6

A.      Definition of Poetry

Genres of literature are important to learn about. The two main categories separating the different genres of literature are fiction and nonfiction. But now we not study about the two main genres, we would like to study about another genre of literature that is Poetry.

Poetry is language written with rhythm, figurative language, imagery, sound devices and emotionally charged language. The art of poetry is rhythmical in composition, written or spoken. This genre of literature is for exciting pleasure by beautiful, imaginative, or elevated thoughts. Poetry is categorized by the number of lines in the poem, the words in the poem, whether it rhymes or not, and what it is about.

B.       Poetic Terms

1.    Poetic Forms

Poetry can be one of the most challenging types of literature to read and understand. Unlike prose, poetry places a great deal of emphasis on form as well as content, and its content tends to be more obscure and symbolic. Poetic form refers to a poem's physical structure; basically, what the poem looks like and how it sounds. The following elements combine to create form:

·       The poem's type - poems can be lyrics that focus on expressing emotions, narratives that tell a story, and/or descriptive poems that say something about the characteristics of the poet's world.

·       The poem's stanza structure - stanzas are simply groups of lines. Poets can choose from couplets (two lines together), tercets (three lines together), quatrains (four lines together), and so on.

·       The poem's line lengths - poetic lines can range from very short (one or two words) to very long.

·       The poem's rhyme scheme - poets may choose to rhyme various lines of their poems, or they may decide to leave out rhymes altogether, a style called blank verse.

·       The poem's rhythm - rhythm is simply the patterns of sound in a poem. If a poem has a regular sound pattern, we say that it has a meter. Rhythm and meter are formed when a poet chooses to use specific numbers of stressed and unstressed syllables in each line of a poem.

2.    Poetic Content

The content of a poem refers to its language. Several elements combine to create a poem's content, together these elements produce a poem's content. These include the following:

·       The poem's topic, subject matter, and theme - essentially, these elements express what the poem is about. A poem might have the topic of love, for instance, and express that topic by a subject matter that describes the relationship of a couple using the theme that love is both challenging and rewarding.

·       The poem's tone - tone is the poet's attitude toward his subject. It could be positive or negative, joyful, sarcastic, nostalgic, or any other emotion.

·       The poem's word choices - words are extremely important to poets, and they choose their words very carefully to express exactly what they want to say.

·       The poem's word order - poets don't always use standard word order. They deliberately mix things up to get their readers' attention and make their point.

·       The poem's figurative language - figurative language uses words and expressions in such a way that they go beyond their normal, literal meanings. It might include comparisons, like metaphors and similes, word play, manipulation of the sounds of words, deliberate exaggeration, symbolism, and much more.

·       The poem's imagery - imagery is a language that makes a special appeal to the senses. It is very vivid and is intended to create a mental picture in the reader's mind.

3.    Rhyme Scheme

a.    Definition Rhyme Scheme

Rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhyme that comes at the end of each verse or line in poetry. In other words, it is the structure of end words of a verse or line that a poet needs to create when writing a poem. Many poems are written in free verse style. Some other poems follow non-rhyming structures, paying attention only to the number of syllables. The Japanese genre of Haiku is a case in point. Thus, it shows that the poets write poems in a specific type of rhyme scheme or rhyming pattern. There are several types of rhyme schemes as given below.

b.    Types of Rhyme Scheme

§   Alternate Rhyme it is also known as ABAB rhyme scheme, it rhymes as ABAB CDCD EFEF GHGH.

§   Ballade it contains three stanzas with the rhyme scheme of ABABBCBC followed by BCBC.

§   Monorhyme it is a poem in which every line uses the same rhyme scheme.

§   Couplet it contains two-line stanzas with the AA rhyme scheme, which often appears as AA BB CC and DD.

§   Triplet it often repeats like a couplet uses rhyme scheme AAA.

§   Enclosed Rhyme it uses rhyme scheme of ABBA.

§   Terza Rime Rhyme Scheme it uses three line stanzas. Its interlocking pattern on end words follows ABA BCB CDC DED and so on.

§   Keats Odes Rhyme Scheme in his famous odes, Keats has used a specific rhyme scheme, which is ABABCDECDE.

§   Limerick is a poem that uses five lines with a rhyme scheme of AABBA.

§   Villanelle is a poem nineteen-line poem consisting of five tercets and a final quatrain. It uses a rhyme scheme of A1bA2, abA1, abA2, abA1, abA2, abA1A2.

c.    Example of Rhyme Scheme in Literature

On literature, we not just use one rhyme scheme to make poetry. We can use one or more rhyme scheme as long as possible.

Example 1 : Neither Out Far Nor in Deep (By Robert Frost)

The people along the sand              (A)

All turn and look one way              (B)

They turn their back on the land    (A)

They look at the seal all day           (B)

As long as it takes to pass              (C)

A ship keeps raising its hull            (D)

The wetter ground like glass          (C)

Reflects a standing gull                  (D)

This is an ABAB pattern of rhyme scheme, in which each stanza applies this format. From instance, in the first stanza, “sand” rhymes with the word “Land”, and “way” rhymes with the word “day”.

