There are types of fiction? Literary Fiction (Pomp) Commercial Fiction (Pop) Genre Fiction (Pulp)
Literary Fiction Prose style Character study Language
Commercial Fiction Plot based Storytelling It occurs in certain hugely popular categories such as thrillers, women s fiction, book club fiction, upmarket fiction It s POPULAR, therefore most bestsellers are commercial fiction
Genre Fiction Romance Thrillers Suspense Mystery Fantasy Science Fiction Horror Westerns
Genre Fiction If it has its own shelf in the bookstore, it is probably genre fiction
Romance Hero and Heroine meet in the first few scenes and there is immediate attraction There is internal & external conflict keeping them apart Until the literal and figurative climax There is always a happy ever after (or happy for now) ending
Romance subgenres Contemporary Romantic Suspense Paranormal/SF/Gothic/Time Travel Historical (Regency) Romantic Comedy Erotic Inspirational
Thrillers Save the world high stakes Non-stop pace Time is ticking Plot focus Most popular fiction after romance Most blended genre
Thriller Subgenres Action Conspiracy Crime Disaster Legal Political/Spy Eco Medical Psychological Religious Romantic Supernatural/Gothic Techno
Suspense Not as personal as a mystery The stakes aren t as high as a thriller Shares many of the same subgenre categories as thriller and mystery
Mystery Someone is killed (or a big crime committed) in the first scene of the book of the prologue. The rest of the book is an examination of whodunit
Mystery Subgenres Cozy Mystery Crime Whodunit Homage Steampunk Locked Room Hardboiled Softboiled Police Procedural True Crime Urban Fantasy Caper/Heist Historical
Fantasy Set in an imaginary universe; or in our universe but with magic or imaginary beings Mostly includes some sort of magic system Differs from SF because its magic is not sciencebased Often based on ancient mythologies from around the world
Fantasy Subgenres High Fantasy Dark Urban/Modern Historical Epic Portal Paranormal Contemporary Magical Realism
Science Fiction Usually deals with futuristic science-based technology, space travel, time travel, parallel universes and extraterrestrial settings and creatures. Loves to explore the what ifs of contemporary social issues Grounded in science facts and theories Or as Robert Heinlein put it: "realistic speculation about possible future events, based solidly on adequate knowledge of the real world, past and present, and on a thorough understanding of the nature and significance of the scientific method."
Sci-Fi Subgenres Hard SF Space Western Post-Apocalyptic Military Alternate History Space Opera Weird West Dystopian Superheroes Cyberpunk/VR/AR
Horror Involves thrills and chills Can include ghosts and other gothic elements Can be psychological (Carrie) or slasher (Saw) Can be easily blended with other genres Only represents around 5% of total fiction sales
Horror Subgenres Psychological (Stephen King) Gothic (Stepford Wives/The Shining) Cosmic (H.P. Lovecraft) Body (Clive Barker)
Westerns Primarily set in the latter half of the 19 th centrue in the American Old West. Centers on life of nomadic cowboy or gunfighter. Other characters include Native Americans, bandits, lawmen, bounty hunters, outlaws, mounted cavalry, settlers and townsfolk. Stresses the harshness of the wilderness
Western Subgenres Union Pacific or wagon train stories Ranch story Empire story (rags to riches) Revenge story Calvary vs. Indian story Outlaw story Marshal story
Thank You! Laurie McLean, Co-founder & Partner Fuse Literary Laurie@FuseLiterary.com @FuseLiterary @AgentSavant FuseLiterary.com