Citizendia
Your Ad Here

Genre fiction is a term for fictional works (novels, short stories) written with the intent of fitting into a specific literary genre in order to appeal to readers and fans already familiar with that genre. Fiction is the telling of stories which are not real More specifically fiction is an imaginative form of Narrative, one of the four basic Rhetorical modes. A novel (from Italian novella, Spanish novela, French nouvelle for "new" "news" or "short story The short story is a literary genre of Fictional Prose Narrative that tends to be more concise and to the point than longer works of fiction such A literary genre is a category of literary composition Genres may be determined by Literary technique, tone, Content, or even (as in the case of fiction In contemporary fiction publishing, genre is an elastic term used to group works sharing similarities of character, theme, and setting—such as mystery, romance, or horror—that have been proven to appeal to particular groups of readers. Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of Literature or Information &ndash the activity of making information available for public view In Fiction, the setting of a story includes the time location and circumstances in which it takes place A romance novel is a literary Genre developed in Western culture, mainly in English-speaking countries Horror fiction is broadly Fiction in any medium intended to scare unsettle or horrify the audience Genres continuously evolve, divide, and combine as readers' tastes change and writers search for fresh ways to tell stories. Classic romance novels, such as those written by the Brontë sisters and Jane Austen in the nineteenth century, continue to enjoy popularity today in the form of both books and movies. The Brontë sisters (ˈbrɒnte Charlotte (21 April 1816 &ndash 31 March 1855 Emily (30 July 1818 – 19 December 1848 and Anne (17 January 1820 Jane Austen (16 Despite its popularity, genre fiction is often overlooked by institutions - the reviewing pages of the mainstream newspapers, for example - that favor literary fiction. Literary fiction is a term that has come into common usage since around 1970 principally to distinguish serious fiction (that is work with claims to Literary merit The reviewing venues for genre fiction are primarily niche media: prozines (professional or industry fanzines), fanzines, and so on.

All fiction is essentially generic. But genre fiction is overtly and intentionally so, signalling its generic identity in the clearest possible terms. A horror novel, for example, makes it clear through its cover design, its blurb, the comments printed on the cover from other novelists, and so on, that it is a horror novel; and it will be shelved in the appropriate place in bookstores.

Genre fiction is often used interchangeably with the term popular fiction, and generally distinguished from literary fiction. A comprehensive discussion of these issues is found in Ken Gelder, Popular Fiction: The Logics and Practices of a Literary Field (2004). An excellent earlier discussion is John Sutherland, Bestsellers: Popular Fiction of the 1970s (1981).

Contents

Genre conventions

By definition, works of a given genre follow, more or less, the conventions of that genre. A convention is a set of agreed, stipulated or generally accepted Standards norms social norms or criteria, often taking the form of The American screenwriting teacher Robert McKee defines genre conventions as the "specific settings, roles, events, and values that define individual genres and their subgenres. See also Pre-production Screenplay Screenwriting is the art and craft of writing scripts for Film, Television or Video games Robert McKee, born 1941 is a Creative writing instructor who is widely known for his popular "Story Seminar" which he developed when he was a professor at the " These conventions, always fluid, are usually implicit, but sometimes are made into explicit requirements by publishers of fiction as a guide to authors seeking publication. To publish is to make content Publicly known. The term is most frequently applied to the distribution of text or images on paper or to the placing of content

Screen writers have to ensure that their stories conformed to the guidelines—the closer the conformity, the greater their likelihood of being published. The publisher, for its part, is trying to meet the desires of its readers, who often have strong and specific expectations of the publisher's stories. Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of Literature or Information &ndash the activity of making information available for public view Such "made-to-measure" writing is genre fiction in its purest form.

Most fiction writing, especially of novel length, does not conform so tightly to the conventions of a genre. Indeed, there is no consensus as to exactly what the conventions of any genre are, or even what the genres themselves are. Writers, publishers, marketers, booksellers, libraries, academics, critics, and readers may all have different ways of classifying fiction, and any of these classifications might be termed a genre. (For example, one arguable genre of genre fiction—the airport novel—takes its name not from the subjects of its stories, but from the market where it is sold. Airport novels represent a Literary genre that is not so much defined by its plot or cast of Stock characters as much as it is by the social function it ) It is beyond doubt that readers have preferences for certain types of stories, and that there are writers and publishers who try to cater to those preferences, but the term genre remains amorphous, and the assigning of works to genres is to some extent arbitrary and subjective.

