Defining The Genre Of A Novel: An IWSG Post

About the IWSG (from Alex J. Cavanagh's blog):

Time to release our fears to the world – or offer encouragement to those who are feeling neurotic.

Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling.

With the onset of the National Novel Writing Month (or NaNoWriMo, as it's called by a lot of writers, though I'd love it if someone told me why it's not shortened to the easier-to-type NNWM) I've been hammering away at my untitled project. And it's kind of undefined in other ways than just title: I'm not sure what genre it is.

My original intention was Steampunk; indeed, I think that with changes it could fall into the Steampunk genre. But while I'm describing the character's surroundings and interpreting them through her perspective (I've changed my main character's gender, too, because hey, everything else was up for grabs) I'm not giving it a ton of emphasis. This is hardly my normal method--I'm attracted to Science Fiction and Fantasy for its world-building, and then here I am, doing hardly any at all.

Does it bother me now that I can't see a defining factor in setting? Yes. Does it worry me in the long run that I have no specific category to fit my novel into? No. This is NaNoWriMo (NNWM! I tell you) and while I may not be sure if it's a Contemporary Science Fiction/Steampunk and Action/Adventure or actually a Steampunk novel masquerading as a rather Literary novel with an overdose of Action/Adventure (or maybe just a story about ninjas that's so stealthy it's invisible), I am going to keep writing the way I have been for the past 28,000 words. Because pigeon-holing can come later (or not at all) and I'm going to have fun with this first draft. It's not every month one has an official challenge to which to rise.

Do you have fun with your first drafts, or do you prefer the rewriting/revising/editing stages that come later? Ever had a project that didn't immediately tell you which genre it was?

Also: I'm sorry if I haven't gotten around to your blog in days, or even for over a week. I know I've replied to comments over a couple days old and Google Reader has exploded into the 1000+ posts state, with 600+ in the folder I frequent the most often. Basically, I'm spending hours writing every day for NaNoWriMo and I just can't keep up with everyone. I do promise to visit your blogs as often as I can this month and in December I'm sure I'll be back in force, assuming I escape the clutches of NaNo alive.


-----The Golden Eagle

Genre Favorites Blogfest

The Genre Favorites Blogfest is hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh, and the rules are simple:

One blogfest, four favorites!
List your favorite genre of:

Movie
Music
Books

And a guilty pleasure genre from any of the three categories!

My favorites:


Movies: Fantasy
I was going to say Science Fiction for this category . . . but then I realized that a lot of my favorite movies (The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter) are Fantasy. I've seen more Fantasy than SF.

Music: Classical
I do like some contemporary music. But classical is the type I can listen to non-stop, and there are so many amazing composers/works that have emerged over hundreds of years.

Books: Science Fiction
Would you believe I used to somewhat avoid SF? I'm not really sure why . . . but most of my reading was Fantasy/Contemporary before I began writing my first novel, which was inspired by a Science Fiction book. And now I'm a bit obsessed with the genre.

Guilty Pleasure: Books: Young Adult Dystopian
I suppose you could put this under Science Fiction, but Dystopian (particularly YA Dystopian) has its own distinct traits. The genre can be very formulaic, predictable, and after reading too much of it I begin to feel like the future is a mire of hopeless politics and oppression (not to say that current events are full of sunshine and optimism, of course), but I do enjoy the character development that usually comes with the protagonist's refutation of their world's rules.


What's one of your favorite genres from the above categories?


-----The Golden Eagle

Insecure Writer's Support Group: Genre

I love writing Science Fiction. And Fantasy. The first stories I wrote were Fantasy, since I loved playing around with magic and all the cool things you could do by creating your own world. Once I started reading SF, though, I migrated a lot of what I wrote into that world-building field (not to say I don't love Fantasy anymore).

But sometimes I wonder if I'm cut out for it. While I enjoy Hard SF, full of its jargon and technicalities, I can't write it very well. It's too full of stuff I don't have a full grasp of. And though I enjoy reading Soft SF, exploring possible worlds that aren't quite so far ahead--or have more Fantasy elements--as some Science Fiction, I never really feel that I could match its level of complexity on a more human sort of level.

Then again, I write SF anyway. I write it because I love the genre and its twists and turns, and I love exploring new worlds and new ideas. Sometimes I don't think I do a story I've got in my head justice, or that my writing is up to it, but it's fun.

And when I do manage to come up with something part of my brain says, grudgingly, is not completely horrible,  then it's even more fun.

So. Go take on your genre. Because regardless of what it is you love about it, writing is supposed to be enjoyable. And hey, the more you write it, the better you get.

What's your favorite genre?


-----The Golden Eagle

Do You Speak Your Genre?