Example 2 : Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (By Donald Barthelme)

Twinkle twinkle little star               (A)

How I wonder what you are          (A)

Up above the world so high           (B)

Like a diamond in the sky              (B)

The following example uses an AABB rhyme scheme. Here, the first line ends in the word “star”, which rhymes with the final word of second line is “are”. Since both words rhyme with each other, they are signified with letter “A”.

C.       Types of Poetry

There are more over 50 types of poetry. Poetry is categorized by the number of lines in the poem, the words in the poem, whether it rhymes or not, and what it is about. There are many different types of poems. The difference between each type is based on the format, rhyme scheme and subject matter. But this time, we will discuss some types of poetry that more popular that the others.

1.         Sonnet

One of the most famous types of poetry is sonnet, the best described as a lyric poem that consists of fourteen lines. Sonnet’s have at least one or two conventional rhyme schemes. Sonnet has been popular with authors from Dante to Shakespeare. The poems of William Shakespeare provide excellent types of poetry examples for sonnets.

Sonnet 116 (By Shakespeare)

Let me not to the marriage of true minds

Admit impediments.

Love is not love

Which alters when it alteration finds,

Or bends with the remover to remove:

O no! it is an ever-fixed mark

That looks on tempests and is never shaken;

It is the star to every wandering bark,

Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.

Love's not

Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks

Within his bending sickle's compass come:

Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,

But bears it out even to the edge of doom.

If this be error and upon me proved,

I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

2.         Haiku

Haiku was originated from Japan, It’s the shortest type of poem and, often, the most difficult to understand. It consists of three lines that generally do not rhyme. The lines should have five, seven, and five syllables in them. They often express feelings and thoughts about nature; however, you could write a poem about any subject that you would like to in this form. Perhaps the most famous Haiku is Basho's Old Pond.

Old Pond (Basho)

Furuike ya
kawazu tobikomu
mizu no oto

Translated, this poem reads:
The old pond-
a frog jumps in,
sound of water.

3.         Free Verse

Free verse is the loosest type of poem. It can consist of as many lines as the writer wants. It can either rhyme or not, and it does not require any fixed metrical pattern. Free verse is commonly used among writers because it allows for maximum flexibility. The free verse form of poetry became popular in the 1800s, and continues to be popular among poets even to this day. TS Eliot was one of the masters of the form, as best seen in his poems The Waste Land and The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.

Let us go then, you and I,  
When the evening is spread out against the sky  
Like a patient etherized upon a table;  
Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets,  
The muttering retreats          
Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels  
And sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells:  
Streets that follow like a tedious argument  
Of insidious intent  
To lead you to an overwhelming questionÉ.          
Oh, do not ask, ÒWhat is it?Ó  
Let us go and make our visit.

4.         Ballad

Ballad poems also tell a story, like epic poems do. However, ballad poetry is often based on a legend or a folk tale. Ballad poems may take the form of songs and may contain a moral or a lesson. Often, these ballads will tell stories and they tend to be of a mystical nature. Guido Cavalcanti's Ballad and Sir Walter Raleigh's As You Came from the Holy Land both demonstrate the musical quality of the ballad. An excerpt from Raleigh's poem can be seen here:

As you came from the holy land
Of Walsinghame,
Met you not with my true love
By the way as you came ?

How shall I know your true love,
That have met many one,
As I went to the holy land,
That have come, that have gone?

5.         Name Poems

Name poems are popular among children and are often used in schools. The name of the person becomes the poem. Each letter in the name is the first letter in the line of the poem. While a name verse poem can be as simple as using an adjective to describe a person that begins with each letter of that person's name, these poems can also be far more beautiful works of art. For example, here is a name poem for a person named Alexis.

“Alexis seems quite shy and somewhat frail,

Leaning, like a tree averse to light,

Evasively away from her delight.

X-rays, though, reveal a sylvan sprite,

Intense as a bright bird behind her veil,

Singing to the moon throughout the night.”

6.         Lyric Poetry

Imagine you're driving along in your car when your favorite song comes on the radio. If you're like most people, you will immediately start singing along without even realizing it. Did you know that when this happens, you're actually singing poetry? All songs can be considered poetry. In fact, they fall under the category of lyric poetry.

Lyric poetry expresses personal emotions or thoughts of the speaker, just like the songs of today. Also, just like songs, lyric poems always have a musical quality, or a specific melody which makes it easy for you to sing along with. The term 'lyric poetry' actually comes from the ancient Greek word lyre, which refers to the instrument in that era that accompanied the reading of the lyric poem. Almost like the first version of a live concert.

 5

Difficult to find inspiration is the most important obstacle for a fiction writer or non fiction writer. Writing seems easy, but when you try to pour those writings out of nowhere the things you want to write disappear from the mind, start to confuse what to write, and feel that there is something that makes your mind a dead end.

