Writing Excuses Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 7: Genre Blending
Jul 13, 2009
Explore the art of blending genres in storytelling, from zombie apocalypse in space to Perry Mason in the Armed Forces. Learn the secrets to successfully merging genres without giving away the surprise. Discover examples of genre blending in Firefly and Alien series, and get tips on navigating the marketing challenges of merging epic fantasy with hard science fiction. Explore how authors incorporate elements from horror, political novels, and sports movies into their works, with unique marketing strategies and character inspirations from news and history.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Star Trek's Hidden Zombie Story
- The Star Trek movie First Contact is essentially a zombie apocalypse story disguised as sci-fi.
- It hides zombie tropes within its own genre to create something fresh and engaging.
Genre Blend Pitfall: Jagged Space
- John Hemmery's "Jagged Space" blended military sci-fi with lawyer stories but failed commercially.
- Fans of either genre avoided it because it was labeled as both, alienating each audience.
Starcraft Rejected 'Orcs in Space'
- Starcraft's designers rejected the 'Orcs in space' idea after a beta tester's comment.
- They retooled the game to be something new, avoiding a simple genre mashup.