What sub-genres would you like to see more of? (any genre)

The Chatters
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Because I write fantasy, I’m always focused on the fantasy camp. But what about others? What’s missing from the market, you think? What do you want to see more of? Contemporary, non-fiction, literary, historical, sci-fi…

Or you can talk about fantasy. It’s welcomed, of course :stuck_out_tongue: I just randomly got curious about other genres.

Extra questions if you feel like it:

  1. Do you think about genre when you’re writing? Or editing? Have you ever set about writing a specific genre and stuck to it?

  2. Do you think sub-genre separations are taking categorization too far? I know it’s good for marketing to your niche audience. But could it be hindering people from getting their break? They have such a specific niche that ends up not appealing to a large enough audience to make money.

  3. Do you think it was better, years ago, when genres were broader? Why or why not?

  4. Is there really an “adventure” genre? Doesn’t adventure come into many genres? What about “action” or “thriller”?

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Science-fantasy.

I would love a good science-fantasy novel with epic/high feels to it.

I can’t answer the other questions you’ve asked because I don’t truly know how.

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That one takes the technicality of science fiction and the hoenstly easier to recognize tropes of fantasy and puts them together without getting flack for not neing science enough.

Its pribably the area I need to write in more, lmao

But for me? There really isn’t an unexplored field.

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So, that’s why I love it…cool!

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Honestly I’d like to see more literary anything–literary meaning deep. Literary westerns, literary rom-coms, literary steampunk, sci-fi or fantasy. Literary paranormal romance or horror. Just deeper everything. I appreciate that most readers today prefer shallow books, but those of us who want deeper, more thought-provoking books, are woefully underserved. (╥︣﹏᷅╥)

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I want to see more sci-fi fantasy duos because it’s either just sci-fi or just fantasy, or fantasy romance. Romance is always the top subgenre and it gets tiring after a while. Relationships aren’t really pizazz-y anymore lol.

I do because it’s a big part of your story, both in plot and market. And I typically do. I’d say always, but I had a book’s genre shift when it wasn’t written the way I’d intended. I wanted to write a horror novel but it turned into a murder mystery. :sweat_smile: Otherwise, when I have a genre in mind, it stays that way.

Honestly, no. Because truthfully, the only sub-genre you should be marketing is the main one that overpowers the rest. For example, the Hunger Games is a dystopian series with a sub-genre of romance. You can also say action as well, but technically, as a reader, you can see that it’s clearly filled with action so it kind of clumps together with the dystopian genre. Romance is its main subgenre because throughout the original trilogy, it semi-focused on the relationships between Katniss, Gale, and Peeta. After all, part of the reason why Katniss survived was through the sponsors who enjoyed her star-crossed lover romance with Peeta.

But I digress.

I think it actually helps the reader (or at least me lol) in figuring out what they want the most out of the book. Because sometimes, you want to just read a fantasy action novel, not a fantasy romance novel where the romance overpowers the fantasy.

No. I think that it made it harder to find books. :sweat_smile:

I think there once was, but I don’t think it’s that apparent anymore just because, as you said, it sprinkles itself into multiple genres.

Action and thriller are their own genres because there is a difference, though they can be lumped in with other genres.

Action, for example, are usually contemporary stories that focus on a lot of high-chase action, guns, explosions, etc. Something like James Bond. And thrillers tend to be darker contemporaries that focus on suspense and tension, usually overlapping with crime, horror, and mystery.

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Are you my long lost little sister?! I hope so!

:sweat_smile::rofl:

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It doesnt even have to be written heavy-handed. It jsut has to ask a pertinent question give the context of the story. Hoenstly, Ill never fully break myself of that tendency, mot even in things that wouslnt be labeled literary by anyone.

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Ooh, interesting. For you, what would turn a story from the genre into the literary version of the genre? I aspire to writing literary-genre as I’m not at all interested in shallow/lighthearted stories. But I wouldn’t be as bold as to say any of my stories fell into the literary category yet. What do you think the criteria is?