5 PROBLEMS OF FICTION WRITING

1.      The Slow Start: You generally have approximately ten pages to hook your reader 

(and often more like three), whether that reader is an agent or editor or your audience. If you do not get into the conflict and the tension of the plot within those first ten pages, your reader 

will likely move on. If background information is needed, that should be worked into the story 

as you move along, not stacked at the beginning of the story like an obstacle that the reader needs to overcome before he or she can begin the real meat of the plot. Jump right into your story, grab your reader, and let everything else flow from there.

2.      Overly Complicated Plot: As you planned out your novel, you likely had many different

ideas about ways that the plot could go. However, not every one of those ideas needs to be included in the final product. Too many overlapping story lines muddle the plot and confuseand exhaust the reader. Once you have outlined your story, you need to go back and evaluate each individual story line. Include only those that are necessary to drive the plot forward. Then make sure that you follow each of those story lines through to completion. If you find that you begin 

a story line, but never quite get back to it, that is a clue that the story line is extraneous and should be eliminated. Streamline your plot whenever possible and end product will be a stronger novel.

3.      Drifting Point of View: Before you begin writing your novel, you need to decide from 

thepoint of view the story will be told. This will be vital to the way you approach the rest of the writing. Once you make this decision, you need to follow it through, consistently describing each scene through that character's (or narrator's) eyes. While it is possible (and fairly common) to tell a story through alternating viewpoints, it's worth delineated. You do not want to randomly drift back and forth between the characters' viewpoints within a single scene, as this will result only in confusion for the reader. Define your point of view from the start, imagine each scene through that character's eyes, and be consistent with it.

4.      Wooden Dialogue: Dialogue between your characters and sound.Accents and dialects 

should be used consistently, not come and go, and the words themselves should flow easily off the tongue.Exposition in dialogue should be held to a minimum.The maxim "Show, do not tell" holds true here.Read your dialogue aloud. This should give you a feel for whether it sounds natural or forced.Rework it until it rolls off the tongue easily.

5.      The Missing Ending: Once you have hooked your reader, you want to provide a 

satisfying finish to your book, let's leave them frustrated.Build your plot and your tension carefully, leading up to a final climax, and be sure to provide some resolution.Your end goal should be completion of the story, tying up all of the various plot lines, not simply a word count.

Begin your story with your ending in mind, keep that ending always in sight, and do not stop until you have reached that point, and satisfied readers will be the result.

6 PROBLEMS OF NONFICTION WRITING

1.      Lack of knowing the Subtleties and Less Experience Writing Scientific Works.

Constraints that are also usually encountered in writing non fiction is less understood about the ins and outs of scientific work and less experienced in writing scientific papers. For obstacles less understood the ins and outs of writing a scientific paper then it must be overcome by reading and studying many books or articles that discuss about writing non fiction to understand deeply.

2.       No / Less Mastering Topics Discussed in Scientific Work being Created.

Non fiction is a kind of official writing that discusses a problem scientifically and can be accounted for. Because Non fiction discusses a particular problem so that if the author does not master the topic that will be discussed in a Non fiction writing then of course he will have difficulty / obstacle in the process of writing it. It could mean that he has never crossed the topic or is still at a new stage of studying the topic.

3.      Lacking Read Literature.

Still in touch with the previous point, less reading literature is also a constraint writing Non fiction. Writing is a pair of reading. If the reading activity is less then the will and the spirit to write also decreases. Therefore less reading literature is also a constraint to writing Non fiction. Can imagine writing Non fiction requires pengkolaborasian thoughts from other authors in the form of citation (citation) in scientific papers.

With the lack of literature reading it will lead to a lack of comparison with the thoughts or research results of other authors. The necessity of studying the thoughts of other authors by reading their works and putting them into Non fiction writings that are being made is an important requirement in writing Non fiction. Therefore if someone will write Non fiction then would not want that person must also read other people's literature that is relevant to the topic he will write.

4.      Not Available Literature Sufficient

Another non fiction writing constraint is the lack of adequate relevant literature. After someone eager to work on Non-Fiction and eager to read the literature, it often happens (especially in Indonesia) that the difficult condition is finding up to date and relevant literature. Fortunately now free service is available in the search for up to date and relevant literature.

5.      Not re-cheak writing

Constraint writing Non fiction that can happen is not to re-check writing made so many typos, ambiguous sentences, the lack of synchronization between the quotations in the contents of the writing.

6.      Plagiarism (Plagiarism)

Plagiarism is a non fiction writing constraint which is also very necessary once avoided. The most severe plagiarism is to re-publish Non fiction of others on behalf of himself. In other words just rename the author only. This plagiarism is an act of heavy plagiarism of someone else's work that is not very commendable.

