Even though I've already talked about one genre, the best word I could think of for G was the whole subject of genres. Genres are a way to categorize types of literature. It can be based on technique, tone, content, or sometimes length. So today I'm going to talk about the main genres that I think of when I'm talking about Fiction. And because it is Tuesday, which often means a top 10, I will list 10.
1. Action and Adventure - In this type of story, action is the key element. A lot of spy or military novels can fit into this. Some examples of this type are the books I've pictured below.
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2.
Fantasy - The main element in these stories is usually magic or a
mythological type of background. Many things are often invented for
this type of story, creatures, words, places, etc.
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3.
Historical Fiction - This is usually set within a familiar period of
history or events. It often includes social or political actions of the
time, and often will include actual people weaved into the fictional
story.
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4.
Horror: This is a genre that is more than just a mystery, or gruesome
murder. It is a story that can actually evoke an emotional response of
fear.
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5. Mystery: In this
kind of story, one or more elements remains unknown until the end of the
story. It could be a murderer, or even the actual reason something
happened.
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6.
Realistic Fiction - This could also maybe be called psychological in
that you are kind of looking at why people do things, and it is not
necessarily a mystery or anything supernatural. It is real life, but
told in a story format, often showing what the person is overcoming with
their own emotions.
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7.
Romance - This is a type of story where the romance is the main part of
the plot. Even with other things that may go on, it is really just the
romance you are reading for.
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8. Science Fiction -
This is a story that uses science and technology as the conflict, or
even the setting for the story. This is one of my favorite genres.
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9.
Westerns - Some people have said that Westerns are romances for men.
These are stories set in the American Old West, cowboys and Indians, or
Native Americans if you prefer.
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10.
Dystopian/Post-Apocalyptic - Now technically this isn't its own genre.
But as I learned as I read up on the different genres, there aren't
actually any set ones. So many can fit into the others in some way that
it is hard to divide them up. But I feel that there are so many of
these types now, dystopia and post-apocalyptic, that I'm going to give
them their own genre for my post. Now, I just have to pick which two I
want to picture from all the many that I love! (P.S. - I include zombie
stories as post-apocalyptic).
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Whew!
That took me some time to get all the pictures! Guess I spent some
time on G this week. And I am proud to say that I have read all but one
of the above pictured books. True Grit I haven't read, have only seen
the movie, but I couldn't think of any westerns I had actually read that
were adult books. And I tried to include one for each genre in both
adult and teen books.