Genre discussion threads?

[StillStunned]

As per a suggestion from @sijopunk, would people here be interested in dedicated threads for individual genres? Places to discuss good examples, poor experiments, readers' likes and dislikes, that kind of stuff.

I don't mean the Lit categories, but fiction genres or themes. I started one a while ago for sword & sorcery, and the response to the science fiction writing exercise makes me think there would be some interest in that genre too. But also romance, historical fiction, horror, detectives, westerns, chick lit - all that kind of stuff.

It strikes me as curious that many of those things are ignored here, or perhaps taken as given. And I think that as writers we could gain a lot from discussing the craft of our favourite genres.

Thoughts? Objections? Sighs of admiration?

ETA:

Here's a list of the "On Genre" threads so far:
On genre: fantasy
On genre: historical fiction
On genre: dystopian/cyberpunk fiction

 

[AG31]

There's a whole forum for my genre, BDSM. But it's usually not my kind. After 5 years here I've concluded that my niche is just two narrow to try to scare up a whole discussion about it. I would be interested to finally understand what people are talking about when they all act in-the-know about LW.

 

[SmilingLez]

One thing that has always struck me as odd is that non-erotic stories are grouped alongside kink and fetish categories when selecting a category to post your story. Non-erotic isn't a kink or a fetish. It's the absence of erotic content, so lumping the two together makes the classification rather strange.

I'd be curious how other writers think about non-erotic as a genre and whether it should be treated as its own category rather than being mixed in with categories based on sexual interests, kinks and fetishes.

For those who think non-erotic should remain a subcategory rather than a separate genre, what exactly is the connection between non-erotic fiction and an anal fetish? If they're being grouped together, there ought to be some logical connection between them, and I'm not seeing one.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

I would enjoy such a discussion. I would like to discuss Fantasy genre in general, although there are other genres I would be interested in discussing, too.

And since criticism is clearly my thing, I guess I should offer some. In many similar threads, people focus on saying what exactly they like or dislike rather than engaging in discussion about the genre in general. Most are reluctant to offer a more critical view, which is practically the only thing that leads to a fruitful discussion. It's like the general cautious and positivistic approach that we take when talking about our stories here spills over to discussions about genres and storytelling in general.

I think we could separate those two things and enjoy a critical discussion about general topics such as the one the O.P. suggests.

 

[lovecraft68]

There's a whole forum for my genre, BDSM. But it's usually not my kind. After 5 years here I've concluded that my niche is just two narrow to try to scare up a whole discussion about it. I would be interested to finally understand what people are talking about when they all act in-the-know about LW.

When I first came here I was excited for the BDSM forum but then quickly realized that although there are good knowledgeable people there who take it seriously, there's a lot of asshole men who couldn't top a sundae and are looking for easy prey. Pretty much like the rest of the net. I don't feel like negotiating a mine field of posers to get to the good people. Probably my loss, but I don't have tolerance for stalker 'doms'

 

[Britva415]

There's a whole forum for my genre, BDSM

It really doesn't seem to be about discussing BDSM as a literary genre, though. Is that something you'd be interested in?

 

[AwkwardlySet]

When I first came here I was excited for the BDSM forum but then quickly realized that although there are good knowledgeable people there who take it seriously, there's a lot of asshole men who couldn't top a sundae and are looking for easy prey. Pretty much like the rest of the net. I don't feel like negotiating a mine field of posers to get to the good people. Probably my loss, but I don't have tolerance for stalker 'doms'

I wonder if there are stalker subs too?

"Take me as a sub, or I'll send you a pic of my caged dick!"

I wonder how that would work.

 

[EmilyMiller]

As per a suggestion from @sijopunk, would people here be interested in dedicated threads for individual genres? Places to discuss good examples, poor experiments, readers' likes and dislikes, that kind of stuff.

I don't mean the Lit categories, but fiction genres or themes. I started one a while ago for sword & sorcery, and the response to the science fiction writing exercise makes me think there would be some interest in that genre too. But also romance, historical fiction, horror, detectives, westerns, chick lit - all that kind of stuff.

It strikes me as curious that many of those things are ignored here, or perhaps taken as given. And I think that as writers we could gain a lot from discussing the craft of our favourite genres.

Thoughts? Objections? Sighs of admiration?

I’d like to see a thread for the dystopian SciFi / Bildungsroman / political polemic / action / lesbian genre.

 

[ClintonBrooks]

When I first came here I was excited for the BDSM forum but then quickly realized that although there are good knowledgeable people there who take it seriously, there's a lot of asshole men who couldn't top a sundae and are looking for easy prey. Pretty much like the rest of the net. I don't feel like negotiating a mine field of posers to get to the good people. Probably my loss, but I don't have tolerance for stalker 'doms'

Perhaps nestled within the AH, those...fellows...wouldn't be an issue.

 

[lovecraft68]

I wonder if there are stalker subs too?

"Take me as a sub, or I'll send you a pic of my caged dick!"

