| If you plan to write and publish a novel, it is | | | | you want to target. Here, though, your reading |
| important to know where it will eventually sit in | | | | tastes will probably provide the answer. If you are |
| the bookstore. This article is designed to help you | | | | a fan of fantasy fiction, write fantasy fiction! |
| do that by presenting a brief overview of the | | | | Literary Fiction |
| different types of novels. | | | | If genre novels place plot over character, with |
| There are actually three broad types of novels: | | | | literary novels the opposite is true - character is |
| genre, literary and mainstream. | | | | more important than plot, as is a concern with |
| - Genre Fiction, also known as category fiction, is | | | | exploring philosophical issues through the novel's |
| the most popular and most widely read. It can be | | | | theme. |
| divided into crime novels, horror novels, science | | | | Again, though, that doesn't mean that plot isn't |
| fictions novels and so on. | | | | important, because it is - at least in good literary |
| - Literary Fiction is far less commercial, and unless | | | | novels. Another characteristic of literary novels is |
| your literary novel happens to win a major prize | | | | a concern with "fine writing." |
| or get made into a movie, it is unlikely to make | | | | If you want freedom as a novelist, literary fiction |
| you rich. | | | | is probably the one for you. Out of the three |
| - Mainstream Fiction, as you would expect, falls | | | | types of novels, literary fiction truly does allow |
| somewhere between the two. | | | | the writer to tackle any subject matter they |
| Beyond popularity, though, what are the essential | | | | want and to write about it in any manner they |
| differences between these three types of | | | | choose. |
| novels? Let's look at them one by one: | | | | Mainstream Fiction |
| Genre Fiction | | | | I said that mainstream fiction sits somewhere |
| The defining characteristic of genre novels is that | | | | between the other two, and it is true: readers of |
| they place a great deal of emphasis on plot over | | | | mainstream novels expect a page-turning plot and |
| character. Put simply, its many fans are simply | | | | strong characterization. |
| looking for a "good read." | | | | The writing should be "fine," just like in literary |
| That isn't to say that all characters in genre fiction | | | | fiction, though it should stop short of being overly |
| are two-dimensional, because they clearly are not. | | | | "poetic." |
| It is just that, with the forward momentum of | | | | But perhaps the primary characteristic of |
| the plot the main priority, the genre writer doesn't | | | | mainstream fiction is its subject matter, which |
| have the luxury of slowing down the action to | | | | deals with the everyday dramas of ordinary |
| explore character in great depth. | | | | people living in the here and now. People just like |
| If you believe that genre novels are for you, the | | | | you and me! |
| next step is to decide which genre in particular | | | | |