Fantasy Genres

[Lorna]

I'm still struggling to get my head around fantasy genres, let alone decide which one by WIP fits into. The best guide I could find to genres is here.

Guide to Fantasy Genres | Best Fantasy Books

Do you think being able to locate your work in a genre matters?

Can anyone here stand up and say their work is in the heroic / epic / low / literary / dark fantasy or sword and sorcery genre and explain why?

 

[Steerpike]

I don't think it matters that much, except I suppose during the process of submitting or find a publisher or agent. It can matter there in that you'd waste time submitting to someone who doesn't handle your genre. That said, I suspect most who handle fantasy generally are inclusive with respect to the different types.

If you get a publishing contract, the publisher and their marketing people will probably decide what genre they want to sell your work under. As I've related before, I know someone who wrote a fantasy novel, only to have the publisher ask for a few changes in it so they could actually market it as a Romance. Which they did.

 

[Feo Takahari]

I don't think it actually matters what genre you're in, because they keep creating new ones anyways.

Personally, I like a little grit, a little dirt, and a lot of cool magitek gadgets. That's punk, but it's variously classified as steampunk, cyberpunk, clockpunk, biopunk, dungeonpunk, etc. etc. etc. (And some of what I've written is closer to dark fantasy in terms of content, despite not being very different in tone from the rest of what I've written.)

 

[Sheilawisz]

Hello Lorna, like Steerpike says it's not really important to know what Fantasy sub-genre your stories are because, if you get to publish it, your publishers in the end will decide what sub-genre they want to call it and how to market it towards a specific category of readers.

My first and second Fantasy series are difficult to categorize because I write a very strange style of Fantasy with dream-like worlds, unreal Magic, unhuman characters and other surreal things, so I call it Surreal Fantasy or just Writing Unreality =)

Fantasy is so vast and diverse and that is a wonderful thing...

 

[Philip Overby]

Maybe I've said this elsewhere, but genres are created by publishers most of the time, not by writers. Publishers like to put things in nice, tidy niches so they can market to an audience that likes that niche. I recently was browsing online markets and found one that said, "No urban fantasy." That means, no urban fantasy. It's good to be aware of what urban fantasy is, so you don't submit something that's going to get deleted for not following submission guidelines. I also see a lot that say "no vampire stories, no stories with drug-addled characters, etc." I've also seen some that say "no sword and sorcery." So knowing what these genres are may save you some heartache down the line. Also, when pitching ideas, if a certain market is looking for say, epic fantasy, then you'll know if your novel could possibly be considered such.

So for writers, genre doesn't matter so much.

For publishers and markets trying to sell something, it does.

 

[BWFoster78]

I'll take the contrary view to the other posters because, well, that's just what I do.

Let's assume that you want to actually have your book sell, which should be a safe hypothesis considering you're worried about genres. Each subset of fantasy has certain demands, and the audience for that genre is going to expect them. I'm not saying that you have to follow every cliche out there, but you should at least be aware of expectations.

Just a thought...

 

[Zero Angel]

And here I thought I came up with "superhero fantasy" after not seeing it on any genre list for the last 4 years -_-

My series is an epic, coming-of-age, heroic, high, sword-and-sorcery, magic realism, science fantasy, arthurian, alternate history, steampunk, superhero fantasy.

My first book omits some of the genres and is only an epic, coming-of-age, heroic, high, sword-and-sorcery, magic realism, superhero fantasy...

 

[Svrtnsse]

Contemporary epic urban speculative fantasy - or something to that effect.

 

[ThinkerX]

I noticed several books appeared in different catagories on that site. 'Song of Ice and Fire' made like four of the major catagories, 'Black Company' appeared in two or three, as did 'Wheel of Time'.

As to my own writings...tough call. Possibly 'Dark Fantasy' because of the Lovecraftian things lurking in the shadows, but there is also politics and heroism along with that. Lines are not quite drawn clearly enough for 'Epic Fantasy' though....hmmm..

 

[TWErvin2]

I think that while publishers and agents categorize by the various subgenres, readers do use them at times. It's an identifier of what they read. Sure, readers are likely to describe what they enjoy by the authors they read, but not not always.

