Commercial genres dictate how books are sold, while content genres influence the emotional experience for readers.
Plot-driven stories are propelled by external forces, while character-driven stories focus on inner conflict within the protagonist.
Deep dives
Understanding the Difference Between Commercial and Content Genres
Commercial genres are sales categories that dictate how books are placed and sold, while content genres inform the type of content that should be present in a story. Content genres have key scenes and conventions that give readers a specific emotional experience.
Plot-Driven vs. Character-Driven Stories
Plot-driven stories are primarily driven by an external antagonist or force, while character-driven stories are driven by inner conflict within the protagonist. Plot-driven stories fall into external content genres, while character-driven stories fall into internal content genres.
5 Questions to Identify Your Story's Genre
To determine your story's genre, consider the protagonist's role in the story, the antagonistic force, the central question, the theme or universal theme being explored, and the comp titles (comparative titles) that are similar to your story. By answering these questions, you can narrow down your story's global genre.
In this episode, we're going to talk about genre -- specifically how to choose the primary (or global) genre for your story. Here's a quick overview of what we talk about in this episode:
[01:30] What's the difference between commercial genres and content genres (aka the reader's genre and the writer's genre)? And why you should care about BOTH.
[05:00] What's the difference between plot-driven stories and character-driven stories? And what are the 12 content genres?
[07:00] A special note for science fiction and fantasy authors (if you're writing speculative fiction, you don't want to miss this!)
[08:45] Why you need to choose one primary genre for your story -- and how this can actually make the writing, editing, and publishing process SO MUCH EASIER.
[09:45] 5 questions to help you choose the main genre for your story.
[17:30] Once you've identified your story's global genre, what's next? Here's a preview of how your story's genre can help you write a stronger first draft.
[20:30] Key points and episode recap.
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