Definitions of Fiction Genres
There are many different ways of labeling and defining fiction genres. Following are some of the main genres as they are used in contemporary publishing:
Action-adventure
Action-adventure fiction, traditionally (but not exclusively) aimed at male readers, features physical action and violence, often around a quest or military-style mission set in exotic or forbidding locales such as jungles, deserts, or mountains.
Crime
Crime fiction stories, centered on criminal enterprise, are told from the point of view of the perpetrators. They range in tone from lighthearted "caper" stories to darker plots involving organized crime or incarcerated convicts.
Detective
Detective fiction has become almost synonymous with mystery. These stories relate the solving of a crime, usually one or more murders, by a protagonist who may or may not be a professional investigator. This large, popular genre has many subgenres, reflecting differences in tone, character, and it always contains criminal and detective settings.
Fantasy
Fantasy fiction features stories set in fanciful, invented worlds, an alternate and more fanciful version of our own world, or in a legendary, mythic past. Fantasy fiction stories generally involve magic, mystical elements, or supernatural creatures. The genre's relatively loose definition means it includes a large number of works in styles ranging from pseudo-mythological epics to more deliberately modern works, and includes works which also fall under other genres, such as horror fiction, comedy, action-adventure or Romance. Some works generally classified as fantasy fiction also include elements of Science fiction, and with many works revolving around psychics, ghosts, etc. being easily classified as either, some bookstores and critics tend to categorize the two genres together as speculative fiction.
Horror
Horror fiction aims to evoke some combination of fear, fascination, and revulsion in its readers. This genre, like others, continues to develop, recently moving away from stories with a religious or supernatural basis to ones making use of medical or psychological ideologies.
Mystery
Mystery fiction, technically involving stories in which characters try to discover a vital piece of information which is kept hidden until the climax, is now considered by many people almost a synonym for detective fiction. The standard novel stocked in the mystery section of bookstores is a whodunit.
Romance
Romance is currently the largest and best-selling fiction genre in North America. It has produced a wide array of subgenres, the majority of which feature the mutual attraction and love of a man and a woman as the main plot, and have a happy ending. This genre, much like fantasy fiction, is broad enough in definition that it is easily and commonly seen combined with other genres, such as comedy, fantasy fiction, realistic fiction, or action-adventure.
Science fiction
Science fiction is defined more by setting details than by other story elements. Science fiction by definition includes extrapolated or theoretical future science and technology as a major component, and is often set on other planets, in outer space, or on a future version of Earth. Within these setting details, however, the conventions of almost any other genre may be used, including comedy, action-adventure and mystery. A sub-genre of science fiction is alternate history where, for some specific reason, the history of the novel deviates from the history of our world. Both alternate history and science fiction are often referred to alongside fantasy fiction, magical realism and some horror fiction under the umbrella term speculative fiction.
Western
Western fiction is defined primarily by being set in the American West in the second half of the 19th century, and secondarily by featuring heroes who are rugged, individualistic horsemen (cowboys). Other genres, such as romance, have subgenres that make use of the Western setting.
Literary fiction
Literary fiction is a term in common usage since around 1970 to distinguish so-called "serious" fiction (that is, work with claims to literary merit) from other types of genre fiction. In broad terms, literary fiction focuses more on style, psychological depth, and character, whereas mainstream commercial fiction (the "page-turner") focuses more on narrative and plot.
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References
- Forbes, Jamie M. (1998). "Fiction Dictionary". In Herman, Jeff, Writer's Guide to Book Editors, Publishers, and Literary Agents 1999–2000, pp. 861–871. Rocklin, California: Prima Publishing.
- Gelder, Ken (2004). Popular Fiction: The Logics and Practices of a Literary Field. London and New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-35647-4
- Johnson-Woods, Toni (2005) (in English). Pulp: A collectors book of Australian pulp fiction covers. Australia: Australian National Library. ISBN 0-642-10766-1.
- McKee, Robert (1997). Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-039168-5.
