There are types of fiction?

Literary Fiction (Pomp)

Commercial Fiction (Pop)

Genre Fiction (Pulp)

Literary Fiction

Prose style

Character study

Language

Commercial Fiction

Plot based

Storytelling

It occurs in certain hugely popular categories such as thrillers, women’s fiction, book club fiction, upmarket fiction

It’s POPULAR, therefore most bestsellers are commercial fiction

Genre Fiction

Romance

Thrillers

Suspense

Mystery

Fantasy

Science Fiction

Horror

Westerns

Genre Fiction

If it has its own shelf in the

bookstore, it is probably

genre fiction

Romance

Hero and Heroine meet in the first few scenes and there is immediate attraction

There is internal & external conflict keeping them apart

Until the literal and figurative climax

There is always a happy ever after (or happy for now) ending

Romance subgenres

Contemporary

Romantic Suspense

Paranormal/SF/Gothic/Time Travel

Historical (Regency)

Romantic Comedy

Erotic

Inspirational

Thrillers

‘Save the world’ high stakes

Non-stop pace

Time is ticking

Plot focus

Most popular fiction after romance

Most “blended” genre

Thriller Subgenres

Action Eco

Conspiracy Medical

Crime Psychological

Disaster Religious

Legal Romantic

Political/Spy Supernatural/Gothic

Techno

Suspense

Not as personal as a mystery

The stakes aren’t as high as a thriller

Shares many of the same subgenre categories

as thriller and mystery

Mystery

Someone is killed (or a big crime committed) in

the first scene of the book of the prologue.

The rest of the book is an examination of

whodunit

Mystery Subgenres

Cozy Hardboiled

Mystery Softboiled

Crime Police Procedural

Whodunit True Crime

Homage Urban Fantasy

Steampunk Caper/Heist

Locked Room Historical

Fantasy

Set in an imaginary universe; or in our universe but with magic or imaginary beings

Mostly includes some sort of magic system

Differs from SF because its magic is not science-based

Often based on ancient mythologies from around the world

Fantasy Subgenres

High Fantasy Epic

Dark Portal

Urban/Modern Paranormal

Historical Contemporary

Magical Realism

Science Fiction

Usually deals with futuristic science-based technology, space travel, time travel, parallel universes and extraterrestrial settings and creatures.

Loves to explore the “what ifs” of contemporary social issues

Grounded in science facts and theories

Or as Robert Heinlein put it: "realistic speculation about possible future events, based solidly on adequate knowledge of the real world, past and present, and on a thorough understanding of the nature and significance of the scientific method."

Sci-Fi Subgenres

Hard SF Space Opera

Space Western Weird West

Post-Apocalyptic Dystopian

Military Superheroes

Alternate History Cyberpunk/VR/AR

Horror

Involves thrills and chills

Can include ghosts and other gothic elements

Can be psychological (Carrie) or slasher (Saw)

Can be easily blended with other genres

Only represents around 5% of total fiction sales

Horror Subgenres

Psychological (Stephen King)

Gothic (Stepford Wives/The Shining)

Cosmic (H.P. Lovecraft)

Body (Clive Barker)

Westerns

Primarily set in the latter half of the 19th centruein the American Old West.

Centers on life of nomadic cowboy or gunfighter.

Other characters include Native Americans, bandits, lawmen, bounty hunters, outlaws, mounted cavalry, settlers and townsfolk.

Stresses the harshness of the wilderness

Western Subgenres

Union Pacific or wagon train stories

Ranch story

Empire story (rags to riches)

Revenge story

Calvary vs. Indian story

Outlaw story

Marshal story

Thank You!

Laurie McLean, Co-founder & Partner

Fuse Literary

Laurie@FuseLiterary.com

@FuseLiterary

@AgentSavant

FuseLiterary.com