WRITING GENRES The many styles of creative writing
Types of Genres Genres of form Poetry, fiction, plays Genres of subject Fantasy, science fiction, romance
Fiction A narrative or story. Can take the form of: Short stories – a few pages to 40 pages Flash fiction – a paragraph to a page Novellas – 50 to 100 pages Novel – pages
Responding to Fiction Questions to ask while reading fiction: Who is the story about? What is interesting? Visually? Emotionally? Where does the story take place? What is conflict within the story? The nature of the conflict? What’s different on the last page from the first page? What has changed? So what? What makes you care about what happens to these characters?
Creative Nonfiction Using the conventions of fiction to tell a true story. Letting the reader see the story instead of summarizing, reporting, analyzing or explaining Two subcategories Memoir Researched creative nonfiction
Responding to Creative Nonfiction Questions to ask while reading creative nonfiction: What is interesting? Visually? Emotionally? Who is the story about? How do you come to know the people in the piece? Where does the story take place? What is the conflict within the story? What information do you learn? What insights to you gain? What’s different on the last page from the first page? What has changed? So what? What makes you care about what happens to these characters?
Poetry Compressed Rich with language and emotion Two basic types Narrative – uses character, conflict, and story Lyric - presents a brief, concentrated feeling or emotion
Prose Poems Written in block type, usually 1-2 paragraphs Looks like prose, but read like a poem May be strange, surprising, or surreal situations Employs the heightened language or poetry (images, sounds, feelings) with more overt rhythm to the words
Responding to Poetry & Prose Poems Who is speaking? Where is the poem taking place? What are the images? What is the structure of this poem? What happens in the poem? What’s the “story”? What do you see in your mind’s eye? What feelings are evoked What sounds in the poem emphasize the visuals, the feelings? What gives the poem its energy? What makes you, the reader, interested in the poem?
Plays and Screenplays Designed to be performed or filmed Storytelling in images Short, focused, and intense Relies on dialogue to tell the story Exist in two forms Formatted for readers Formatted for an entire theater company or movie production
Responding to Plays and Screenplays What is the story of the scene, act, or play? Who talks? What is the psychology of the person or people in the play? What are the conflicts that come through in the dialogue? What conflicts come through in the action? What conflicts come through via the setting? What changes over the course of the play? What images do you see in your mind as you listen to the dialogue?
Graphic Novels, Comics, & Experimental Pieces Graphic Novel: a comic that works like a prose novel or novella Combining both images and words to create a story
Responding to Graphic Novels, Comics, & Experimental Pieces What is the work about? What’s the story the piece is telling? What emotions are covered in this piece? Is the dialogue accurate, lively, or interesting? What does each panel/section/line do that is different from the others? What keeps you interested in reading this work? How does the artwork (if included) amplify the power of the story? What does the experiment (if included) ask the reader to do? Is it worth it?
Your Turn! Out of the genres we have just discussed, pick one that you enjoy or are familiar with, and one that you dislike or may not know a lot about. Find your two choices on the list below and read the pieces of writing that correlate. Answer the responding questions we have just discussed for each piece.
Reading List Fiction: Pg. 54 Creative Non-Fiction: pg 59 Poetry: Pg. 56 and pg. 57 (Billy Collins) Prose Poems: pg. 57 ( A. Van Jordan) & pg. 58 Plays and Screenplays: pg. 53 Graphic Novels, Comics & Experimental: Pg. 55