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A genre [ˈʒã:rə], (French: "kind" or "sort") is a loose set of criteria for a
category of literary composition; the term is also used for any other form of
art or utterance
| 1 | Mainstream Novels | twentieth-century stories intended for the general public rather than a specific audience; challenges belief systems, suggests a new vision, asks questions, provokes introspection, shakes up rules |
| 2 | Literary Novels | avant-garde and experimental stories, incorporating unconventional and non-traditional writing style and techniques |
| 3 | Romance Novels | emphasis is on the development of the love relationship between the hero and heroine, the tension that pulls them together and/or drives them apart |
| 4 | Science Fiction / Fantasy Novels | stories showing the effects of science, technology, and social and psychological theories on characters in the future/stories about magical or alternate worlds and kingdoms, using witches, warlocks, dragons and other myth-like creatures |
| 5 | Action / Adventure | fast-paced stories that put the characters at risk or in physical danger; includes thrilling near-misses and courageous and daring feats |
| 6 | Horror Novels | stories designed to terrify the reader with pursuit and escape type plots, often using supernatural or demonic beings or characters with occult powers |
| 7 | Mystery Novels | plot driven stories with emphasis on solving a crime of some kind; involves a series of clues leading to answers, rising tension and often increasing danger as the answer is approached |
| 8 | Suspense Thrillers | stories that develop a physical and/or psychological threat to the main character, includes a dark character that the protagonist must escape or overcome |
| 9 | Historical Novels | stories taking place in a factual historical time; characters are dropped into real historical events and interact with real historical people as kings and queens; westerns are centered in the old American West with characters from that time; i.e. cowboys, Indians, settlers, miners, etc. |
| 10 | Religious / Spiritual Novels | spiritual and message-driven stories using characters in conflict with good and evil, externally and internally; new age stories that deal with some aspect of the paranormal and/or psychic world |
| 11 | Comic Novels and Comedy | emphasis is on the humorous or satirical aspects of the story |
| 12 | Philosophical Novels | make a point about life's meaning; can be allegories or express political ideas; deals with pressing social concerns of a certain period |
| 13 | War Novels | stories set in the middle of war; emphasis is on the battles won and lost and the heroism involved |
| 14 | Juvenile / Young Adult Novels | features a young protagonist in any of the above categories |
| 15 | Chick Lit | features a female protagonist, between 18-26 years old in any of the above categories, typically deals with more mature subjects |
| 16 | Autobiography / Memoir / Spiritual autobiography | a biography composed conjointly with a collaborative writer / memoirs are usually about part of a persons life rather than the chronological telling of the life / dominated Protestant writing during the seventeenth century, follows the believer from a state of damnation to a state pf grace |
| 17 | Biography | based on the written accounts of an individuals life |
| 18 | Dairy or Journal | contains discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of time |
| 19 | Epic | broadly defined genre of narrative poetry |
| 20 | Narrative Poetry | poetry that tells a story |
| 21 | Essay | piece of writing from the author's point of view, non-fictional and subjective |
| 22 | Fable / Fairy tale | brief succinct story in prose of verse / fictional story usually featuring folkloric characters, talking animals and enchantments |
A literary element (or element of literature) is an
individual aspect or characteristic of a whole work of literature
| 1 | Characters | people, animals, etc. in stories. The most important person in the story is the main character. Character traits show what a person is like and offer clues to a person's behavior and actions |
| 2 | Plot | the plan or pattern of events in a story. The turning point of a story is when an event happens that lets the reader know something is about to change. The climax of the story comes at the end, when the detail come together and form a resolution |
| 3 | Point of view | a way of looking at things. Each story is told from a person's viewpoint |
| 4 | Setting | where and when a story takes place. Settings can change in different parts of the story |
| 5 | Theme | the main subject or idea of a book |
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