Now that NaNoWriMo is in full effect, I thought I’d return to a post from approximately a year ago to see which way the genre winds are blowing in late 2010. Will the breakdown be the same as last year? Is there a genre or two that are growing in popularity?
Poll below.
Also, I know genre distinctions are blurry, so just pick one in case there’s overlap. And remember, when in doubt: go with the section of the bookstore your book would be stocked in. As before, I added “paranormal” to the categories even though it’s not typically a bookstore section simply because there are so many people writing about vampires, werewolves, etc.
My answers is still the same as last year: middle grade science fiction.
I've been seeing a ton of steampunk going on amongst writer friends lately, most of whom were writing paranormals last year.
My book is sort of like the Indiana Jones movies. What genre is that?
Mine is part of a series. I have roughs of two more, done in the previous two NaNos. After this one, I follow your instructions for making a series bible and then I polish!
Marian Allen
Mine started off as what I thought of as YA fiction, but others who've seen it in progress say it's tipped into sci-fi, so I guess I have to reclassify it.
I voted for "science fiction", but it's actually erotic science fiction romance.
*beams*
Women's fiction here!!!!
Mine is a near-future spec-fic/sci-fi novel. So far, it's going well.
Mine is historical (to be more specific, Biblical) fiction. Not doing NaNo though. Interesting!
Why isn't there a young adult suspense category?
Thought there would be more Supernatural/Paranormal votes so far!
An attempt at a supernaturalist list for twitter here: https://twitter.com/#!/CjEggett/nanowrimo-supernaturalist
becca-
There's YA mystery, intended to include YA mystery/suspense/thriller – I didn't want to write out everything in that category because it would have been too long.
I don't know – Unofficial Girl begins with a science fiction experiment which sets off a series of events involving romance, spies, and a life-and-death hunt through London.
Did chick-lit become humor or women's fiction?
What happened to mainstream or adventure?
Yay – a post from Nathan. I was starting to have withdrawal symptoms. 🙂
Hope New York is treating you super-duper.
I choose prescriptive non-fiction, although humor, memoir, picture books and….I don't what to call them, these other thingies…are also genres within which I write.
And papers. Academic papers. Are you sure you're not interested in representing my school papers, Nathan? This week, I'm doing an observation study on the DMV. That's where I observe people in the DMV, and write a paper on what they did. This is a very exciting study, and there should be a HUGE audience for my results. Let me know.
Go Giants!!!
Is this supposed to be for our NaNoWriMo novels, or any WIP? (My Nano novel and my "real" WIP are in different genres.)
My word verification right now is "seducr," which tells me maybe I should try to add romance to the list…
I know it's too late but Literary Commercial Fiction is the best way to categorize what I write.
Is it appropriate to use that term in a query?
Thanks, Nathan.
Mine is horror, like last year.
Fantasy! At least, I think if it's set in a fantasy world quite different from modern-day normal that happens to include werewolves it's still primarily classified as fantasy . . .
Unfortunately, this is the same one as last time and it's not much closer to being finished 🙁
Why isn't there a YA Rural Fantasy option? I thought we talked about this Nathan.
Congrats on being world champs by the way. It's really nice to see someone who isn't NY/PHI/STL on top.
Mine's steampunk, which I suppose falls under fantasy (it's more magically-oriented steampunk, not very science-y, so I don't really view it as sci-fi)
🙂
Mine's a ghost story, so I'm going with paranormal. Not quite fantasy, but no vampires. *shrug*
Romance for me. It'll be my first time doing a romance, so I'm pretty excited. And nervous, but that's normal.
After reading Bookends blog earlier today I realized that my work is best classified as, cross-genre fantasy romance. It is a mouth full but it best discribes what I am writing.
I chose Science Fiction because that's what almost all of my novels have been. But the WIP…the WIP is more of a contemporary Lovecraftian story. I didn't think Cthulhu fit in with paranormal. (He certainly doesn't sparkle in the sun.)
Given the detail you gave to the YA and MG markets, I would have thought separating urban fantasy from fantasy would have also been appropriate.
mine's a fantasy that will end up being entirely too long. one of the downfalls of being a pantser.
Mine is a high concept adventure story, but I put sci-fi because the inciting incident involves an another-worldly source.
I'm a little strange, I guess. I have one Sci-Fi novel, one modern Romance/Adventure novel, one Fantasy novel, and one trashy Romance/Erotic novel all in the works at once. *sigh* Now, if I can just get one of them finished to my liking…
Memoir which might turn into fiction.
Fantasy in beta status where I've tried to leave all the fantasy cliches behind and create a brand new world with it (Based on the beta reviews it seems the novel is succeeded on this front.). My other WIP is a dark sci-fi story, which will be a comic novel.
My WIP is straight-up fantasy.
I've also written urban fantasy, YA fantasy, steampunk, and historical paranormal. My next WIP is likely to be either steampunk-flavoured science fiction or YA science fiction.
