Genres and SubgenresA lesson in classifying stories!

Genre

The word GENRE refers to a particular type or kind of literature.

GENRE = Category

All writing falls into a category or genre

5 Types of Genres

Fiction: Creative or imaginative writing

Nonfiction: writing that is true or factual

Folklore: stories once pass down orally

Poetry: writing concerned with the beauty of language

Drama: plays or scripts

Fiction Subgenres

Fiction Length

Novel: Usually 100 pages +

Multiple characters, themes, conflicts and plots

Novella:Shorter than a novel, longer than a short story

21-99 (roughly)

Short Story:Few Characters, one theme and plot line

Realistic Fiction

Form of fiction

Reflects life as it could be lived today

Everything could happen to people living in our natural physical world

Characters have normal powers

Story may be set in real places, but NOT based on history nor does it have elements of science fiction

Twenty Boy Summer(Realistic Fiction)

For 16 year olds Anna Reiley and Frankie Perino, their 20 day-long, minimally supervised California vacation will be the “Absolute Best Summer Ever.” And according to Frankie, if they meet one boy every day, there’s a pretty good chance that Anna will get her first real boyfriend.

Anna lightheartedly agrees to the game, but there’s something she hasn’t told Frankie—she’s already had that kind of romance, and it was with Frankie’s older brother, Matt, just before his tragic death one year ago.

Historical Fiction

Based on historical events and/or real settings

Characters are portrayed in a real manner

Some characters may be actual people from history but the plot line is fictional

Artistic mix of fact and fiction

The Only Outcast(Historical Fiction)

In the summer of 1904, Fred Dickinson, a 16-year-old Canadian, sets out with his two younger brothers and sister for their annual vacation at their grandparents’ lakeside cottage. Still missing his mother, who died three years ago, Fred is relieved to escape his overbearing and critical father, who, Fred declares, “finds it too nerve-wracking to have me stumbling around all day.” Through carefully mapped scenes, Johnston traces Fred’s maturation as he rescues various siblings from danger, receives a first, painful lesson in love and discovers the truth behind the local legend involving a murderous ferryman.

Science Fiction

Contains some sort of scientific element such as outer space, medicine or technology

Events are within the realm of possibility but takes place in the future

Blends fact and fiction with futuristic technology

The Host(Science Fiction)

Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that take over the minds of their human hosts while leaving their bodies intact, and most of humanity has succumbed.

Wanderer, the invading “soul” who has been given Melanie’s body, knew about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the too vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn’t expect; the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.

Fantasy

Contains one or more of the following:Supernatural occurrences

Characters and things with magical powers

Animals and things with human characteristics

Real people in fantastical places

Fantastic creatures or characters in real situations

A Wrinkle In TimeFantasy

Everyone in town thinks Meg is volatile and dull-witted and that her younger brother Charles Wallace is dumb. People are also saying that their father has run off and left their brilliant scientist mother. Spurred on by these rumors, Meg and Charles Wallace, along with their new friend Calvin, embark on a perilous quest through space to find their father. In doing so they must travel behind the shadow of an evil power that is darkening the cosmos, one planet at a time.

Mystery/Crime

Stories that have a real setting

Include a problem to be solved with clues & distractions

Includes an answer to the problem

The Other Side of Dark(Mystery)

She wakes up in a room that’s not hers, in a body she doesn’t recognize, to discover she’s been in a coma for four years. Her mother is dead—murdered—and Stacy, recovering from a gunshot wound, is the only eyewitness to her mother’s murder. She can recall only a shadowy face, so far. But the killer is not about to let her reveal his identity…

Adventure

Focuses on action, danger and excitement

Other Subgenres

Western Novels

Romance

Horror

Thriller/Suspense

True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle

The story that takes place during an 1802 transatlantic journey that turns mutinous and even more dangerous than expected. Thirteen-year-old Charlotte must decide whom to side with and find her courage in order to survive.

Nonfiction Subgenres

Informational Writing

Provides facts or informationNewspapers

Textbooks

Reference Material

Persuasive Writing

Writing used to influence the readerOpinion Pieces

Speeches

Letters

Biography

Story of a real person’s life

Written by someone else

Author must research by interviewing subject or those who knew subject

Autobiography

Story of a real person’s life

Written by that person

Author shares how he/she feels and what he/she thinks

Folklore Subgenres

Fable

Short story with talking animals and a moral (lesson of the story and it is clearly stated)

Myth

Has gods and goddesses

May account for the creation of something

Tall Tale

Funny story set in the Wild West

Main character’s size or skill is exaggerated

Fairy Tales

Has magic and talking animals

What is the difference between a fairy tale and a fantasy?

Fairy tales are part of the oral tradition

Fairy tales often start with “Once Upon a Time”