Genre and the marketing of fiction

In the publishing industry the term "category fiction" is often used as a synonym for genre fiction, with the categories serving as the familiar shelf headings within the fiction section of a bookstore, such as Western or mystery. Western fiction is a genre of literature set in the American Old West between the years of 1860 and 1900

The uncategorized section is known in the industry as "general fiction", but in fact many of the titles in this usually large section are often themselves genre novels that have been placed in the general section because booksellers believe they will appeal, due to their high quality or other special characteristics, to a wider audience than merely the readers of that genre. For example, the novels of Sue Grafton, featuring the private investigator Kinsey Millhone, are mystery novels that are often stocked in the "general fiction" section of bookstores. Sue Taylor Grafton (born April 24 1940 is a contemporary American Author of Detective novels Biography Early years Born in

Genre fiction and literary fiction

The term "genre fiction" is sometimes used as a pejorative antonym of literary fiction, which is presumed to have greater artistic merit and higher cultural value. In Lexical semantics, opposites are words that lie in an inherently incompatible binary relationship as in the opposite pairs male: female, long: short Artistic merit is an English language term that is used in relation to cultural products when referring to the judgment of their perceived quality or value as works of art In this view, by comparison with literary fiction, genre fiction is thought to be formulaic, commercial, sensational, melodramatic, and sentimental. By extension, the readers of genre fiction—the mass audience—are supposed to have less educated taste in literature than readers of literary fiction. Mass Marketing is a market coverage strategy in which a firm decides to ignore market segment differences and go after the whole market with one offer Genre fiction is then, essentially, thought to be the literature that appeals to the mass market.

But from another point of view, literary fiction itself is simply another category or genre. That is, it can be thought of as having conventions of its own, such as use of an elevated, poetic, or idiosyncratic prose style; or defying readers' plot expectations; or making use of particular theoretical or philosophical ideas as well as having a niche audience, "generic" packaging and "superstar" authors. The publishing industry itself treats literary fiction as one category among others.

In addition, it can be argued that all novels, no matter how "literary", also fall within the bounds of one or more genres. Thus Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice is a romance; Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment is a psychological thriller; and James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is a coming-of-age story. Pride and Prejudice, first published on 28 January 1813, is the most famous of Jane Austen 's novels and one of the first " romantic Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (Фёдор Миха́йлович Достое́вский, sometimes transliterated Dostoyevsky, Dostoievsky, Crime and Punishment (Преступление и наказание is a Novel by Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky that Psychological thriller is a specific sub-genre of the wide-ranging thriller genre James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 &ndash 13 January 1941 was an Irish expatriate writer widely considered to be one of the most influential writers of the A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is a semi-autobiographical Novel by James Joyce, first serialized in The Egoist These novels would usually be stocked in the general or possibly the classics section of a bookstore. In the traditional sense a Classic Book is one written in Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome (see Classics) Indeed, many works now regarded as literary classics were originally written as genre novels.

The evolution of fiction genres

Since the beginning of literature it has been acknowledged that there are different types or categories of created work. Literature is the Art of written works Literally translated the word means "acquaintance with letters" (from Latin littera letter Poetry, a form of literature older than prose, was in ancient times divided into narrative, dramatic, and lyric forms. For the Wikipedia guideline regarding editing articles see WikipediaManual of Style. Lyric poetry refers to a usually short poem that expresses personal feelings which may or may not be set to music Narrative poetry, at least as it was first written (as opposed to recited or sung), was primarily epic. An epic is a lengthy Narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation Dramatic poetry came to be divided into tragedy and comedy. The Greek philosopher Aristotle in his Poetics for the first time named story genres by categorizing dramas according to the value-charge of their endings and the design of their stories. Aristotle (Greek Aristotélēs) (384 BC – 322 BC was a Greek philosopher a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. Aristotle 's Poetics ( Greek: Ποιητικός, c 335 BCE aims to give an account of what he calls 'poetry' (for him the term includes the Drama is the specific mode of Fiction represented in Performance.

Many fiction genres can be traced to a small number of important or extremely popular literary works written before that genre came into existence. In common usage existence is the world of which we are aware through our senses but in Philosophy the word has a more specialized meaning and is often contrasted with "Genre" fiction is portrayed as those works that seek, in some degree, just to emulate these paradigms. Science fiction began with Jules Verne and then H. G. Wells, as a recognizable genre (although Mary Shelley is generally credited with having written the first science fiction novel, Frankenstein). Jules Gabriel Verne ( February 8 1828 &ndash March 24 1905) was a French Author who pioneered the science-fiction Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 &ndash 13 August 1946 He was an outspoken socialist and a pacifist, his later works becoming increasingly political Mary Shelley ( Née Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin; 30 August Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus, generally known as Frankenstein, is a Novel written by the British author Mary Shelley Horror stories and mystery stories can both be traced in large measure to Edgar Allan Poe and a few others. Edgar Allan Poe (January 19 1809 – October 7 1849 was an American poet, short-story Writer, editor and Literary critic,

