What do you think of when you hear the word GENRE?
Typical Genre
My mind immediately goes to my favorite categories of books and where I find them in the library or bookstore. Mystery! Historical Fiction! Young Adult. These are my choices. I also think of other genres like romance, westerns, sci-fi, fantasy, literary fiction, biography, memoir, mid-grade stories, short stories, epic, tragedy, comedy, and more. You can find a list of 35 typical book genres at Reedsy: https://blog.reedsy.com/book-genres/
SAVE THE CAT Genres
But if you are at all familiar with SAVE THE CAT! by Blake Edwards and the adaptation SAVE THE CAT WRITES A NOVEL! by Jessica Brody, you’ll have a different perspective on genre.
The 10 story genres described in SAVE THE CAT jargon are Buddy Love, The Fool Triumphant, Out of the Bottle, Dude with a Problem, Superhero, Institutionalized, Monster in the House, Golden Fleece, Rites of Passage, and Whydunit. Check her out on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KG49Fxn7zPk
Procrastination
I am having trouble sorting through what story type I want to write this year during NaNoWriMo. This is a problem because we’re already 4 days into the month! Clearly, I’m back to historical fiction. Mostly centered also in the YA category. But what type of story am I really writing? I can immediately rule out Monster in the House. I will never write one of those. (Horror stories are not my thing.) I don’t feel much like Whydunit, either. I’ve done Dude with a Problem. I’m not attracted to Superheroes. I’ve always wanted to do the Fool Triumphant, but maybe not this year.
Out of the Bottle, Institutionalized, Golden Fleece and Rites of Passage are all calling to me. Do I want to blend in some magic or magical realism? (I love reading those types of stories, but that would be a challenge to write.) Institutionalized feels unusual in a good and disturbing way. I love a road trip and some of my story seems ready-made for Golden Fleece. And my germ novel idea also fits with Rites of Passage. And I am procrastinating, not knowing where to start, what I want to write, and not hearing much from my story germ idea.
Resolved…
Does it really matter for a first draft? I don’t think it’s critical. I do think having a choice made could help speed the process or offer insights and direction in the difficult middle. But at this point, I think I will just start writing and see if my character comes alive and gives me some more information. Or I may try a little of each and write and rewrite to see what it would look like if I chose one or the other options.
What are you writing this 2024 National Novel Writing Month?