February #InkRipples - Genre

The irony of this month’s #InkRipples topic, GENRE, is that I picked it and I don’t know anything about it. Not really. To me, genre is like the math of the literary world. You can explain it to me again and again and I think I understand until I actually try to apply the knowledge and then it all gets mixed up. Because of that, I cannot promise the most educational blog posts this month, but I will endeavor to provide some enlightenment. Or perhaps simply some entertainment.

Each time I set out to compose a post, my mind ended up in a twist. Since I know other bloggers will provide far more reliable information this month than I can, I decided to find out what genres YOU read. So I posted the question on Facebook: “Okay, be honest. Go-to genre when you want to escape.” Holy cow I absolutely LOVE how diverse the responses were! If ever I worry that there isn’t enough room in the writing world for me, I’m going to revisit this post!

Anyway, here is a compilation of the responses - as accurately as I could manage - followed by the number of people who responded with the same answer.

Fiction  (1)
Historical Fiction (3)
Speculative Fiction (1)
Magical Realism (1)
Science Fiction (3)
Humorous Fiction (1)
Dystopian (2)
Fantasy (10)
Urban Fantasy (3)
Young Adult Fantasy (2)
Children’s Fantasy (1)
Paranormal (1)
Ghost Story (1)
Horror (2)
Romance (6)
LGBT Romance (1)
Romantic Suspense (1)
Regency Romance (1)
Young Adult Romance (1)
Historical Romance (3)
Paranormal Romance (2)
YA Paranormal Romance (1)
Contemporary Romance (1)
Mystery (5)
Mystery Set in Britain  (1)
Murder Mystery (4)
Thrillers (1)
Psychological Thriller (1)
Detective (2)
Suspense (1)
Domestic Noir (1)
Classic Novels (1)
Board Books (1)
Picture Books (1)
Children’s Literature (1)
Middle Grade (1)
Humorous Middle Grade (1)
Young Adult (4)
Coming of Age (1)
Literary (1)
Chick Lit (1)
Travel Writing (2)
Biographies (1)
Self Help (2)
Humorous Non Fiction (1)
Gardening Books (1)
Religious (1)
And my all time favorite genre ;)
Harry Potter (1)

I do realize that some of these are not official genre categories, but if a reader considers it a genre…who am I to argue? I will attempt to explore genre categories later this month. Until then, isn’t it absolutely great how many different categories and sub-categories are identified here? You’ll notice that fantasy had the most responders, yet others specified their go-to sub-category; urban, young adult, children’s.

Thank you to those who responded. It really opened my eyes to the enormity of storytelling potential.

What is your go-to genre when you want to escape?


#Inkripples is a themed meme hosted by Mary Waibel, Katie L. Carroll, and Kai Strand posting on the first Monday of every month. To participate compose your own post regarding the theme of the month, and link back to the three host blogs. Feel free to post whenever you want during the month, but be sure to include #inkripples when you promote so readers can find you. The idea is that we toss a word or idea into the inkwell and each post is a new ripple. There is no wrong interpretation. Themes and images and more information can be found here.

Comments

  1. JoanCurtisFebruary 6, 2017 at 10:52 AM

    Hi Kai, Thanks for the overview of genre from your FB friends. How interesting. I wonder what age group this sample represents. My friends tend to read more literary fiction and mystery. But, I'm old!

    I do think genre is confusing. Especially to us writers. We like to write from the heart--not according to some formula. At least I do. When I start writing from a formula, my creativity dries up. The writing becomes work.

    As for me, my go-to fun reading is mystery, particularly with a detective I've already met and like.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kai Strand, AuthorFebruary 6, 2017 at 5:58 PM

      It's so nice to hear you read what you write. I'm always surprised by how many writers prefer (say) thrillers and write (say) chapter books. Lol.

      Delete
  2. UnknownFebruary 6, 2017 at 11:27 AM

    I thought it was super clever to reach out to readers to find out what their go-to genres are. Very interesting results!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kai Strand, AuthorFebruary 6, 2017 at 5:59 PM

      So fascinating. And affirming that I'm not the only one who thinks pretty much every category is a genre. Lol.

      Delete
  3. Beverly Stowe McClureFebruary 6, 2017 at 5:11 PM

    I did your survey, but very seldom think of a novel's genre. I'm not even sure what that means, so obviously I pay little attention to what genre I read and write. I read what appeals to me, and that's quite a variety. My writing is different with each story too. Guess I need to learn more about the thing before my #InkRipples post next week. Looking forward to your further research.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kai Strand, AuthorFebruary 6, 2017 at 6:00 PM

      I hope I can come up with something interesting or helpful. I swear reading about genre makes me feel like I have a sieve for a brain. Maybe I do...

      Delete
  4. Meradeth HoustonFebruary 6, 2017 at 8:55 PM

    Okay, those were super fun to read through! I really like the way you approached this :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kai Strand, AuthorFebruary 8, 2017 at 8:01 AM

      Thanks, Meradeth. I'm really glad I did this. The diversity opened something in my mind.

      Delete
  5. Kelly HashwayFebruary 8, 2017 at 7:54 AM

    Wow! That's a lot of diverse responses! I'm a little shocked!

    ReplyDelete

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