The period 1900–1910 was fertile for the development, by writers such as M. P. Shiel, of fiction genres and character types. Matthew Phipps Shiel (his surname was originally spelled Shiell ( July 21 1865 &ndash February 17 1947) was a prolific British writer Often these appeared in periodicals, which eventually became the pulp magazines of the early 20th century. Magazines, periodicals or serials are Publications generally published on a regular schedule containing a variety of articles, generally Pulp magazines (or pulp fiction; often referred to as "the pulps" were inexpensive Fiction magazines

Age categories

Most genres of fiction may also be segmented by the age of the intended reader:

List of genres

As noted, there are many different ways of labeling and defining fiction genres. Children's literature is an age category of literature written for published for or marketed to Children roughly through age 12 Young-adult fiction (often abbreviated as YA fiction, or simply YA) is Fiction written for published for or marketed to adolescents roughly between the Following are some of the main genres as they are used in contemporary publishing:

Action-adventure

Action-adventure fiction, traditionally (but no longer 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. The adventure novel is a Literary genre of novels that has Adventure, an exciting undertaking involving risk and physical danger as its main theme Violence is the exertion of force so as to injure or abuse The word is used broadly to describe the destructive action of natural phenomena like Storms and Earthquakes This article is about the word for other meanings see Quest (disambiguation A quest is a journey towards a goal used in Mythology A military is an Organization authorized by its Nation to use force usually including use of Weapons in defending its Country (or by attacking The conflict typically involves commandos, mercenaries, terrorists, smugglers, pirates, spies and the like. Stories often include elements of technology, weapons, and other hardware, but may also include unarmed combat. Hand-to-hand combat (sometimes abbreviated as HTH or H2H is a generic term for Close quarters fighting, particularly when the outcome is potentially fatal as in Melee The genre is still largely aimed towards a male audience (for example, the James Bond series is often categorized as action-adventure), but it also commonly includes female characters in active "action" roles, the most famous examples being the Bond Girls from the James Bond series, who are often just as capable in combat or weapons handling as their male counterparts. James Bond 007 is a Fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve Novels and two Short story only be added to pages which discuss the film or character depicted in the image Many post-feminist works such as The Librarian series even feature (conventionally attractive) women in roles more traditionally reserved for males, such as heroic bodyguards, though the femme fatale is still a notably frequent archetype in the genre. Feminism is a discourse that involves various movements theories, and Philosophies which are concerned with the issue of Gender difference, advocate The Librarian Quest for the Spear is the first in The Librarian franchise of movies which was originally released on American cable channel TNT in December NOTICE TO WOULD-BE-ROMEOS*************** A hero (from Greek grc ἥρως hērōs) in Greek mythology and Folklore, was originally a Demigod, the offspring of a mortal and A bodyguard (or "close protection officer" is a type of Security guard or government agent who protects a person—usually a famous wealthy or politically A femme fatale (plural femmes fatales) is an alluring and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers in bonds of irresistible desire often leading them into

Crime

Crime fiction stories, centered on criminal enterprise, are told from the point of view of the perpetrators. Crime fiction is the Genre of Fiction that deals with Crimes their detection criminals and their motives It is usually distinguished from 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. Detective fiction is a branch of Crime fiction in which a Detective (or detectives either professional or amateur investigate a crime usually Murder 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. In Fiction, the setting of a story includes the time location and circumstances in which it takes place

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 is a Genre that uses magic and other Supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, and/or setting Fantasy fiction stories generally involve magic, mystical elements, or supernatural creatures such as vampires. Magic, sometimes known as sorcery, is a Conceptual system that asserts human ability to control the natural world (including events objects people and Mysticism (from the Greek grc μυστικός mystikos, an initiate of a Mystery religion) is the pursuit of communion with identity The term supernatural or supranatural ( Latin: super, supra "above" + natura "nature" pertains to entities events Vampires are mythological or folkloric revenants who subsist by feeding on the blood of the living The genre's relatively loose definition means it includes a large number of works in styles ranging from pseudo-mythological epics (Lord of the Rings) to more deliberately modern works (such as Harry Potter or Buffy the Vampire Slayer), and includes works which also fall under other genres, such as horror fiction, comedy, action-adventure or Romance. The Lord of the Rings is an epic Harry Potter is a series of seven Fantasy novels written by British author J Horror fiction is broadly Fiction in any medium intended to scare unsettle or horrify the audience Comedy (from the Greek κωμωδίαkomodia has a popular meaning (any discourse generally intended to amuse especially in Television, Film, and Genre fiction is a term for fictional works ( Novels short stories) written with the intent of fitting into a specific Literary genre Some works generally classified as fantasy fiction, such as Diane Duane's Young Wizards series, also include elements of Science fiction, and with many works revolving around psychics, ghosts, etc. Diane Duane (born May 18, 1952) is an American Science fiction and Fantasy author Genre fiction is a term for fictional works ( Novels short stories) written with the intent of fitting into a specific Literary genre The word psychic (ˈsaɪkɨk from the Greek psychikos—"of the soul mental" refers to the claimed ability to perceive things hidden from the normal senses A ghost is said to be the apparition of a Deceased person frequently similar in appearance to that person and usually encountered in places she or he frequented being easily classified as either, some bookstores and critics tend to categorize the two genres together. Speculative fiction is a term used as an inclusive descriptor covering a group of Fiction Genres that speculate about worlds that are unlike the real world in

