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Writing genres (more commonly known asliterary genres) arecategories that distinguishliterature (including works ofprose,poetry,drama,hybrid forms, etc.) based on some set of stylistic criteria. Sharing literary conventions, they typically consist of similarities intheme/topic,style,tropes, andstorytelling devices; commonsettings andcharacter types; and/or formulaic patterns of character interactions and events, and an overall predictable form.
A literary genre may fall under either one of two categories: (a) a work offiction, involving non-factual descriptions and events invented by theauthor; or (b) a work of nonfiction, in which descriptions and events are understood to be factual. In literature, a work of fiction can refer to aflash narrative,short story,novella, andnovel, the latter being the longest form of literary prose. Every work of fiction falls into aliterarysubgenre, each with its own style, tone, and storytelling devices.[1]
Moreover, these genres are formed by shared literary conventions that change over time as new genres emerge while others fade. Accordingly, they are often defined by the cultural expectations and needs of a particular historical and cultural moment or place.[2]
According toAlastair Fowler, the following elements can define genres: organizational features (chapters,acts,scenes,stanzas); length;mood;style; the reader's role (e.g., in mystery works, readers are expected to interpret evidence); and the author's reason for writing (anepithalamion is a poem composed for marriage).[3]
Genres are formed shared literary conventions that change over time as new genres emerge while others fade. As such, genres are not wholly fixed categories of writing; rather, their content evolves according to social and cultural contexts and contemporary questions of morals and norms.[2]
The most enduring genres are those literary forms that were defined and performedby the Ancient Greeks; definitions sharpened by the proscriptions of modern civilization's earliestliterary critics andrhetorical scholars, such asPlato,Aristotle,Socrates,Aeschylus,Aspasia,Euripides, and others. The prevailing genres of literary composition in Ancient Greece were all written and constructed to explore cultural, moral, or ethical questions; they were ultimately defined as the genres ofepic,tragedy, andcomedy. Aristotle's proscriptive analysis of tragedy, for example, as expressed in hisRhetoric andPoetics, saw it as having 6 parts (music,diction,plot, character, thought, andspectacle) working together in particular ways. Thus, Aristotle established one of the earliest delineations of the elements that define genre.
Action fiction andadventure fiction. Thehero's journey is the most popular narrative structure of an adventure novel.[5]
Comedy (includingcomic novel,light poetry, andcomedic journalism): usually a fiction full of fun, fancy, and excitement, meant to entertain and sometimes cause intended laughter; but can be contained in all genres.
Crime fiction (includingcrime comics) centers on a crime(s), how the criminal gets caught and serves time, and the repercussions of the crime
Fantasy (includingcomics andmagazines) is aspeculative fiction that use imaginary characters set infictional universes inspired by mythology and folklore, often including magical elements, magical creatures, or thesupernatural. Examples:Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1885) and theHarry Potter books.[1]
Horror (includingcomics andmagazines) involves fiction in which plot and characters are tools that elicit a feeling of dread and terror, as well as events that often evoke fear in both the characters and the reader.[1] Horrors generally focus on themes of death, demons, evil spirits, and the afterlife.
Science fiction (includingcomics,magazines,novels, andshort stories) isspeculative fiction with imagined elements that are inspired bynatural sciences (physics, chemistry, astronomy, etc.) orsocial sciences (psychology, anthropology, sociology, etc.). Common elements of this genre includetime travel,space exploration, andfuturistic societies. (Sci-fi was originally regarded asscientific romance.)[1]
Science Fantasy or Sci-Fan, is a hybrid genre within speculative fiction that simultaneously draws upon or combines tropes and elements from both science fiction and fantasy.[1] In a conventional science fiction story, the world is presented as being scientifically logical, while a conventional fantasy story contains mostly supernatural and artistic elements that disregard the scientific laws of the real world. The world of science fantasy, however, is laid out to be scientifically logical and often supplied with hard science-like explanations of any supernatural elements.[1]
Superhero is a subgenre of speculative fiction examining the adventures, personalities and ethics of costumed crime fighters known as superheroes, who often possess superhuman powers and battle similarly powered criminals known as supervillains. The genre primarily falls between hard fantasy and soft science fiction in the spectrum of scientific realism. It is most commonly associated with American comic books, though it has expanded into other media through adaptations and original works.
Romantic fiction primarily focuses on a love story between two people, usually with an optimistic, emotionally satisfying ending.[1] AlsoRomance (literary fiction) – works that frequently, but not exclusively, takes the form of thehistorical romance.
Literary fiction is a term that distinguishes certain fictional works that possess commonly held qualities to readers outside genre fiction.[citation needed] Literary fiction is any fiction that attempts to engage with one or more truths or questions, hence relevant to a broad scope of humanity as a form of expression.[citation needed]Genre fiction is fiction written to appeal to fans of a specific genre.[12] There are many sources that help readers find and define literary fiction and genre fiction.[13][14]
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These are genres belonging to the realm ofnonfiction. Some genres listed may reappear throughout the list, indicating cross-genre status.