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Genres
Apr 16, 2011 14:54:22 GMT
Post by XT-421 on Apr 16, 2011 14:54:22 GMT
In my (gosh, it has been a long while since I began writing online, nearly three years? Two and a half?) I have always been insistent on writing "Romance" Genres of stories. I have come to the conclusion that many of my stories, however nobly categorized, may not in fact actually be romance stories.
Take for instance SoL.7. I labled it Romance/Tragedy. I feel this is a misnomer, because most of the romance is mainly a sideplot, and the real tension and drama about the story arrise from the conflict of the global war going on (essentially,) and just because it has a debatebly "sad" ending, doesn't necessarily mean it is a tragedy.
When it comes to writing, I'll be a bit boastful, I can be pretty good and witty with my tactics. But categorizing is not a part of writing all of the time. (Unless of course you were TRYING to make a specific story, not going with the flow of things.) That is a "READING" thing. (For example, going into the library and checking the "adventure" section as compared to a "romance" section. The Former will be action packed and thrilling, whereas the latter may not be for children under the age of 18.) I am good at writing, NOT READING. (In fact, I most certainly dislike reading for the most part.)
So, if anyone on this shrine could help, I would be gracious to have these things set strait for me. What are the genres? What have I been writing? What makes a romance story categorizible within a romance section? Likewise for tragedy, adventure, comedy and horror?
Please, break this down for me, (it can sometimes be the most difficult part of publishing a fanfiction for me.)
~Joe
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Genres
Apr 16, 2011 21:47:49 GMT
Post by Twilitbeing on Apr 16, 2011 21:47:49 GMT
I personally think genre classification is overrated; I see no problem with marking every one of your stories under "General" if you like. Still, I can give my personal impressions.
From the list FF.Net gives us:
SoL1 - Definitely Romance, some elements of Adventure and Drama. (I like the qualification "frequent threat of physical harm" to help identify Action/Adventure, so opinions may vary.)
SoL3: Much like SoL1, with a slight Sci-Fi tinge emerging. The ending is something of a downer, but not really to the point of Tragedy.
SoL5: Romance and probably Drama, given how Richard plays the villain role.
SoL6: A mashup. Friendship and Adventure are most prominent, but Romance, Family, Drama, Crime, and others all make appearances. Take your pick.
SoL7: Mostly Adventure throughout, with Romance and other elements taking sideline roles. I would also call it Tragedy, since Sonic, Stephen, and Xavier were all protagonists by some definition. (Note that "Tragedy" does not always mean "complete downer ending." Macbeth ended with the overthrow of a tyrannical madman.)
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Genres
Apr 18, 2011 0:13:46 GMT
Post by XT-421 on Apr 18, 2011 0:13:46 GMT
I guess can agree with those dictations.
Am I too bold as to say that:
The Curse of Immortality is Adventure/Romance because of the adventure necessary to reach Saria, and the Romanctic fluff that fills the rest of the story?
Same with the Blessing of Life? But some elements of that one, particularly the first 30-so pages are all very dramatic-soap-opera-y in that it is an ongoing feud between two romantic figures and a dramafest.
~Joe
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Genres
Apr 18, 2011 3:22:46 GMT
Post by Twilitbeing on Apr 18, 2011 3:22:46 GMT
I'll admit that I haven't yet gotten around to reading The Blessing of Life, but I agree with your assessment of CoI. (Almost forgot you had other stories, heh.)
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Genres
Apr 19, 2011 1:57:41 GMT
Post by §Tsunami§ on Apr 19, 2011 1:57:41 GMT
They're all labeled correctly. Though you could just say that CoI is just adventure. (Or maybe this is my view that all adventure has ormantic fluff in it?).
Genre has some room for opinion. Most notorious, in my opinion, Sci-Fi or Fantasy?
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Genres
Apr 19, 2011 21:28:37 GMT
Post by Twilitbeing on Apr 19, 2011 21:28:37 GMT
Sci-fi is more of a setting motif than a true genre, unless the plot itself concerns research or discoveries of some kind. (The Forge of God, for instance, details the events leading up to the destruction of Earth.) Progressively looser definitions might include stories where theories or technologies are central to the plot (The Time Machine, The Fly), where they heavily influence it (I, Robot, The Matrix), and where they provide the background (Avatar, Speaker for the Dead). There's also a broad spectrum of "hardness," with real life at one end and Marvel Comics at the other.
Fantasy is tricky; I typically define it as based on obvious departures from realism, most often some definition of "magic." While this almost always makes it instantly distinguishable from reality, fantasy does have a range of internal consistency - that is, how much effort is put into "realistic" portrayal of the fantastic elements. (Consider the magic system of the Inheritance books, which obeys the law of conservation of energy.) So-called "high fantasy" (The Lord of the Rings, Warcraft) is a very distinctive and popular subset. (My definition can get blurry, as some "sci-fi" knowingly takes liberties with reality. Minovsky particles, anyone?)
In short, I think "sci-fi" or "fantasy" says more about the universe than the plot of a story, so you'll typically have them alongside the genre (adventure, mystery, horror, etc.).
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Genres
Apr 20, 2011 10:36:12 GMT
Post by XT-421 on Apr 20, 2011 10:36:12 GMT
To Tsunami: CoI actually is a combination of two parts, the first being this really intense plot, where you have a setting, rising action, and climax, and this takes place in the first, oh 18 chapters? Not even? The rest that fill it up to 42 are all fluffy, funny romance and silly events that detail the falling action and resolution. In short, it wasn't very well written.
Yes, I agree with Twilit here, the "genre" of fantasy and sci-fi do not detail the plot of the book necessarily, but generally establish a setting. I would almost like to say the two combined make up a spectrum of settings, Fantasy being on one end, and Sci-Fi on the other. Most all of Sci-Fan stories are adventure-like in nature, often complete with elements of romance, extreme excitement through perilous tasks. But, perhaps that is not why one reads them? Perhaps the motive behind reading a Sci-fi story or a fantasy story is not to watch the plot, but to BE A PART of the imaginary universe that is created?
~Joe
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