Genres

We have spent the past week looking at the important parts of a story like "characters, conflict, theme, setting... yah these are the five things..." Today, we are going to look at a couple other things to consider when writing a story and begin to plan our own stories. This unit is going to give you SEVERAL opportunities to be creative in both the writing and presentation of your story so get ready!!

What is a Genre?

Genre means a type of art, literature, or music characterized by a specific form, content, and style. For example, literature has four main genres: poetry, drama, fiction, and non-fiction. All of these genres have particular features and functions that distinguish them from one another. Hence, it is necessary on the part of readers to know which category of genre they are reading in order to understand the message it conveys, as they may have certain expectations prior to the reading concerned.

In literature, there are different categories of genres and that is what we will be looking at today are:

Realistic fiction
Historical fiction
Science fiction
Adventure
Fantasy
Fairy tale/ Folk tale
Mystery

The importance of genres is that the story you write will need to follow a certain "formula" based on the genres you choose so let's take a look at each.

Flocabulary- Genre.mov

Please check out this always cheesy but catchy video from Flocabulary on different genres and the aspects required for each of those genres.

Realistic Fiction

This category of fiction tells stories about people and their conflicts but with greater depth of characterization, background, etc. than the more narrowly focused genre novels. The setting, characters and plot are relatable to the reader where you can almost imagine yourself in the novel with a realistic plot.

Historical Fiction

This category of fiction tells stories recognizable to a period of history or event. As well as telling the stories of ordinary people’s lives, historical fiction may involve political or social events of the time including wars, natural disasters or important historical events. One day we might actually see a "I survived: Covid-19" as this is now a historical event in our history.

Science Fiction

This category of fiction can be defined as literature involving elements of science and technology as a basis for conflict, or as the setting for a story. The science and technology are generally existing scientific fact, and most (though not all) science fiction stories take place in the future. Since science is such an important factor is writing science fiction, accuracy with reference to science fact is important. Most of the science in science fiction comes from known facts, so although writers can be really creative in their writing, it still needs to have a "realistic" element.

Adventure

This category of fiction in which action is the key element, overshadowing characters, theme and setting. The conflict in an adventure story is often character against nature/elements. In adventure novels, the plot is directly impacted by the setting and a great example of this genre is The Hatchet is a story of 13-year-old Brian Robeson and his successful attempt to survive alone in the wilderness.

Fantasy

This category of fiction relies on magic, mythological and neo-mythological beings and devices, and outright invention for conflict and setting. This fantasy can be set in a world of the author's making and the creatures and their abilities can honestly be endless. There are great examples of fantasy series like: Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and Narnia. These books allow the reader to escape into these fantastical worlds where really anything is possible.

Fairy Tale/ Folk Tale

This category of fiction is a story, often intended for children, that features fanciful and wondrous characters such as elves, goblins, wizards, and even, but not necessarily, fairies- similar to the genre of fantasy, which is often directed at adults. The term “fairy” tale seems to refer more to the fantastic and magical setting or magical influences within a story, rather than the presence of the character of a fairy within that story. Fairy tales are often traditional; many were passed down from story-teller to story-teller before being recorded in books.

Mystery

This category of fiction is is a genre of literature whose stories focus on a puzzling crime, situation, or circumstance that needs to be solved. The term comes from the Latin mysterium, meaning “a secret thing.” stories can be either fictional or nonfictional, and can focus on both supernatural and non-supernatural topics. Many mystery stories involve what is called a “whodunit” scenario, meaning the mystery revolves around the uncovering a culprit or criminal.

Quiz Time!

In the next week, you are going to be planning your very own story and the genre of fiction your write will be important and influence those 5 elements of a story.

Your last job for today is to click on the image to the right and complete today's Genre ticket out.

Ticket Out- Genre

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