The Three Types of Fiction

There are actually as many types of fiction as there are people writing fiction, in the sense that every novel ever written is unique.

Categorizing fiction into various genres is really just a way of simplifying the whole business of buying and selling novels.

And for that reason it is crucial that you know from the outset, as specifically as possible, which one of the many categories of fiction you will be writing in.

In short, you need to decide, right here at the start of the novel writing process, where your book will eventually sit in the marketplace. Why? Because it will make the job of selling your novel to a publisher so much easier.

Writing whatever genre of novel you want to write and leaving it up to the publisher to find a market for the book is a risky strategy.

Publishing is a business. Every new novel enters a tough market, and if a publisher can see no place for your novel within that market, they probably won't invest in it, no matter how good the writing.

What Are the Three Types of Fiction?

Having said above that there are as many categories of fiction as there are people writing it, this vast list can be boiled down to three broad types: genre, literary and mainstream.

Your first job is to decide which type you will be writing. And if you choose genre fiction, you will then need to decide which genre in particular you will target.

Remember that this section is just an overview of how to write a novel step by step. When the time comes to make your choices, you will find plenty of help and advice in the section dedicated to the different Types of Novels.

To give you a taste of what you will find there, here is a very quick guide to the three main varieties of novel...

• Genre Fiction. These novels are also known as "popular" or "category" fiction. Some of the biggest genres within the category include crime, romance, horror, science fiction and fantasy. Generally speaking, these novels place a greater emphasis on a page-turning plot than a deep exploration of character.
• Literary Fiction. Here, the opposite is broadly true: in literary novels, character is more important than plot. Though as you will discover when you read the detailed material on the 3 types of fiction, this is no excuse for bad plotting or characterization. I firmly believe that genre novels with weak characters or literary novels with weak plots are simply bad novels.
• Mainstream Fiction. As you would expect, this one falls somewhere in between the other two - though it is closer in style to a literary novel than a generic one. Probably the easiest way to define a mainstream novel is that is isn't covered by anything I have talked about above. In other words, if you hate science fiction and crime and all the rest of it, and if literary novels sound too "highbrow" for your tastes, you will probably end up taking the mainstream route.

Even if you are already sure what category of fiction you intend to specialize in, I would still recommend reading the section on the different Types of Novels (either online or, in more depth, in my downloadable e-book).

You never know, you might change your mind. And even if you don't, being knowledgeable about the industry you are about to enter cannot be a bad thing.

Always Write the Kind of Fiction You Like to Read

This is probably the most important piece of advice I can give you. If you don't like to read a particular category of novel for entertainment, how can you expect to write such a novel in an entertaining way.

Because the money is better? Trust me - faking it in a particular genre just because you think you will make more money writing in that category is unlikely to succeed.

And you probably won't enjoy your novel writing time much, either.

Remember, too, that even in an apparently non-commercial genre (like literary fiction) there are still fortunes to be made - not least if Hollywood buys the rights to your novel.

Next Step: The third step of the Novel Writing Process, in which you Brainstorm for Ideas...