One of the most common questions a writer is asked, after ‘what’s your book about?’, is what genre your book falls into. Thankfully, the genre question is usually easier to answer than what your story is about. But, sometimes, authors struggle to define what genre their books are because the distinctions between each genre are not always clear-cut. So, this article will define the different literary, play, prose and poetry genres.
Genre: A Definition
Genre is the organisation and classification of writing based on the content, form or style of the writing. Each genre has features that distinguish it from other genres. Genres can also be divided into subgenres. They can help the reader to decide whether that book is something they want to read or not. For example, if you don’t want to read about murder, you should probably stay away from crime, historical, horror and mystery novels. Genre helps readers identify what they should expect from that novel.
Literary Genres
Before we can look at what people typically associate with genre, we must first look at literary genres. Literary genres define how a manuscript is written: whether it’s fiction or non-fiction and whether it’s play, prose and poetry.
Fiction versus Non-Fiction
Fiction depicts events that are made up by the writer. They are written in prose (see below), which uses sentences and paragraphs rather than lines or stanzas. An example is Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. On the other hand, non-fiction is about real people, places, events and things. Dale Carnegie wrote the non-fiction book, How To Win Friends and Influence People.
Play, Prose and Poetry
Plays are written to be performed in front of an audience. They tell fictionalised stories. Plays only use dialogue and stage directions to tell the story. An example is Hamlet by William Shakespeare. Prose uses sentences and paragraphs rather than stanzas to tell the narrative. Both fiction and non-fiction narratives use prose. Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations is an example of prose. Poetry uses lines that are joined to make stanzas. These have metre and rhythm but don’t always rhyme. Poems usually tell fictionalised stories. An example is The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe.
Play Genres
Shakespeare is the most famous playwright, writing at least 37 plays. Much of what we understand about playwriting was established (and sometimes created) by Shakespeare. His works largely falls into one of three subgenres: comedy, tragedy and historical.
Comic plays traditionally were plays that had a happy ending, but the definition has evolved since then. Now, comedies are plays that use a light or humorous tone to depict misunderstandings and incidents that allow the characters to triumph over adversity. Some comedies border on ridiculous, but they still usually end happily. Shakespeare wrote many comedies, including The Comedy of Errors, All’s Well That Ends Well, Much Ado About Nothing, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
As Study Smarter says, tragedies address ‘inherent suffering that is a part of human existence’. Usually, tragedies don’t end well; they end in death and destruction. The hero just can’t overcome their inner flaw. Tragedies remind us that life doesn’t always go the way we planned, but they do remind us of our strength. Some tragedies have a moral message, but others are more ambiguous and make us question life. Shakespeare’s tragedies are Antony and Cleopatra, Hamlet, Julius Caesar, King Lear, Macbeth, Othello, and Rome and Juliet.
Historical plays tell stories set in the past. Shakespeare wrote numerous histories, but perhaps the most notable is Richard III. Shakespeare is generally credited with creating the image of Richard III as a hunchbacked villain who murdered his nephews to usurp the throne, even though this image was first mentioned in Thomas More’s History of King Richard III. Shakespeare’s other histories are King John, Henry IV (2 parts), Henry V, Henry VI (3 parts), Richard II and Henry VIII.
Poetry Genres
There are many different types of poetry, but they largely fall into three categories: lyrical, narrative and dramatic.
Lyrical poetry uses song-like rhythm to describe a moment, object, feeling or person. Lyrical poems do not tell a story, rather they focus on the poet’s feelings. Some examples of lyrical poetry are:
Elegy – a reflexive poem to honour the dead
Haiku – a 17-syllable poetry that expresses emotion through natural poetry
Ode – a poem that pays tribute to a person, idea, place or concept
Sonnet – a 14-line poem that has a specific rhythm
Narrative poems tell stories. Traditionally, narrative stories could run to thousands of lines, so they could tell long stories. These are known as epics. But there are other types of narrative poems too.
Allegory – a poem that uses an extended metaphor to make a point
Ballad – a narrative poem set to music
Burlesque – a mock epic that melodramatically tells an ordinary story
Epic – a lengthy poem that tells a story of heroism
Dramatic poetry is meant to be read or performed. It also tells a story. These are usually monologues (a speech given by one character to another or by a character to the audience) and soliloquies (a speech given by one character to themselves).
Fiction Genres
When I mentioned genre, you probably immediately thought of fiction genres. There are loads of fiction genres, too many to list here, so only a few of the main genres are below.
Literary fiction focuses on the human experience and characters’ inner lives. It’s hard to sell and is declining in popularity.
Romance fiction is about love (and hate). The characters spend most of the novel apart but eventually get together.
Mystery and crime have a central issue that must be answered to solve the mystery of the crime. The author drops clues throughout the novel that builds tension.
Fantasy takes place in fictional kingdoms/lands. It usually features mythical creatures and takes inspiration from historical periods (usually the Dark Ages or the medieval period).
Sci-fi can take place at any time, but it features scientific ideas and advanced technological concepts.
Historical fiction takes place in the past. It can use actual characters from history or create fictional characters, but it takes place in a recognisable historical period.
Dystopian and utopian fiction tell stories about future worlds that are really bad/good because of human choices.
Westerns are set in the old American west and feature cowboys, frontiersmen, Native Americans or miners.
Suspense/thriller sees the characters get themselves into danger, and they must escape.
YA novels target people aged 12–18. These typically tell coming-of-age stories that feature fantastical, magical or surreal settings/characters.
Children’s novels target people under 12 and can tell all sorts of stories.
Speculative fiction creates fictional worlds to question aspects of our world.
Action/adventure is any story that puts the protagonist in physical danger. These stories are typically fast-paced and focus more on plot than character.
Women’s fiction tells stories about things that directly affect women.
Non-Fiction Genres
Some people lump all non-fiction into one category, but there are differences between self-help and history, between true crime and memoir. Some of the genres in non-fiction are:
History recounts historical events. There is a difference between popular history (so called because it targets a popular audience) and academic history (which is written for academics).
Biographies and autobiographies focus on retelling stories about people’s lives. Autobiographies are written by the person whom the story is about; biographies are written by someone else.
Memoirs are similar to autobiographies, but, instead of telling the person’s whole life, memoirs tend to focus on one event in a person’s life.
Travel writing encompasses many sub-genres, but all relate to travelling.
Self-help books aim to help people improve an aspect of their life.
Cookery books provide readers with recipes and cooking tips.
True crime tells stories about crimes that have occurred. Murder features more prominently than other types of crimes.
Summary
Above is a (very) brief breakdown of some genres. Naturally, there isn’t space to list every single genre and sub-genre, but the chances are if you’ve thought of it, there’s a market for it. Genre is just a way of briefly describing what the story is about to make it recognisable to the wider audience. Your story may fit multiple genres, but it will always have one main genre, and you can use this to market your manuscript.
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I specialise in developmental editing and line editing and manuscript critiquing for historical fiction and non-fiction, crime fiction and true crime. I have a Master's in History (specialising in the history of crime) and several editing and proofreading qualifications. I am a member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading. I love helping authors make their writing the best it can be. If you think we'd a good fit, please reach out to me.
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