The Pro's And Con's Of Different Genres
- Ayaan Haque
- Jul 28, 2021
- 5 min read
Whenever you write or read a story, it is almost always in a specific genre. A genre is a category for stories, depending on what the story is about. It's quite a vital part of what you create/read, so readers can easily identify what they will experience when they read. That's why you should know what genre you are writing before starting a story or reading one!
I've written in multiple genres. Change was realistic fiction. The Envelope was mystery fiction. Hugs For Millions was just plain sad, haha. But the point is, whatever story you are reading/writing can be in any genre. You don't have to write in just one.
Or, you could write two genres! For example, a mystery story with action elements. That being said, you'll need to choose one or the other to be the primary genre.
So, back to our question: What are the pro's and cons of each genre? Well, here they are in a nice, clean list! To be clear, I'm including pro's and cons for reading and writing stories in these genres.
Action
Pro's:
VERY exciting to write and read - Whenever you begin an action scene, there's always adrenaline coursing through your veins. If you're reading, the scene is quick, decisive, and heart racing. But even if you 're writing that action story, it's extremely fun to add sentence after sentence of twists and turn's.
Keeps the reader hooked in - Have you ever read a story that starts off in the middle of an action scene? When that happens, it's hard to put that book down, which is good for the writer and reader!
Con's:
Readers come just for the action - In some action stories, there are a lot of action elements. This means that the story relies on those elements to keep readers reading. And since even the most exciting of action stories can have breaks between action scenes for long times, it can get a bit boring when the reader is looking for action versus other (also important) parts.
Not everyone likes it - While many people like the excitement, sometimes readers like emotional, slow scenes. This means that the reader might just outright not read your book, which isn't good. A way to combat this is having a good balance, though that can uproot the other audience of people coming for action only.
Fantasy
Pro's:
Fun to write - Lots of people like creating an entire world in their mind, and when writing fantasy, those people can truly express themselves. When you write fantasy, it feels very free since you can do almost anything!
Exciting to "explore" - When you write a fantasy story, you feel as if you can explore through the world. And it's the same when you read one; readers feel as if they can go anywhere they want.
Con's:
You might get carried away with world building - The issue when writing these is that you might focus too much on the world, and pay less attention to other elements such as your characters. This can make many readers give up on the story.
Again, not everyone likes it - Like in action, not everyone likes to read or write fantasy stories. Many want a story they can connect with, not a story in a far off world they don't feel familiar with. This can ward off potential readers and writers of the genre, who still want to connect with the characters.
Realistic
Pro's:
You can connect with the story - Repeatedly, more fantastical genres miss one key element that can make a story great: the ability to connect with the reader. Many want something they can sympathise with, or anger at. Lots of readers have a conflicting opinion, and if you 're like me, you like to have deep thoughts about stories. What I mean by "connecting with a story" is that lots of readers want to feel some sort of "meaning", and understand it compared to their own life. But this could also be a con, as I'll discuss below.
Realistic stories allow you to think - Have you ever read a story, and then for the rest of your day, just thought about some sort of idea discussed in it? While not all stories in this genre are this philosophical, many have deep morals and lessons. And it can be though-provoking sometimes.
Con's:
It isn't always an escape from reality - Some readers like reading so they can escape from the world, which is certainly fine and amazing. Unfortunately, realistic fiction minces this belief and throws it out of the window. For a lot of readers I know, they don't need a reminder of busy life on earth, and don't want to think about life's biggest questions. Rather, they just want to be swept into another place.
They can be quite boring - One of the biggest factor that breaks stories is when it is, simply, too boring! Since realistic fiction is often connected to real life, and sometimes a character's life isn't one of the most exciting ones, the story you are trying to tell about this character simply isn't very fun to read about.
Mystery
Pro's:
They combine an adventure and make you ponder - Lots of mystery stories involve an adventure of some sort to solve the very mystery the story is about. Even if this involved siting in a chair and doing google research, or traveling across half the world dodging bombs and missiles, writing and reading this adventure is wonderful. Other than an adventure, mystery stories make you think a lot, and discoveries for the main characters give you that happy "ohhh!" feeling.
Sometime's you can be left feeling awed that you read/wrote such a story - One of the most inspiring, dopamine inducing thing that can happen to a writer is when you make a breakthrough in a story. And when you write mystery, there certainly is a lot to make! While this can be hard, it is certainly rewarding, since coming up with the solution to your very own mystery makes the writer and reader feel as if they are a detective. And that is a wonderful feeling to experience.
Con's:
Mystery's are hard to write - I once tried to write a mystery story, but I'm not exactly a good planner when it comes to story plots. That meant that I had way too many subplots for the reader (and me!) to follow, which just made everything overwhelming. I also didn't have a main plot, and rather had written a group of mysteries. To conclude that wobbling list of problems, my ending wasn't exactly a breakthrough, and I was working on planning this story beside another writing project. So I eventually decided to drop it. Overall, there are lots and lots of problems you can encounter writing a story. And if a writer fails to identify those problems, you might read that mystery story. Overall, it's hard to write since you either have a wonderful success or a horrible failure of a story.
Fairy Tale/Fable
Pro's:
Very clear story structure - Classical stories have a very clear structure. Multiple times they end with a happy ending, and have any conflict solved. Also, there is always a beginning, middle, and end. And many people like to have a traditional, normal story rather than an unique one. But, not everyone does, so this could be a con.
Con's
Old-timey style might not be appreciated - Writers often base these stories in old settings, or use "old" language. Not everyone likes this, however, but some people do!
All in all, it depends on the person. Lots of people have very differing opinions when it comes to stories, so a con for someone might be a pro for another, and likewise.
Whatever genre you write in or read in doesn't matter. Even if someone is very fond of an action story, they probably won't find a bad action story nice to read. Thus, rather than thinking about genres when categorizing stories, think about whether that story is written nicely, has a nice idea, setting, and character's. Because that's what matters.
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