Horror

Horror fiction aims to evoke some combination of fear, fascination, and revulsion in its readers. Horror fiction is broadly Fiction in any medium intended to scare unsettle or horrify the audience This genre, like others, continues to evolve, recently moving away from stories with a religious or supernatural basis to ones making use of medical or psychological ideas.

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. A whodunit or whodunnit (for "Who done it?" is a complex plot-driven variety of the detective story in which the puzzle is the main feature of interest

Realistic fiction

Realistic fiction stories contain events that could actually foreseeably happen, without altering any known aspect of our current reality or knowledge of the universe. Realism in the Visual arts and Literature is the depiction of subjects as they appear in Everyday life, without embellishment or interpretation The characters are intended to be true-to-life and the events are generally set in modern times. Stories set significantly far in the past tend to be more often referred to as historical fiction. Historical fiction is a sub-genre of Fiction that often portrays alternate accounts or dramatization of historical figures or events 'Realistic fiction' may be combined with other genres, such as horror fiction or romance fiction, and often includes elements of comedy and/or drama, but by definition cannot be combined with more fantastical genres such as fantasy fiction. Horror fiction is broadly Fiction in any medium intended to scare unsettle or horrify the audience Comedy (from the Greek κωμωδίαkomodia has a popular meaning (any discourse generally intended to amuse especially in Television, Film, and Drama is the specific mode of Fiction represented in Performance. Fantasy is a Genre that uses magic and other Supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, and/or setting

Romance

Romance is currently the largest and best-selling fiction genre in North America. A romance novel is a literary Genre developed in Western culture, mainly in English-speaking countries 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. NOTICE TO WOULD-BE-ROMEOS*************** A happy ending is an ending of the plot of a work of Fiction in which almost everything turns out for the best for the Hero or Heroine 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. Fantasy is a Genre that uses magic and other Supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, and/or setting Realism in the Visual arts and Literature is the depiction of subjects as they appear in Everyday life, without embellishment or interpretation

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. The future is commonly understood to contain all events that have yet to occur Science (from the Latin scientia, meaning " Knowledge " or "knowing" is the effort to discover, and increase human understanding Technology is a broad concept that deals with a Species ' usage and knowledge of Tools and Crafts and how it affects a species' ability to control and adapt Outer space, often simply called space, comprises the relatively empty regions of the Universe outside the escape velocities of Celestial bodies. Within these setting details, however, the conventions of almost any other genre may be used, including comedy, action-adventure and mystery. See also Science fiction, Comedy Comic science fiction is a sub- Genre of Science fiction that exploits the genre's conventions for 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. Alternate history or alternative history is a subgenre of Speculative fiction (or Science fiction) and Historical fiction Pavane (1968) by Keith Roberts was an influential early alternate history, and Harry Turtledove's The Guns of the South is another popular example. Pavane by Keith Roberts is an alternate history Science fiction Fix-up novel first published by Rupert Hart-Davis Ltd Keith Roberts (1935 - 2000 was a British Science fiction author. Harry Norman Turtledove (born June 14 1949) is an American historian and novelist who has written Historical fiction, Fantasy, and The Guns of the South (1992 ISBN 0-345-37675-7 is a novel by writer Harry Turtledove. Of late, alternate history has come into its own as a distinctive and independent outgrowth from general science fiction. 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. Magic realism, or magical realism, is an artistic Genre in which magical elements or illogical scenarios appear in an otherwise realistic or even "normal" Speculative fiction is a term used as an inclusive descriptor covering a group of Fiction Genres that speculate about worlds that are unlike the real world in

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). Western fiction is a genre of literature set in the American Old West between the years of 1860 and 1900 The Western United States &mdashcommonly referred to as the American West or simply the West &mdashtraditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost A cowboy is an animal Herder who tends Cattle on Ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback and often performs a multitude of Other genres, such as romance, have subgenres that make use of the Western setting.

See also

References

© 2009 citizendia.org; parts available under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License, from http://en.wikipedia.org
 Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic