word to spell. Bildgeonsroman. Nope. Buildensroman. Nope. SPELL CHECK. Bildungsroman.
7. Coastal Florida, near-ish future. I know that the mom dies in 2146, a year which I pulled straight out of my ass when I was in the shower, and it will also be the date her diary, my final book in the series, will be published. Posthumous publication of all the shit she went through in her life, and only had the courage to write about in her very last years. But the story itself takes place, I would say...about twenty years prior to that? Each book covers ABOUT half a year, or so I have it planned out so far, anyway: "On Eagle's Wings" starts in June and ends at Christmas. "Salt of the Earth" picks up on New Year's Eve, so, like, a week later, and ends in July or August of that year. Then the next two, I'm not sure yet, but along those GENERL lines. "Wither Thou Goest", though, the diary, covers ALL of the time in which the main story takes place, because, from the perspective of my four main characters' mother, this story plays out VERY differently.
8. "Does your main plot revolve around people falling in love and living happily ever after?" YES. But NO. Oi...this is why I'm having a problem. Victoria and Jeremy are kind of the focal point...and it's because of Jeremy that the plot gets its training wheels taken off, so to speak, but it's because of Kayla that the shit hits the fan, and like I say, it's because of Adam that they even move out to coastal Florida to begin with, and there's no hint of romance in either Adam's or Kayla's stories. Yet. And then Stephen is thee to tie shit together and be my very-nasty-at-first antihero. And he's got the book's secondary romance going on with Olivia, like I say, but THAT shit hits the fan, too, until it calms down again around Christmastime.
9. Nope, just a normal, human...very abusive father/husband. The dad of the main quartet is my villain, and TRUST ME, he deserves his twenty years behind bars, and that's just in the first damn book. But I want him out of the way.
10. Okay, I actually need help with this: I'm torn between adult and new adult. On the one hand, they're all a bunch of high schoolers, so new adult, theoretically. On the other hand, child abuse, swearing, homophobia, xenophobia, misogyny, religious abuse, physical abuse, verbal abuse, ableism, and themes in support of Communism. Sooooooooooo...adult...? Oh, and also, in later books, let's just say that Victoria and Jeremy have REALLY good sex, and we get a baby out of the deal. Yay. Also, you never see the gay sex, but Jeremy definitely had a boyfriend before this story started, and neither of them is a virgin. This is a well-established fact. I love Austen (ex BF and still bestie): he's comic relief, but he's not STUPID comic relief.
I can't believe I read all that XD you have an interesting and engaging voice-if that transfers to ur book them 👏👏👏
but regarding the actual thing, I honestly can't tell. it ends happy, then? otherwise sounds like tragedy lmao. but if it does end happy then, uh, not. maybe psychological? is there alot of mind stuff like, not as much external action? idk. what's ur actual plot? maybe that might help.
idk
💜⚡️
For some reason, I got a Game of Thrones ad-?
I like your information, but that much too peppy, background, sound loop noise is super annoying and distracting.
why is children's books a genre when YA is a category by age?
ok no.
haha got ur attention. **claps hands** while you're here, assist me dear watchers.
mines dystopian, the world's organised in a heirarchy based on chess. lowers pieces are being abused so there's a rebellion n stuff happens and there's a rift etc etc I can't be bothered telling it and you likely can't be bothered reading it
BUT. I'd say dystopian, obviously. but then, is thriller and action something that comes hand in hand? or are they seperate? and can a book be a mystery if the murder happens later in the book, serving as a sort of, like, extra layer to the person the MCs are already trying to find? (it happens around the 40K mark)
and what the hell makes an adventure.
HELP.
I think maybe part of the problem is in seeking too narrow a definition for terms which are, in the end, purposely wide. You can twist yourself into knots worrying about whether what you’re writing is this or that - and waste a lot of precious time, too. Unless you’re dead set on writing to a specific formula and churning out yet another cookie-cutter to clog up the shelves, then just let the story breathe and let it turn into whatever it needs to be. You can always worry about what the label on the box says later. The label’s just for marketing, after all; just pick the nearest fit.
As to thriller and action going hand in hand… I mean, they can and do, but not necessarily so. Thrillers can be psychological, based on perceptions, moods etc rather than needing anything physically exciting to happen; and action doesn’t always need to be of the heart-stopping variety, it can be (for example) comedic, manic, confusing, in microcosm. Equally, ‘adventure’ covers anything you think could reasonably described as such, be that a ripping, Indiana Jones style yarn or an agoraphobic character’s first trip down the road to the shops in several years. Admittedly, there are certain things which are more likely to spring to most people’s minds when you say ‘thriller’, ‘action’, ‘adventure’ etc just because those elements are better-known/more popular than others, but it doesn’t mean they have the monopoly. And mystery is surely a mystery, wherever or whenever it is that the mystery happens to turn up?
I'm not sure if any of the above is of any help, but... I'm just saying it's worth considering the consideration of genre a whole lot less. :-D
With the mystery part, I think that could tie in with the thriller aspect. It sounds like the mystery could be more of a big reveal or plot twist than a genre if it isn’t present throughout the whole book. Thrillers often have mystery tied in, but I feel like it’s not a mystery genre unless the whole book revolves around solving some, well… mystery lol. I hope that made sense x)
If people understood science fiction, they wouldn't say 'sci fi.'
Jenna: Fantasy covers anything from "My little Pony" to "Game of Thrones"
Me: Why do I suddenly feel the weird urge to read about cute pink ponies who are plotting for power, murdering each other and sleeping with their siblings?
Sounds like fanfiction! lol
I truly prefer it when the title doesn't contain some kind of negativity. The videos that have like "Your Characters Suck" or "Your Love Story Sucks". I mean... is that an accusation that your followers are dumbasses? Are we supposed to go in on the bullying of poor writers with Jenna? Is negativity supposed to motivate us in some way? I just don't get it.
I just think it's funny. But I tend to like sarcasm and humor that's a little darker.
3 fucking minutes before content, what the fuck?
There it is. The F-Bomb finally came in the outro. What a trashy thing to do. I know, I know. Loads of infantiles like it.