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To me it’s all about the themes and the layering of ideas…I mean, it would essentially be the exact opposite of a lightweight beach read where all the meaning is on the surface. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with beach reads–we all love to read those every once in awhile–it’s just that there are soooo many of those.

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An example of literary fantasy to me would be Piranesi by Susanna Clarke. ¯\_(ﭢ)_/¯

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What’s missing from the market? I’m not sure. What stories are being told, and who’s telling them is obviously important. There’s been some good progress with that in the last couple of years.

As to what I want to see more of… I think we need stories that encourage critical thinking. We collectively as a species desperately need that. The genre that tends to do this more often than others, is literary fiction. But that doesn’t have to be the case. Also, less celebrity memoirs :grimacing:

Do you think about genre when you’re writing? Or editing? Have you ever set about writing a specific genre and stuck to it?
Hmm I pay a lot of attention to prose and plot structure so I suppose that’s literary fiction. The subjects of my stories vary though.

Do you think sub-genre separations are taking categorization too far? I know it’s good for marketing to your niche audience. But could it be hindering people from getting their break? They have such a specific niche that ends up not appealing to a large enough audience to make money.
That’s up to the writer. If you really want to stick to a niche then go for it. If you want big money, then I’m afraid you’re not in the right career.

Do you think it was better, years ago, when genres were broader? Why or why not?
I think it was better when it was broader. Wait… was there a time when it was broader? There are so many “genres” it’s insane. Every single theme or subject now is considered a genre. Honestly it’s about consumerism — this inspiring-emotional-sad-lighthearted-enemies-to-lovers-tense-adventurous-funny-dark-academia-coming-of-age-historical-flintlock-steampunk-fantasy-romance-cosy-political thriller is a true reflection of you! Buy it now!

Is there really an “adventure” genre? Doesn’t adventure come into many genres? What about “action” or “thriller”?
I could ask the same about about romance or comedy or tragedy. People tend to forget that many genres make up stories. It’s never one thing or another.

“Adventure” itself as a genre still exists (according to Waterstones so it must be true). It’s just a little shy hiding under the bigger genre umbrellas. I think it’s recently being more prominently used in nature writing.

“Action” and “Thriller” and “Action-Thrillers” are thing, and still going strong last time I checked.

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Not that anyone cares, but I just remembered that all of Donna Tartt’s novels are literary crime fiction. Any genre can be written deep. But I digress. (>‿◠):v:

I also thought of something else. I don’t think things were better when genres were broader, however, the one thing we DO need is a better way to find the books we want to read! Like a super search engine that knows the difference between pulp fiction, commercial, upmarket and literary. And it can differentiate between light and dark fiction, etc. so you get just the book you’re in the mood for. Once they invent that, we’ll all be as rich as Colleen Hoover and Brandon Sanderson, because everyone’s books will be in demand by someone. ٩(˘◡˘)۶

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Dark fantasy/grimdark with intense horror elements on a disturbing level.
Another one is my absolute fave which is Cosmic Horror.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE cosmic horror in so many ways that I wish I could write something like that for an Alagossian novel!

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I do, I think it’s good to consider (at least half-way) because it’ll influence your target audience. I’m all write-for-yourself, but for marketing reasons it’s good to know the details.

I definitely think ‘adventure’ can be its own strand. Indiana Jones, Tomb Raider, etc. but I do feel it’s seen more as a sub-genre, like, Last of Us is an adventure story but it’s also an apocalyptic one. Why Indiana Jones is the classic adventure story.

There’s not a sub-genre I want to see more of per-say, but I could live without the constant need for romance/sex scenes in fantasy stories, the romance sub-genre as a whole kind of annoys me (at least with the modern portrayal of it).

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Good American Super Robot Shows :ragejoy:

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That’s what @anon39043209 's been working on, right? :wink:

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You might be able to pull it off :wink:

I’m curious to try, too :grin:

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What about those genres like steampunk fantasy or cyberpunk fantasy? Idk if other genres break down like this. Is it only a fantasy thing? Isn’t there like regency romance and…retro? or…idk :sweat_smile:

Is it not too much to break it down like that or do you think it’s necessary to find out all the little niches your book fits into?

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