As for my series, it isn't categorized in the article: Post-Apocalyptic Epic Fantasy

It is also a short-hand way of describing my works to potential readers at SF/Fantasy conventions as they're browsing, although the sub-genre of my novels doesn't exactly roll off the tongue.

 

[CupofJoe]

Genres and labels can be your friend. They help others get an idea of what they should expect before they spend the money/time.
I like wine. I like red wine. I like Merlot. So I don't head ever for the white or rose wines... and then someone gave me a really good [I mean very very good] Chablis and now I'm addicted to something I can't possibly afford.
If someone is likes Romantic fantasy or the epic style then the chances are they might not like the Urban or Gritty styles.
All that said it is a bit depressing to see what I am writing described as "Low Fantasy"...
I prefer my description of "Mundane Fantasy".

 

[Lorna]

Thankyou everybody for your replies.

The verdict seems to be that ultimately it is publishers not writers who decide where a novel fits.

However, writers should know the genres and have a clear idea of what their work is not, even if they cannot fit their work perfectly into one given genre.

So... my WIP certainly is not urban, S & S, low or epic.

It fits into the heroic fantasy category because the MC is a comic book style hero / anti-hero and focuses on his struggles against a system of control. However, I've done alot of world building and the metaphysical structure of the world and system of magic are really important so it's also high fantasy. There are horror elements but they are more psychological so I don't think it's got 'dark fantasy' elements in the sense mentioned in the guide although it's certainly dark. Then there's the black comedy. That's not listed. It's also got a surreal edge.

Makes for a horrid description:

Heroic high fantasy containing horror and black comedy.

Surreal black comic heroic high fantasy.

 

[Graylorne]

I've been struggling with this for some time now. My publisher calls my Shadow of the Revenauntbooks epic fantasy.

I don't agree. To my mind it's too matter of fact to be epic, it lacks grand battles, elves and dwarves, etc. They live in castles and wear armour, but that's absence of technology, not medievalism. So I simply call it fantasy adventure. No more, no less.

 

[SeverinR]

I learned which sub-category my writings are and aren't.

Definately not epic, "small backwoods farm boy saves the world..." not my style.
Most are "Coming of age Fantasy".

I think it helps to know the sub categories when sending to Agent or publisher. Before I don't think I would have confidently written my novel is:
"Coming of age novel of a Elven teen mentalist traumatized for his ability that he never knew he had."

 

[Butterfly]

Woo-hoo - it looks like a game board

Book Country: Discover New Fiction with the Genre Map

 

[TWErvin2]

Woo-hoo - it looks like a game board

Book Country: Discover New Fiction with the Genre Map

They forgot Horror and technically Westerns as genres. Still, pretty neat.

 

[Huntress]

The fantasy genre is confusing. The definition of 'urban fantasy' is a story about the modern world set in a city. So what is a story about werewolves set in the countryside, 'rural fantasy'? LOL.

Or magical realism? Speculative fiction? It's enough to make a writer bang their head against the wall *ow*

 

[Benjamin Clayborne]

The fantasy genre is confusing. The definition of 'urban fantasy' is a story about the modern world set in a city. So what is a story about werewolves set in the countryside, 'rural fantasy'? LOL.

"Contemporary fantasy" is the general term for fantasy that takes place in the modern day. "Urban fantasy" usually means in an urban setting, particularly with dystopian overtones.

 

[Huntress]

I got *yelled* at for referring to my MS as 'contemporary fantasy' by a contributor of a contest. The critic said, "There is no such thing as CF. Impossible."

*shrug* I write fantasy set in today's world, sometimes in the city, sometimes in a rural setting. I'll call my MSs whatever is needed to get them published.

 

[SlimShady]

When I first started writing I wrote the typical clichéd epic fantasy. Common boy saves the world from the Dark Lord, etc. But, now I focus on tales that rarely have happy endings. Dark Fantasy, if you will. My tales are gritty, realistic, and sometimes horrifying. It's about the only kind of stories I can write, although they are all still epic in scope.