McAnally's (The Community Pub) > Author Craft

Subgenres

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Dom:
Hahaha, I knew someone was going to bring up the label thing.  8)

Josh - You do bring up a lot of subgenres that I forgot; I don't have much experience with slipstream (although a friend of mine is big on it), but I'll put that and the others in when I have a moment.  Do you have an example of slipstream?

It is true that subgenres are used as a marketing thing...but it's also simply a human-communications thing.  Nothing bad about it.  Instead of running through, "Do you like this?  Oh, you've never heard them so you couldn't say?  What about this?  Or this?" and run through a list of author names, you simply say, "OOOooh, you like epic fantasy?  Have you tried T. C. Author yet?  S/He does epic fantasy."  Makes it easier to find other books you might like, and/or other people like you/with your tastes.

Also, writers *make* the genre/subgenre.  By coloring outside the lines, mixing colors, etc.  If a new type of story is written by an author, and it starts a trend, a genre name will pop up for it, so people can communicate they like those sorts of themes in their stories when they discuss books/look for new books.  So it doesn't matter if a book pops up that can't be classified; it'll classify itself with a new name, eventually, if it's that good.

What labels people use for your work is never something an artist can fully control.  Personally I think that's ok...labels are for the fans, so they can talk about something efficiantly using a jargon other fans understand.  Labels are not for the author.

I personally have an interest in labels because I like to watch how the market is going...how authors are inspired by this or that work, and make their own with a similar theme, and how other stories and genres evolve out of it.  It's fascinating.  And also, how editors pick up a theme, and publish more of a subgenre due to reader response.  It's all interplaying together.

blgarver:

--- Quote from: Josh on March 01, 2007, 10:03:05 PM ---
Maybe some of Crichton's work? Haven't read much of that myself. Do Prey or Jurassic Park have elements of horror in them, or are they more thriller science fiction?



--- End quote ---

Most of Crichton's stuff is SciFi/thriller, and what I like to call Science Not-so-fiction.  I swore by Crichton for years, but not all of his stuff is great.  Prey and Sphere are probably the closest to Horror that I've read.  Prey creeped me the eff out.  Sphere is still my favorite from Crichton, but Prey was really good.

Josh:
A few links on slipstream:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slipstream_(literature)

http://ninebelow.livejournal.com/169856.html


The classic definition is a genre where fantastic elements mingle with an otherwise normal or natural environment. It doesn't fit fully in either the "mainstream" genre, or speculative fiction. It is where you tend to find the more surreal prose, and, instead of accepting some full system of magic or rocket ships, you might just have to give the story a few suspensions of disbelief. Another more emergent genre, and one that people sometimes lump together with slipstream, is magical realism.

Both links have recommended authors and titles. The second one has a link to a Master List of slipstream titles as well.

And I agree. There is nothing inherently wrong with labels. As usual, it's only when something is taken to an extreme that it can go sour, by either making a writer feel limited as to the scope of what they can write, or causing confusion when searching for a particular title in one section, to find out it got shelved in..what? Cooking? This also raises the question of whether an author, especially a beginning one, should focus on one genre for a while to build up their sales before branching out to different audiences. Obviously within the speculative fiction realm itself there are a lot of options as to what styles those stories can cling to, but even then some can find it difficult to shift gears from even writing a science fiction novel to a fantasy novel. You may be able to write it well, but you have to realize that sometimes the audience for even those two pieces of the pie can be loyal to the death. That means you have to build up an entirely new presence and risk losing those people who liked your science fiction, but don't like fantasy, plus prove yourself to everyone in fantasy who never touched your science fiction work.


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