Genres
Student-created genre tropes
Romance
Usually a damsel in distress type of female character, she meets the “perfect guy” and they get together. Something bad always happens, so they break up, but they always end up back together in the end. The characters are always attractive. The girl is usually kind of nerdy or shy but the guy is usually pretty popular or outgoing (ex. he is a football player and she is a science nerd). With high school romances there is usually a grad/prom storyline. The girl is often struggling at work or doesn’t like her job.
Sci-Fi
Robots, usually bad robots, the future, aliens, space, spaceships, lasers, other planets, black holes, evil governments, something bad for humans.
Fantasy
Royal Family, Magic (wizards/witches), Romance, Knights, Curse, Magical creatures (werewolves, vampires, dragons, etc.), Pirates, Conflicts, Betrayed, Sword fights, Hero/heroine, Good vs. Evil, Quest/Adventures, Other Worlds, Unknown Royal, Side kick, Damsel in Distress
Young Adult Fiction
Protagonist almost always a teenager (readers age), Usually a romantic interest, Pretty straight forward, Story starts quickly, Everyday language and talk, Families and parents play a larger role in storyline, Usually some type of moral, Rebellion against parents and society is a common theme, Usually have a “best friend”, Typical “teenagers” living in middle class America without a defined ethnicity, Sometimes in a dystopian future
Historical Fiction
The setting is located in the past, Underdog, Often a myth, legend, Battles, Clash of cultures, Quest of freedom, Overcoming conditions, Royalty, authority
Biography
Chronological order, About a person’s life, They lead up to a specific something the person is known for, There is often a conflict or something salacious, They can be very long, They are often empowering and not super sad, They are often unrealistically remarkable , The audience is often for adults, They are usually already famous, Non-fiction
Crime
Misunderstood protagonist, Protagonist doesn’t follow orders, Protagonist is loose canon, Case up that seems normal but become much more personal or larger, Multiple suspects “ Red Herrings”, Two intertwined mysteries, Typically mysterious woman who either has minimal importance to the plot or is captured, Lose of someone close ( Partner, family member), Protagonist takes a dark turn at some point, compromising to solve the case, Whiskey and Cigars, Betrayal and deception, “Gritty’
Fan Fiction
Extension of already existing (and usually famous) work, Cross-overs from different stories, Cross-overs with other fanfiction stories, Killing beloved character for shock, Adding a dark or edgy spin on a children’s story, Body swap, meaning one character is in another characters body, A backstory added to a original story character that did not exist in the original story, Turing straight characters gay, Taking a character from the original story and making them a different gender, Hypothetical casting, When characters read their own fanfiction (i.e. actual episodes of Supernatural), Inserting the author into the story
Romance
Usually a damsel in distress type of female character, she meets the “perfect guy” and they get together. Something bad always happens, so they break up, but they always end up back together in the end. The characters are always attractive. The girl is usually kind of nerdy or shy but the guy is usually pretty popular or outgoing (ex. he is a football player and she is a science nerd). With high school romances there is usually a grad/prom storyline. The girl is often struggling at work or doesn’t like her job.
Sci-Fi
Robots, usually bad robots, the future, aliens, space, spaceships, lasers, other planets, black holes, evil governments, something bad for humans.
Fantasy
Royal Family, Magic (wizards/witches), Romance, Knights, Curse, Magical creatures (werewolves, vampires, dragons, etc.), Pirates, Conflicts, Betrayed, Sword fights, Hero/heroine, Good vs. Evil, Quest/Adventures, Other Worlds, Unknown Royal, Side kick, Damsel in Distress
Young Adult Fiction
Protagonist almost always a teenager (readers age), Usually a romantic interest, Pretty straight forward, Story starts quickly, Everyday language and talk, Families and parents play a larger role in storyline, Usually some type of moral, Rebellion against parents and society is a common theme, Usually have a “best friend”, Typical “teenagers” living in middle class America without a defined ethnicity, Sometimes in a dystopian future
Historical Fiction
The setting is located in the past, Underdog, Often a myth, legend, Battles, Clash of cultures, Quest of freedom, Overcoming conditions, Royalty, authority
Biography
Chronological order, About a person’s life, They lead up to a specific something the person is known for, There is often a conflict or something salacious, They can be very long, They are often empowering and not super sad, They are often unrealistically remarkable , The audience is often for adults, They are usually already famous, Non-fiction
Crime
Misunderstood protagonist, Protagonist doesn’t follow orders, Protagonist is loose canon, Case up that seems normal but become much more personal or larger, Multiple suspects “ Red Herrings”, Two intertwined mysteries, Typically mysterious woman who either has minimal importance to the plot or is captured, Lose of someone close ( Partner, family member), Protagonist takes a dark turn at some point, compromising to solve the case, Whiskey and Cigars, Betrayal and deception, “Gritty’
Fan Fiction
Extension of already existing (and usually famous) work, Cross-overs from different stories, Cross-overs with other fanfiction stories, Killing beloved character for shock, Adding a dark or edgy spin on a children’s story, Body swap, meaning one character is in another characters body, A backstory added to a original story character that did not exist in the original story, Turing straight characters gay, Taking a character from the original story and making them a different gender, Hypothetical casting, When characters read their own fanfiction (i.e. actual episodes of Supernatural), Inserting the author into the story
Story Examples
http://henrycavill.org/en/blog/interviews/item/410-henry-cavill-interview-for-gq
http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/oct/24/neil-degrasse-tyson-national-geographic-channel-startalk
http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/oct/10/jamie-vardy-leicester-city-england-lithuania-euro-2016
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/02/23/shape-things-come
http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/oct/24/neil-degrasse-tyson-national-geographic-channel-startalk
http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/oct/10/jamie-vardy-leicester-city-england-lithuania-euro-2016
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/02/23/shape-things-come