Genres

Every story has one or more genres. A genre is the way you describe your story, and it's also used for movies. Some examples of genres are:

-Romance
-Drama
-Comedy
-Mysterie
-Science Fiction
-Fantasy
-Thriller
-Horror
-Historical Fiction

There are many, many more genres, but these are some of the most common ones. Usually, writers prefer writing in a certain genre. Personally, my favorite genres are Drama, Fantasy and Historical. Try different things and genres in order to find the genre you're most comfortable with, or that you enjoy most writing.

The genre for your story is very important. You have to pick one, but you can mix them for different combinations. A couple mix-genre examples.

-Romantic drama
-Romantic comedy
-Historical drama
-Fantasy thriller

Those mixes make sense, because they go well together. But a horror comedy for example, wouldn't make as much sense, because they don't go well together. Of course, everything is possible, and some people find watching 'Saw' movies hilarious, but usually when you write a horror story, you want your readers to either be scared or grossed out, so combining it with comedy is not the most logic thing to do. (Feel free to prove me wrong, though! I know the genre does work for movies. 'Scary Movie' is a perfect example of that! But it doesn't really work for stories...)

A genre is very important for setting the mood for your story. When you see a house like this:



It's not very likely to be a house where a romantic comedy takes place. It's obviously the set for some sort of horror/thriller story. And this…



…isn't likely to be the set for a science fiction laser gun alien fight. Make sure to match your sets and genres well. Here are some ideas for sets that fit certain genres:

Romance:
- The character's home.
- High school (Like I mentioned in the first part, High school romances are very common, but for some reason, they never get old.)
- A bar or a club.

Horror:
- A so called "haunted house".
- Certain parts of the house, such as the basement and the attic. (For some reason, attics are known for being scary, and basements are good hiding places. Scared yet? ;)  )
- An old village.

Thriller:
- A busy city where lots of crime can and will happen.
- A Police/FBI office. (Thrillers are, most of the time, about crime.)
- A crime scene. (Maybe at night?)

Comedy:
- A house where a bunch of teens live together.
- High school (combined with romance and a little drama, this set is perfect for a cheesy but good teenager's story.)
- An office for a very serious job. (With the right colleagues, this could be hilarious.)

A genre could really effect a story's environment. I'll give you an example.

"Good morning, Taemin." Minho smiled brightly at the younger boy before he continued to make breakfast for the both of them. "I hope you're hungry!" He laughed. Taemin smiled.
"You bet!" he approached Minho and stood behind him, bending over his shoulder to take a look.
"No peaking!" Minho said, turning around to face Taemin, who was smiling, showing the boy his best aegyo.

Pretty normal conversation, right? Two friends, maybe lovers, who are having a casual conversation in the kitchen. I'll write the scene again, but this time, in another genre.

"Good morning, Taemin." Minho smiled brightly at the younger boy before he continued to make breakfast for the both of them. "I hope you're hungry!" He laughed. Taemin smirked. "You bet…" he said. He approached Minho slowly, looking him up and down before standing behind him, bending over his shoulder to take a look. He could hear the blood running through the veins in Minho's neck, and he his lips.
"No peaking!" Minho said, turning around to face Taemin, who was grinning, showing the boy his sharp fangs.

See how the same actions can mean something totally different in a different genre? For the first scene, Taemin bend over Minho's shoulder "to take a look". The reader will assume he's looking at the food, and he probably was. But for the second scene, as Taemin bends over to take a look, we learn that he's studying Minho's neck, probably wanting to bite down and have some blood for breakfast.

Another thing that's important when choosing a genre, is that your characters fit in it. If you want to learn more about combining characters with genres, please go to the next part!