Which Genre is the Right Fit?

So, as I mentioned in a previous post, I've been doing genre searches. The genre listings on Amazon aren't as extensive as I expected, hearing raving comments on the benefits of checking there, but it helped.

I also came across a general description of Sci-fi/Fantasy that made me more comfortable with classifying my novel(s) as fantasy. I suppose if it isn't historical or futuristic (Earth or existing planets), then it's fantasy! Which makes sense... but we don't classify all fiction as fantasy. They obviously have different meanings. If it's about possibility, who's to say it's impossible for elves to be living under rocks undiscovered by science?

But let's push technicalities aside--I'll understand it eventually. Right?

Picky Choosey

I narrowed the genre to "African-American Women's Coming-of-Age Fantasy" then proceeded to prance about the room. If I had to choose two, I'd probably go with African-American Fantasy or Women's Coming-of-Age--the latter seems more intriguing but a lot less descriptive. I'd also consider Spiritual Fantasy, but I wouldn't miss a chance to slap them all together!

It turns out coming-of-age stories are typically written with male teen main characters. I found this very interesting, and all the more compelling to apply that genre... once I convinced myself that it was okay that the main character was female and 18, not 12.

I'm also aware that most non-Black people (and Black people) turn the other way when they see "African-American" as a label. I have to admit that I've been guilty of it, as well and I'd be a fool to say I haven't been, given this society. They automatically think it means a) positive: it's only for Black people or b) negative: it's full of a lot of race-stuff that they dedicate their lives to perpetuating and denying the existence of. There's also people who think "low-quality."

One look on Amazon'll blast that low-quality thought out of your head. Your school/community only put a few poorly-designed and written 60-80 page urban romance novels in your library or at your book fair to make you think that! And a focus on Their Eyes Were Watching God to keep you from realizing it.

Breaking the Chain

While I was researching, I felt I was doing something wrong because it seemed like fixing a genre on your writing was supposed to be easy. At the same time, I kept reading and observing how editors, expectations, and preference make most novels fit nicely in a genre. Advice popped up saying decide first your genre and audience, then write.

Another way to interpret this message is "make it fit in a genre to be sure it'll sell." Only once did I see advice that matched my own beliefs--if you have a story, write it, and then fix a genre--and it was a single stray comment. Deciding a genre first would certainly help the story conform to that genre. And that's the idea.

There are genres I avoid because I feel the books in them are very similar, though I may read one occasionally. I don't believe I'm alone in this sentiment, either.

Once standards of evaluation are set up, they end up restricting good works that don't match. And those that match eventually grow monotonous. Twinkle, twinkle little star, next time won't you sing with me?

I've seen a lot of authors asking for help when their novel "has a little bit of mystery, romance, and suspense." This example doesn't make an atypical novel, but it certainly makes a more realistic novel. The traditional market seems to favor fast-paced writing with a largely singular focus, but readers wouldn't agree. (After all, they do make us read theme-less, boring classics in school.)

A fellow writer asked if anyone else experienced the phenomenon where you feel like you're including too much about the character's life in unimportant settings. I definitely have. Conversely, there are fast paced novels where the character is never out of the action except to take a sip of coffee at a conveniently-located coffee shop. And it's ironic how movies are so bent on inserting unimportant sex scenes when we don't focus as much on the character popping a squat, or--more importantly--eating food. Is the character a leafy greens kind of girl or the polar bear brains type?

If, for artistic purposes, it's okay to focus robustly on sex in non-romantic works, why not blaze paths freely in every direction?

(Aside: There's so many different definitions bouncing around, I believe I have the idea of mainstream fiction wrong in a previous post.)