Why yes, I do enjoy playing in all corners of the SF/F genre…
Pseudo sci-fi dystopia novel with a love story… I threw it under sci-fi. Why not? 🙂
I voted fantasy because I'll be pitching it as urban fantasy, but it's got a bunch of sci-fi elements.
A fellow writer friend turned me on to a new and upcoming genre called New Adult fiction or something of the like. Written for post-grad twenty year-olds, not appropriate for a young adult crowd, but not technically a true adult fiction.
This is what mine falls under.
Lisa K
Mine is science fiction/ fantasy blend with a slight tinge of horror targeted for 12+ gifted kids, though some kids down to 10+ might can read it. It is set in present day and the story interacts with present day Earth. I don't know what exact genre classification that makes it. Anyway, it's a 4 part serial.
I wish NaNo had your options. My book is classified as "Young Adult" in NaNo since the protagonist is seventeen, but it's also a sci-fi and I wish I could choose both options for it.
Not doing NaNo this year because I'm finishing my paranormal romance and then revising another.
romantic drama
I clicked MG Sci-fi but it didn't register.
Did you block the genre to keep it all to yourself? I'm thinking you did.
😉
Is rawhide a genre? Oh wait! You said WIP! Well, I'm still wipping mine into shape, but Young Adult Dieselpunk is probably the most succinct description. Of your listed categories, Nathan, I could have selected Fantasy or Science Fiction or YA Fantasy or YA SF. I selected YA SF as the best fit.
As I've commented before, Irish bookstores have Teenager sections, but no YA sections. My series would probably end up in the Teenager or Fantasy or SF sections, the last two sections often being combined. There are no MG sections because Irish schools have classes, not grades, and none are described as 'middle'. Do American bookstores really have SEVEN different YA sections and MG sections?
Anima, my WIP also resembles the Indiana Jones series. Indy is Action/Adventure with Fantasy elements, but has more recently been claimed by Dieselpunk. Interesting how the religious/occult fantasy of the first three movies is replaced by Science Fiction in the fourth movie. Interesting too that Nathan lists no Action/Adventure category. I wonder where he would shelve Indy? Apart from a 'Movie tie-in' shelf.
JACOB WONDERBAR sounds like MG Fantasy to me, although it does feature Extra-Solar Planetary Flatulence…
Romance, always romance…
Does 1954-64 count as historical? It's Gypsy meets The Bean Trees during the Cold War.
Woman's fiction for me. I'm continuing a novel I began last month but am determined to input 50K this month! So far I've upped my word count by close to 6K.
YA and MG writing have grown in popularity (which isn't surprising when you consider a few factors). I don't read them but I can't miss them in the bookstores.
My revision WIP and new WIP (being mapped) are genre fiction aimed at the adult audience.
Markets are fickle, I'm banking on that. What's in today may very well be out tomorrow. So the best thing to do is to keep writing, testing the waters, and learning.
What do you glean from this information, Nathan? It would be interesting to know if the types of responses in this vote will equal or come close to the types of queries you receive in your in-box.
I wonder why there's no YA – Literary Fiction.
What would Catcher in the Rye and Huckleberry Finn qualify as? Obviously they're timeless and qualify under the general lit-fic banner, but their demographic is typically younger readers.
Is it because their technical proficiency can still be appreciated by adults as well?
Frankly, I find the brunt of the YA label to be a cop-out.* It's allowed too many authors who haven't honed their writing skills or world view beyond that of a teenager to publish books all willy-nilly. I'm sure some would argue that if they're getting published and kids are reading it, that's all that matters, but I would beg to differ. The fodder teenagers are reading nowadays is teaching them that mediocre writing isn't just acceptable but it's rewarded. As a result, aspiring young authors never feel the need to set lofty literary goals for their own work.
Basically, it's compounding the problem of the collective dumbing-down of society (although probably not as much as television shows like Ghosthunters, UFO Hunters, and whatever 'psychic' show is having its 'fifteen minutes' this week).
*(No offense to anyone classifying their work as YA. There are certainly quality books in the genre – they just seem to be getting fewer and further between. So make your work extraordinary!)
Speaking of setting a higher standard for writing:
I'll give a cookie to whoever spots the glaring grammatical error in my comment above.
Here's a hint: I misappropriated a word.
/begins baking cookies
Mine is adult mainstream, though I see no category for it.
It's adult urban/dark fantasy for me. Leaning more toward the darker side of things for NaNo.
Best
J
My first NANO, I did an urban fantasy romance…basically hot werewolves running from the bad guys and falling in love. 🙂 Hey, it was SO FUN to write.
This year I'm doing a dark action-adventure comedy where I hope to break most of the rules of novel writing.
🙂
WHat fun is NANO if you don't stretch.
Tirzah Laughs
MG Fantasy. :o)