4

DISCUSSION

A.    Definition of Genre

A genre is a broad term that translates from the French to mean 'kind' or 'type.' In entertainment, this can translate to horror, romance, science fiction, etc. In general, these types differ for all sorts of reasons, from the actions in their plots to the feelings they elicit from the audience. However, in literature, there are some more defined genres. It is important to know which genre a piece of work falls into because the reader will already have certain expectations before he even begins to read.

Genre, in broad terms, refers to any works that share certain characteristics. If enough characteristics are in common, then the pieces are said to be in the same genre. In literature, there are four main genres to help the reader focus their expectations for the piece, though these genres can be broken down even further.

Genres of literature are important to learn about. The two main categories separating the different genres of literature are fiction and nonfiction. There are several genres of literature that fall under the nonfiction category. Nonfiction sits in direct opposition to fiction.

B.     Drama

The final literary genre is drama. This genre includes all plays or anything meant to be performed. In this way, one can argue that all scripted television shows and movies are a part of drama: they are written with the intention of being performed for an audience. The great playwright Shakespeare himself wrote for that same reason. All of Shakespeare's plays, the Ancient Greek plays, and any modern day musicals and shows are examples of drama.

Drama film is a genre that relies on the emotional and relational development of realistic characters. While Drama film relies heavily on this kind of development, dramatic themes play a large role in the plot as well. Often, these dramatic themes are taken from intense, real life issues. Whether heroes or heroines are facing a conflict from the outside or a conflict within themselves, Drama film aims to tell an honest story of human struggles.

Like fiction, drama can also delve into any imaginative subject matter; however, it might be limited based on the stage it must be performed on. Plays are also technically written in prose, but more specifically they are written as dialogue, which is conversation.

C.    Drama Sub-Genres

1.      Biography

A Biography drama incorporates dramatic elements into a biographical film. These films differ from Historical and “based in truth” films because they specifically chronicle the life of a person or a group of people. Biography films attempt to show a comprehensive and accurate picture of the specific subject, thus they tend to be serious and intense.

Examples: Ray, Monster, Blow

2.      Courtroom

Courtroom drama film uses the justice system as a main component of the plot. The story usually unfolds inside a courtroom with the prosecutor, judge, jury, and the defense. Tension plays a large part in courtroom dramas as the verdict can often mean life or death.

Examples: A Few Good Men, To Kill a Mockingbird, 12 Angry Men

3.      Dramedy

Dramedy film is a genre that has a dramatic tone yet important elements of comedy. In Dramedy film, the amount of drama and comedy are almost equally balanced. This balance provides comedic relief for the audience, while still addressing serious issues.

Examples: Little Miss Sunshine, The Royal Tenenbaums, Lost in Translation

4.      Historical

Historical is a sub-genre of Drama film that examines a specific time in history or group of people. Many Historical films aim to portray true events and people. However, most Historical films are only loosely based on these events and people. These films tend to focus on the more glorified societies and people in history such as the Romans, specific Kings and Queens, or important political figures.

Examples: 300, Frost/Nixon, Hotel Rwanda

5.      Melodrama

Melodrama film is a sub-genre that appeals to the heightened emotions of the audience. The plot and characters often are more unrealistic than those found in the traditional drama film. Melodramas usually cater towards a female audience and tell a story that centers on a great crisis and a heroic protagonist.

Examples: The Bridges of Madison County, Steel Magnolias, Sophie’s Choice

6.      Period Piece

Period Piece is a sub-genre of Drama film that focuses on a specific time era. The era in which the film is set adds not only to the plot, but to the characters and costumes as well. A Period Piece films are often based on a novel. These films tend to have a longer run time than traditional Dramas.

Examples: Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Romeo and Juliet

7.      Political

Political drama film contains themes, characters, and a plot specifically about politics and the political scene. The main protagonist is often at odds with the harsh reality of corruption in politics. Many Political Dramas are based in fact but focus on exploring conspiracy theories.

Examples: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Wag The Dog, The Manchurian Candidate

8.      Romance

Romantic Drama film is a genre that explores the complex side of love. The plot usually centers on an obstacle that is preventing love between two people. The obstacles in Romantic Drama film can range from a family's disapproval, to forbidden love, to one's own psychological restraints. Many Romantic Dramas end with the lovers separating because of the enormity of the obstacle, the realization of incompatibility, or simply… fate.

Examples: Romantic Drama film include Titanic, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Dr. Zhivago

9.      Tragedy

Tragedy Drama is a genre wherein the downfall of the character is caused by a flaw within the character. While Tragedy Dramas sometime put the character in extraordinary circumstances, this genre is really about the self-destructive behavior of the character. The flaws of the character come to a head and ultimately result in death or other form of degradation.

Examples: American Beauty, Death of a Salesman, The Great Gatsby

D.    Types of Drama

·         Crime drama and legal drama: character development based on themes involving criminals, law enforcement and the legal system.

·         Historical drama (epic) (including war drama): films that focus on dramatic events in history.

