My intention with this week’s edition is two-fold:
To introduce a new concept some of you might not know about.
To launch the first part of the first craft-centric series I'm going to be doing here at Fiction Notes.
What I mean by 'series' is...
Some topics I can cover in one edition. Others, not so much. I want to do deep dives into certain foundational aspects of writing fiction, but I also don’t want to bore you with an 8000+ word email. The solution: creating multi-part series to discuss said topics, to be released week after week (although not all weeks). Think 'The Story of Us' from Wait but Why, but related to Fiction writing.
The goal is that by the time I finish all these series, Fiction Notes would have become a detailed map to the very rough terrain one must tread when writing (and publishing) a novel. From beginning to end, from A to Z. Think: Ideas, Genres, Plotting, Character, World-Building, Editing, Publication, Marketing, etc.
So without further ado, this week I'm introducing: The (Elemental) Genres Series: Part I.
But first… we need to define what 'genre' actually means. Because it can mean many, many things.
Genre? What do you mean by Genre?
Genre in literature means either: a) Poetry; b) Prose; c) Drama; d) Hybrid.
But Fiction Notes is all about point b. So what does the word genre mean in Prose-fiction? Publishers think about it this way: in what section of the book store would your book go? There's many: Fantasy & Sci-Fi, Middle-grade, Young Adult, Post-Modernist, Modernist, Historical, Romance, etc..
Do you see the problem with that form of categorization? A book can (and does) fit into more than one of those categories. Let's use my favorite example: Harry Potter. Is it:
a) Middle Grade?
b) Fantasy?
c) Young Adult?
d) All of the above?
Not so easy, right? One could argue that, above all, Harry Potter fits in the sub-section of Fantasy that is usually referred to as Low (or Portal) Fantasy. And that might be true but... how does it help to know your 'store shelf genre' when trying to write a story from scratch?
Enter the folks at the Writing Excuses podcast, and their wonderful creation: The Elemental Genres.
But... Before we get into what those are...
Is it important to think of your story in terms of genre?
In a way, it is.
A big chunk of the book writing process has to do with satisfying your potential readers' expectations. Whether you like it or not, readers (and especially avid readers) are not blank slates you can impress your story upon. For example: if you plan on writing something with magic in it, something that will probably be shelved under 'Fantasy' in your local bookstore, the kind of person who picks up your book will probably already have read other such books. If they take the trouble to buy your novel and commit say ten hours of their life to reading it... they'll be expecting certain things to happen.
And in a way, it isn't.
There is always space for experimentation. For breaking the rules. There is always space for surprising readers with a brand-new take on an otherwise overdone genre full of stories that look like copycats of each other. It all depends on how good your writing is, doesn't it?
But how do you break rules you aren't deeply familiar with? Lots of wanna-be 'experimental' or 'modern' writers seem to forget this.
Either way, back to the Elemental Genres.
What the Elemental Genres Are
Let's look at what the Writing Excuses website says:
The word “genre” has a lot of weight to it. Arguments about whether a particular work is, or is not, part of a given genre are long, and tedious. Season Eleven will not be engaging in those arguments. We’re giving all that a wide miss by adding an adjective, and defining a new term: Elemental Genre.
The word 'genre' having so much weight is precisely the reason why the 'Elemental Genre' concept is so powerful for writers.
Stories repeat themselves–they echo each other, sort to speak. There's even some who claim all stories are the same at their chore, or that at least they stem from the same basic story. (Note: we do not like those people.)
According to the Writing Excuses folk, there are 11 types of stories that are present in basically every novel out there (Be it all of them, or just a few, or just one.) These, they've dubbed the 'Elemental Genres':
Why it is useful to think of your book using the Elemental Genre lense.
First, these categories are just an ingenious way to break apart your own story, so you can keep the different narrative threads separate in your mind. Second, it all goes back to the readers' expectations.
Even if the readers aren't actively aware that what they're reading in your crime thriller is actually a traditional coming of age sub-plot, when they see a girl of 14 starts to experience romantic feelings for the first time, certain expectations are in their minds.
The same thing happens if, asides from the coming of age sub-arc of your protagonist, you've also got an ensemble team as a big part of your story.
Let's look at the Harry Potter example: The way I see it, at least in book one, there are four (maybe more) Elemental Genres at play.
Wonder: The Wizarding World, and all its many literal wonders.
Mystery: What is the Philosopher's Stone? Who is trying to get it and why? Why did Voldemort kill Harry's parents, and tried (but failed) to kill Harry?
Relationship/Ensemble: How the Trio's relationship evolves, and how they act together as an ensemble, each with their specific skills and flaws, to solve the Philosopher's stone's mystery.
Idea: What would the world look like if there were another, hidden world, containing wizards and witches, magical castles, and altogether different species of animals and plants?
As shown by the example above, The Elemental Genre narrative lens allows you to break down a story into its fundamental parts, and see how they connect. Writing, like carpentry, is more of a craft than an art. A good craftsman (or woman) understands the fundamental aspects of the craft and knows how (and when) to use them.
Character, or Tension, or Dialogue, or Plot are all foundational pillars in the craft of Fiction Writing. Understanding each is crucial to a writer’s journey. And so is the understanding of Story itself–which is, I've found, best explored through the concept of Elemental Genres.
And that is what I intend to do: explore. Throughout the following weeks, I'll be studying (exploring) each Elemental Genre, and reporting my findings back to you, in the form of this newsletter, one at a time.
Have a fantastic weekend!
P. S. If you can’t wait until next week, please go ahead and give Writing Excuses, Season 11 a listen. These folks spent an entire year talking about Elemental Genres and, since it’s their own original concept, they probably do a better job at explaining it than I ever will.
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