I wonder how that would work.

Those are the people the fake doms are looking for.

Like my sister said a few years back when 50 shades of abuse came out "For every Grey there's an Anastasia who doesn't know better."

 

[lovecraft68]

Perhaps nestled within the AH, those...fellows...wouldn't be an issue.

Those types ghost a lot of forums but probably not so much this one

Here we just have horny little boys who act like they've never spoken to a woman before.

 

[NotWise]

How many genres do you think that would involve? Which ones?

Would a thread on the Romance genre be different from a thread about the Romance category? Same question re SciFi/F.

T/I stories cross over a lot of genres. I can think of stories in romance, humor and satire, suspense, mystery. Would people who have an interest in a "Romance" discussion want to engage in the same thread where T/I stories may be a main topic? Same question for stories in LW or R/NC. The stories can cross over into a lot of literary genres, but the subjects are polarizing.

 

[AG31]

It really doesn't seem to be about discussing BDSM as a literary genre, though. Is that something you'd be interested in?

Oh. I guess I was thinking categories. My mistake.

 

[StillStunned]

I've started a thread as an example: On genre: fantasy.

Again, I think it would be useful (or at least interesting) to discuss literary/fiction genres separately from Lit's categories. Some genres cross categories, some categories cover a dozen genres. But, for me at least, my thoughts on writing are guided by books that I've read, not the stories that are published on Lit.

 

[Voboy]

I think it's a good idea. I'm surprised it's not come up before this, though I have seen the SF and fantasy genre threads (might have even posted in a couple? I don't remember).

 

[deathlynx]

Any discussion on a genre has potential to include discussions about related categories on Lit. Why not discuss the romance cat while discussing the genre? Since it would be about things you dis/like participants would be free to mention good and bad examples they've stumbled upon here.

I'm definitely joining the Fantasy thread, as I would sci-fi. @EmilyMiller joked but I personally would love to see sci-fi be broken down into sub-threads as dystopia really does have a different feel from space-opera.

I love Urban Fantasy, and have even read quite a bit of Paranormal Romance as a sub-genre there.

 

[StillStunned]

Any discussion on a genre has potential to include discussions about related categories on Lit. Why not discuss the romance cat while discussing the genre? Since it would be about things you dis/like participants would be free to mention good and bad examples they've stumbled upon here.

The reason for making them about genres rather than categories is to focus on the writing, not the pitfalls of publication. Obviously a discussion about the romance genre will touch on writing in Lit's Romance category, and talking about sci-fi will attract people who write in SF&F. But I think it would be useful to make the distinction from the start.

I'm definitely joining the Fantasy thread, as I would sci-fi. @EmilyMiller joked but I personally would love to see sci-fi be broken down into sub-threads as dystopia really does have a different feel from space-opera.

I love Urban Fantasy, and have even read quite a bit of Paranormal Romance as a sub-genre there.

Feel free to start an "On genre: sci-fi - dystopia" thread!

 

[deathlynx]

The reason for making them about genres rather than categories is to focus on the writing, not the pitfalls of publication. Obviously a discussion about the romance genre will touch on writing in Lit's Romance category, and talking about sci-fi will attract people who write in SF&F. But I think it would be useful to make the distinction from the start.

Makes sense. Personally I agree about the focus being the genre, just thinking mentions can be made for exceptional works even though the focus is elsewhere.

Feel free to start an "On genre: sci-fi - dystopia" thread!

Ironically, while this would be a thread I'd avidly follow, dystopia is probably my least read subgenre there. I'm so much of a buckshot reader that I don't know any particular genre I'd feel comfortable starting a thread about. Maybe Urban Fantasy, but even there I know there's large swaths of mainstream I've never read (Dresden, for example?).

 

[StillStunned]

The fantasy genre thread seems to be doing well. Anyone who wants to discuss other genres shouldn't wait for me to start the threads. Go ahead and start your own.

For the sake of uniformity and easy visibility, it might help to stick to the "On genre: [genre/subgenre]" format for the thread title, but it's not necessary.

 

[Britva415]

The other thing about "genre versus Category" are, one, Lit isn't the only place where such material ever gets published, and, two, genre and Category really aren't the same thing. Several of the examples in OP are not Lit Categories.

 

[Britva415]

The other thing

Things. The two things about it are other publishing venues, genre-category incongruence, and an almost fanatical devotion to the first person grammatical voice.

 

[StillStunned]

I've updated the OP to add links to the "On Genre" threads so far.

Thanks for participating in this discussion and the separate threads, everyone!

 

[StillStunned]

Here's another thought: genre-specific reading threads? For those involved in the discussions. Maybe an example of a Lit story that does a particular aspect of the genre very well, or very poorly, or to get other writers thoughts on whether a story fits in the genre or subgenre. Examples of the mood or writing style that we enjoy, for example stories that manage to evoke the whimsy of the Stainless Steel Rat, or the grittiness of Joe Abercrombie?