·         Horror drama: a film that focuses on imperiled characters dealing with realistic emotional struggles, often involving dysfunctional family relations, in a horror setting. The film's horror elements often serve as a backdrop to an unraveling dramatic plot.

·         Docudrama: the difference between a docudrama and a documentary is that in a documentary it uses real people to describe history or current events; in a docudrama it uses professionally trained actors to play the roles in the current event, that is "dramatized" a bit. Not to be confused with docufiction.

·         Psychodrama: an action method, often used as a psychotherapy.

·         Comedy-drama: a film in which there is an equal, or nearly equal, balance of humour and serious content.

·         Melodrama: a sub-type of drama films that uses plots that appeal to the heightened emotions of the audience. Melodramatic plots often deal with "crises of human emotion, failed romance or friendship, strained familial situations, tragedy, illness, neuroses, or emotional and physical hardship." Film critics sometimes use the term "pejoratively to connote an unrealistic, pathos-filled, camp tale of romance or domestic situations with stereotypical characters (often including a central female character) that would directly appeal to feminine audiences."^[3] Also called "women's movies", "weepies", tearjerkers, or "chick flicks". If they are targeted to a male audience, then they are called "guy cry" films.

·         Romantic drama: a sub-type of dramatic film which dwells on the elements of romantic love.

3

Definition of Genre and Fiction

A. Genre

Genre is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed upon conventions developed over time. Genre is most popularly known as a category of literature, music, or other forms of art or entertainment, whether written or spoken, audio or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria, yet genres can be aesthetic, rhetorical, communicative, or functional. Genres form by conventions that change over time as new genres are invented and the use of old ones is discontinued. Often, works fit into multiple genres by way of borrowing and recombining these conventions. Stand alone texts, works, or pieces of communication may have individual styles, but genres are amalgams of these texts based on agreed upon or socially inferred conventions. Some genres may be rigid with strictly adhered to guidelines while others may be very flexible.

A literary genre is a category of literary composition. Genres may be determined by literary technique, tone, content, or even (as in the case of fiction) length. The distinctions between genres and categories are flexible and loosely defined, often with subgroups.

The most general genres in literature are epic, tragedy, comedy, and creative nonfiction. They can all be in the form of prose or poetry. Additionally, a genre such as satire, allegory or pastoral might appear in any of the above, not only as a subgenre, but as a mixture of genres. Finally, they are defined by the general cultural movement of the historical period in which they were composed.

Genre should not be confused with age categories, by which literature may be classified as either adult, young adult, or children's. They also must not be confused with format, such as graphic novel or picture book.

Often, the criteria used to divide up works into genres are not consistent, and may change constantly, and be subject of argument, change and challenge by both authors and critics. However, even a very loose term like fiction ("literature created from the imagination, not presented as fact, though it may be based on a true story or situation") is not universally applied to all fictitious literature, but instead is typically restricted to the use for novel, short story, and novella, but not fables, and is also usually a prose text. Types of fiction genres are science fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, realistic fiction and mysteries.

B. Fiction

Fiction is the classification for any story or setting that is derived from imagination—in other words, not based strictly on history or fact. Fiction can be expressed in a variety of formats, including writings, live performances, films, television programs, animations, video games, and role-playing games, though the term originally and most commonly refers to the narrative forms of literature (see literary fiction), including novels, novellas, short stories, and plays. Fiction is occasionally used in its narrowest sense to mean simply any "literary narrative".

A work of fiction is an act of creative imagination, so its total faithfulness to the real-world is not typically assumed by its audience. Therefore, fiction is not commonly expected to present only characters who are actual people or descriptions that are factually accurate. Instead, the context of fiction, not adhering precisely to the real world, is generally understood as being more open to interpretation.^[7] Characters and events within a fictional work may even be set in their own context entirely separate from the known universe: an independent fictional universe. Fiction is regarded as the traditional opposite of non-fiction, whose creators assume responsibility for presenting only the historical and factual truth; however, the distinction between fiction and non-fiction can be unclear, for example, in postmodern literature.^[8]

Literary fiction is fiction that is regarded as having literary merit, as distinguished from most commercial or "genre" fiction. The term and distinction has been criticisedby authors, critics and scholars, especially because a number of major literary figures have written genre fiction, including John Banville, Doris Lessing, Iain Banks, and Margaret Atwood.

CHAPTER II

EXPLORING THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF GENRES FICTION

Fiction is a general term used to describe an imaginative work of prose, either a novel, short story, or novella. Recently, this definition has been modified to include both nonfiction works that contain imaginative elements, like Midnight in the Garden Of Good and Evil by John Berendt. However, in the truest sense, a work of fiction is a creation of the writer’s imagination.

The two main types of fiction are literary and commercial.

• Commercial fiction attracts a broad audience and may also fall into any subgenre, like mystery, romance, legal thriller, western, science fiction, and so on. For example, The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller (Warner, 1992) was a hugely successful commercial novel because the book described the fulfillment of a romantic fantasy that is dear to the heart of millions of readers. Written in a short, easy-to-read style, the book was as mesmerizing.