Every genre comes with its own kind of specifications.

Science Fiction is based in the future, Fantasy is based on made-up worlds, Historical Fiction is based on (you guessed it) history, and so on. But most genres also have their own slang and usage to go along with their characters, setting, and plot.

For example, say you pick up a Fantasy book. It saves writing and the reader's time if you just assume the person holding the book understands what it means to scry, or what a mage is, and there are often four elementals.

In Science Fiction, using terms like hyperspace, intergalactic, interstellar, star system, and so on is among the everyday. Starship? Let's get the jump drives fired up, Captain!

And there's the more specialized slang, one of the main ones I can think of being the slew of gaming terms, particularly 1337: j00 KN0W wH@ i m34n?*

(SOURCE)

Plus, some books are written in tweets and IM and email. In thos cases its eesy to rn into speleing errors and abbrs., wich can b hard 2 read, after a while.

(SOURCE)

It isn't necessary to use those kinds of terms, of course; I've read several books that used little slang, and pulled it off just fine. However--especially with SF/F and other books set in other worlds--it seems almost inevitable you're going to be using some kind of genre-specific language.

It can go the other way, too. Some books I've read just use word after word after word that I would have to sit around and stare at for a while to get their meaning. Sometimes it's fun to decipher a lot of leetspeak, or puzzle through BRB and LOL and TTYL, but if I just want to sit back, relax, and read, they can get on the nerves.

What about you? Do you use slang, and words with their own specific usage, in your writing? If so, what kind? Do you like it when authors use slang, or does it just get in the way?

*Okay, I cheated. I used this 1337 Translator. I'm not a gamer.

-----The Golden Eagle

My Crusader Group, Poll Results, And Award

I noticed other people were posting their Crusader Groups, as a way of welcoming the others who write in the same genre/age group/etc., so I decided to do the same. :)


Here's a list of everyone in the Fantasy/Science Fiction Group, which is where I am:


1. Dominic de Mattos (Writes of Passage) [Twitter] Fantasy, science fiction 

2. Anica Grey (Butterfly Mind) [Twitter] Science-fiction, fantasy 

3. Sandra Ulbrich Almazan (Sandra Ulbrich Almazan: Speculative Fiction Author) Science fiction, fantasy 

4. Tony Benson (Fireside Park) Science fiction, fantasy (with a paranormal element) 

5. The Golden Eagle (The Eagle's Aerial Perspective) Science fiction, fantasy, adventure/action, YA 


Me. ;)

6. Mlle Lizka (Laws of Gravity) Fantasy (with science fiction elements) 

7. Chris Kelworth (The Kelworth Files) Science fiction, fantasy 

8. Mercy (Have Mercy! Killer Reviews) [Twitter] Fantasy, science fiction 

9. Rogue Mutt (Every Other Writer Has a Blog...Why Can't I?) Science fiction, fantasy 

10. Charity Bradford (My Writing Journey) [Twitter] Science fiction, fantasy (with a heavy dose of adventure and romance) 

11. Gen Jordan (Living on Earth) Science fiction, fantasy, occasional fan-fiction 

12. Pensheep (A Writerly Pensheep) [Twitter] Speculative fiction, literary fiction 

13. K. Howard (Morike of the Chair) Science fiction, fantasy 

14. Cindy Borgne (Dreamer's Perch) [Twitter] Science fiction, fantasy, paranormal, inspirational 

15. Michael Offutt (SLC Kismet) Science fiction, speculative fiction, fantasy, urban fantasy, dark fantasy 

So, welcome to my blog, fellow Crusaders! I believe I follow all of you, or are subscribed to your blog--if I don't follow you, do speak up so I can get to your blog!

*****

You know the poll I had on my sidebar? Well, it got 61 votes (61!), the question being "Which genre do you write in the most?" and the results are:


17 of you write Science Fiction.
26 write Fantasy.
3 write Thriller/Mystery.
7 write Romance.
5 write Realistic Fiction.
1 write Paranormal.
2 write in another genre I didn't include in the options.

Interesting. Fantasy obviously trumped everything else, but I guess that's to be expected. A lot of you do seem to be in that genre! Which is cool. I've written it myself, and still do--if I'm in the mood for magic and dragons and evil powers and everything else that's in Fantasy--although Science Fiction was my answer.

*****

I was awarded by Cally Jackson at the blog of the same name. Thank you, Cally!

And because I've been awarded before with the Stylish Blogger, I'm going to pass on listing seven things about myself and offer this up to anyone who wants to take it. Seriously. If you want this stylish award and wish to pass it on, feel free!

*****

Also, don't forget you still have until Sunday to ask me questions for my blogoversary celebration!


-----The Golden Eagle