What Is Your Genre?

Do you have one genre you write in? I have, let me think, sci-fi, historical romance, YA, dystopian, and uh, I think I'll end there.


What is genre?
It is literary technique, tone, content, length etc.
Fiction is the hardest genre to break into.

• Realism-Plausible story about people and events that could really happen. Romance, thriller, historical, sports all fit under realism.

• Fantasy-Fantastical elements in traditional or modern fantasy.
  • Traditional fantasy follows the quest. 
  • Modern fantasy has elements of magic in the human world. Horror and sci/fi are sub genres of modern fantasy.

Elements in Fiction:
Plot-Plot is the backbone of the story. In fiction plot is the action that grows out of conflict.
Conflict-is the obstacle, the problem
Initial Conflict-First event that starts the quest, the hook. Only needs one page (sometimes a chapter) to establish. It creates the next cause & effect (conflict) then moves the character to the next conflict. Initial conflict will predict the climax.
Exposition-Back story weaves through out the story.
Rising Action-Series of at least three conflicts
Climax-The most intense part of the story. Everything in the story moves the story to this point and the main character has an Epiphany to the resolution. Needs only one chapter.
Resolution-Is the outcome. Needs only one chapter
Non-fiction SELLS THE MOST (by the end of the conference I was ready to change. I'm keeping ideas in the back of my mind and notebook).

• Biography-needs more factual support.
• Autobiography-Bigger piece of time
• Memoirs-Small part of life
• General non-fiction (Dewey decimal)-Different stories from life in one book

Elements in Non-Fiction
All non-fiction needs:
Plot
Conflict
Hook
Exposition
Climax-lesson learned
Resolution-reader says "I can do that!"
What are the target audiences?
Picture book: 1-3 pages
Chapter book: Max 100 pages
Middle grade: 100-200 pages
Young Adult: 150-300 pages
Adult: 150-several hundred pages, 70,000-90,000 words max