• Literary fiction tends to appeal to a smaller, more intellectually adventurous audience. A work of literary fiction can fall into any of the subgenres described in the following sections. What sets literary fiction apart, however, is the notable qualities it contains — excellent writing, originality of thought, and style — that raise it above the level of ordinary written works.

Mainstream fiction is a general term publishers and booksellers use to describe both commercial and literary works that depict a daily reality familiar to most people. These books, usually set in the 20th or present-day 21st century, have at their core a universal theme that attracts a broad audience. Mainstream books deal with such myriad topics as family issues, coming of age initiations, courtroom dramas, career matters, physical and mental disabilities, social pressures, political intrigue, and more. In addition to mainstream fiction, more narrowly defined categories of popular fiction appeal to specific audiences. These different fiction categories, which are described briefly in the sections that follow, are classed as a group as genre fiction. Each type of genre fiction has its own set of rules and conventions.

MYSTERY

Mystery is a popular genre, boasting a huge established audience. All mysteries focus on a crime, usually murder.A well-developed plot is an essential element of a good mystery. In this type of mystery, the audience tries to deduce who committed a crime or where a missing person or object might be found. In these stories, the setting may frequently change and the author may jump back and forth from one time period to another in order to reveal clues in a unique manner. Modern mystery often appears as detective stories.

 The action tends to center on the attempts of a wily detective-type to solve the crime. And the climax usually occurs near the end, in a leisurely setting where all the elements of the mystery are neatly assembled for the reader’s convenience. The solution, complete with surprises, is then delivered to the characters and the reader alike.

Mystery subgenres include spy, detective, and crime stories. You can find a vast network of mystery writers associations, conventions, and conferences, as well as publications to help mystery writers pursue their craft.Mystery fiction may involve a supernatural mystery where the solution does not have to be logical, and even no crime involved.

ROMANCE

Romance is a huge category aimed at diverting and entertaining women. In romance novels, you have elements of fantasy, love, naïveté, extravagance, adventure, and always the heroic lover overcoming impossible odds to be with his true love. Many romances, especially the gothic romance, have an easy-to-follow formula — a young, inexperienced girl living a somewhat remote existence is courted or threatened by an evil man and then rescued by a valiant one.

Other subgenres include historical, contemporary, fantasy romance, and romantic suspense. If historical detail and settings interest you, try writing a regency or historical romance. If you enjoy a dash of mystery or intrigue, then romantic suspense novels are for you. However, if you’re interested in more modern stories with sexual candor, then consider writing a contemporary romance.

Certainly, you have lots of opportunity in the field of romance writing, which is the largest, most diverse, and most popular of the commercial genres. And romance writers’ organizations can provide exact writing guidelines.First-class romance writers include Jude Deveraux, Victoria Holt, Judith McNaught, Daphne Du Maurier, Jennifer Greene, and Nora Roberts.

WOMEN’S FICTION

It’s common knowledge in the publishing industry that women constitute the biggest book-buying segment. So, it’s certainly no accident that most mainstream as well as genre fiction is popular among women. For that reason, publishers and booksellers have identified a category within the mainstream that they classify as Women’s Fiction.

At the Women's Fiction Writers Association women’s fiction is described as a story where the plot is driven by the main character’s emotional journey. Women’s Fiction includes layered stories about one or several characters, often multi-generational that tackles an adult character’s struggle with world issues resulting in emotional growth

From a writer’s perspective, some key characteristics of these books include a focus on relationships, one or more strong female protagonists, women triumphing over unbearable circumstances, and the experiences of women unified in some way.

SCIENCE FICTION/FANTASY

Science fiction/fantasydiffers from other forms of fictional literature because while it tells about supernatural events, the settings are based on science and scientific theories. Science fiction has become increasingly popular as the media produces an increase in science fiction films and television shows. In some educational circles, this genre is criticized because it presents a purely imaginary world to developing adolescents while others argue that in many cases the ideas expressed in works of science fiction have often become reality in later decades.

For example in the works of Jules Verne, which includes "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea," the author described technology that was nonexistent in his era, but is now readily used. Imaginative, thoughtful, and other-worldly, this robust category is made even more popular by the Star Wars and Star Trek series. Leading science fiction and fantasy writers include Ray Bradbury, Arthur Clarke, Isaac Asimov, C.S. Lewis, and J.R.R. Tolkien, as well as the current, multi-best-selling, young adult author J.K. Rowling..

SUSPENSE/THRILLER

Suspense novels and thrillers are tense, exciting, often sensational works with ingenious plotting, swift action, and continuous suspense. In this genre, a writer’s objective is to deliver a story with sustained tension, surprise, and a constant sense of impending doom that propels the reader forward. Unlike mysteries, thrillers are dominated by action in which physical threat is a constant companion, and a hero (James Bond, for example) is pitted against a nefarious villain.

This genre includes the great espionage writers, including John Le Carre, Len Deighton, Ian Fleming, Clive Cussler, and Frederick Forsythe. It also includes the police procedurals of Patricia Cornwell, Tony Hillerman, and Lawrence Sanders, as well as the courtroom bestsellers of Scott Turow, Richard North Patterson, Steve Martini, and John Grisham, and the military thrillers of Tom Clancy and Stephen Koontz.

WESTERN

Known simply as westerns, these novels about life on America’s post Civil War western frontier usually involve conflicts between cowboys and outlaws, cowboys and Native Americans, or Easterners and Westerners. While this category still has a mass-market audience and a thriving regional market, it’s not the popular genre it was 25 years ago.Zane Grey and Louis Lamour, both deceased, are still among the popular western writers.

HORROR

Filled with gut-wrenching fear, this popular genre keeps readers turning the blood-filled pages. From a writer’s perspective, the defining characteristic is the intention to frighten readers by exploiting their fears, both conscious and subconscious: fears of supernatural forces, alien visitations, madness, death, dismemberment, and other terrifying notions.

Tracing its roots back to the classic tales of Edgar Allan Poe, the horror genre today is dominated by Stephen King, whose vast output of bestsellers under his name as well as his alter-ego Richard Bachman has dominated the bestseller lists for nearly 25 years. Other major horror writers include Mary Shelley, Roald Dahl, Clive Barker, Peter Straub, Dean Koontz, and Anne Rice.

While horror isn’t science fiction, the SFWA provides a great deal of information and community services aimed at horror writers.

YOUNG ADULT

This genre includes any type of novel with a protagonist in the 12 to 16 age range that speaks to the concerns of teenagers. Currently, J.K. Rowling and her amazing Harry Potter (Scholastic Press) books are dominating the field. Rowling’s accomplishment — a truly universal story, brimming with magic and fantasy as well as likable characters that readers identify with — is an amazing feat. Watch out for all the Harry Potter wannabes in the coming year.

REALISTIC and HISTORICAL

Realistic and Historical Fiction are similar types. While realistic fictional stories may seem real because events in the plot could happen and characters do not possess any supernatural abilities and behave like normal people, historical fiction also seems real though it is set in the past. Historical fiction often includes factual events like the Revolutionary War or the Holocaust but other elements of the story are created by the author.

TRADITIONAL

Traditional fiction involves the stories shared past generations, including folklore, fairy tales, myths and legends. Although some of these stories might be inspired by actual people, events or conditions, their charm often results from the magical elements that have weaved their way into the tales after generations for storytelling. The Greek Perseus myths, "Snow White," and the American Paul Bunyan fall into this category of fiction.

Subsets of genres, known as common genres, have developed from the archetypes of genres in written expression:

·         Classic – fiction that has become part of an accepted literary canon, widely taught in schools.

·         Crime/detective – fiction about a crime, how the criminal gets caught, and the repercussions of the crime.

·         Fable – legendary, supernatural tale demonstrating a useful truth.

·         Fairy tale – story about fairies or other magical creatures.

·         Fan fiction – fiction written by a fan of, and featuring characters from, a particular TV series, movie, or book.

·         Fantasy – fiction with strange or otherworldly settings or characters; fiction which invites suspension of reality

·         Fiction in verse – full-length novels with plot, subplot(s), theme(s), major and minor characters, in which the narrative is presented in verse form (usually free verse).

·         Fiction narrative – literary works whose content is produced by the imagination and is not necessarily based on fact.

·         Folklore – the songs, stories, myths, and proverbs of a people or "folk" as handed down by word of mouth.

·         Historical fiction – story with fictional characters and events in an historical setting.

·         Horror – fiction in which events evoke a feeling of dread and sometimes fear in both the characters and the reader.

·         Humor – Usually a fiction full of fun, fancy, and excitement, meant to entertain and sometimes cause intended laughter; but can be contained in all genres.

·         Legend – story, sometimes of a national or folk hero, that has a basis in fact but also includes imaginative material.

·         Magical realism – story where magical or unreal elements play a natural part in an otherwise realistic environment.

·         Meta fiction (also known as romantic irony in the context of Romantic works of literature) – uses self-reference to draw attention to itself as a work of art while exposing the "truth" of a story.

·         Mystery – this is fiction dealing with the solution of a crime or the unraveling of secrets.

·         Mythology – legend or traditional narrative, often based in part on historical events, that reveals human behavior and natural phenomena by its symbolism; often pertaining to the actions of the gods.

·         Mythopoeia – fiction in which characters from religious mythology, traditional myths, folklore and/or history are recast into a re-imagined realm created by the author.

·         Picture book – picture storybook is a book with very little words and a lot of pictures, picture stories are usually for children.

·         Realistic fiction – story that is true to life.

·         Science fiction – story based on the impact of actual, imagined, or potential science, usually set in the future or on other planets.

·         Short story – fiction of such brevity that it supports no subplots.

·         Suspense/thriller – fiction about harm about to befall a person or group and the attempts made to evade the harm.

·         Tall tale – humorous story with blatant exaggerations, such as swaggering heroes who do the impossible with nonchalance.

·         Western  – set in the American Old West frontier and typically set in the late eighteenth to late nineteenth century.

ELEMENTS OF LITERATURE

·         Generally, Literature is divided into two (2) kinds, namely: Fictional and Non-Fictional Literature.

·         Fictional Literature is imaginary composed writing or work of art that is meant to provide information, education and entertainment to the reader. In other words, fictional literature is based on the writer’s imagination rather than reality.

ELEMENTS OF FICTION

(THE STORY)

Generally, fiction is any form of literature that tells aboutimaginary (invented, made up or unreal) people, places, or events.Short stories, novels, and folk tales are kinds of fiction:

Ø  A short story is a short fictional prose narrative built on a plot thatincludes the basic situation, complications, climax, and resolution.

Ø  In contrast, a Novel is a long fictional story that uses all theelements of storytelling, namely, plot, character, setting, theme, andpoint of view.

Ø  Oral or traditional literature has some form of stories often toldby word of mouth from generation to generation such as folk tales,legends, and myths which have now been written down as storiesfor us to read.

·         The Story, whether it is a short story, novel or fork tale, has the following

general elements that are used to analyze any written story:

1.     Author

The writer of any written work of art or fiction.

2.     Setting

This is the place and time in which the story unfolds or takes place. Setting is important in understanding the background and impact of the story or incidents in the story. If a story is well told, we will recall the setting later, long after we have put the story aside. Where the setting threatens the characters, it creates the conflict which is as important in fiction writing or literature

3.     Plot

This is a series or chain of related events that tells us ‘what happens’ in a story. When a plot is well built, it ‘enlighten’ us, that is will catches our curiosity (interest) about what will happen next. A good plot draws us

along after the narrator.

4.     Themes

This refers to the controlling, main idea or central insight in the novel or short story. Theme answers the question ‘What does it mean?’ a story’s theme is often hard to state, but it is what the author means or what the reader perceives to mean by the whole story. A theme is usually stated in a sentence or statement. This is so because a theme has to say something about the subject rather than just stated as a subject phrase.

5.     Characters

These are persons or animals involved in a story in order to show entertain and show us some truth about human experience and ourselves. A good character should be ‘alive’ to help us appreciate the story well. In a story, we can recognize a character by his/her/its appearance, actions and thoughts, reactions of others (what other characters say or do in relation to the character), and direct statement of the author (comments made by the writer of the story as the narrator).

However, the best story is one in which the narrator doesn’t tell much directly about what the character is like. Instead, you learn about the character indirectly by how the character acts and how others act toward him/her, and by noticing what he/she thinks and says.

Characterization refers to the kinds of characters the novel or short story has depending on the level of their development and involvement in the story of the book. For example, are the characters flat or round, protagonists or antagonists.

6.     Style

This refers to the way the novel or short story is written in order to have a desired effect on the reader or audience. It also refers to the techniques used by the writer of a literary work such as point of view, humor, fantasy, flashbacks, tone, and so on. Style of writing if understood and appreciated well, can help you to analyze the story very well.

Point of View: This refers to the style the writer of a story uses to narrate the story. In other words, writers usually chose who should tell the story or who should be the mouth piece in the story. So, you can tell the story from various angles by using points of view. There are three basic points of view often used in narratives: omniscient, third-person limited, and first-person.

The omniscient (unlimited) point of view is the point of view of a god-like (all-knowing) being who has created a fictional world and who can tell us everything that is going on in the minds of all the characters. The omniscient narrator is outside the story; he or she is not part of the action at all.

1.      The third-person (limited) point of view is where the writer has decided to tell the story from the limited point of view of a single person (participant) in the story. This kind of story reads as if a camera is zooming in on just one character. The writer uses the third person singular (he or she, or the actual name) of the character. This is very close to the omniscient point of view in that the writer still takes a prominent role.

2.      And in the first-person (limited) point of view, the narrator speaks as ‘I’, as a character in the story. This character can tell us only what he or she sees and hears and thinks about what is going on. In other words, the narrator is a participant in the story. The writer chooses to tell the story in the name of another fictitious person and uses the first person pronoun ‘I as witness and participant in the events that unfold in the story. In this case, the point of view is also limited in that the narrator can only tell what he or she sees or experiences rather than what others do.

7.      Languange

Language is part of style but it stands out to be the most important element of any fiction writing.

• Literary language is often used in fiction writing to ‘relish’ the story so that it is more clear, educative, informative, and indeed interesting or entertaining.

• Some of these language devices include figures of speech and symbolism such as images, symbols, irony, metaphors, similes, satire, and so on.