Lately, I've been learning what I like and don't like about genres. For example, historical fiction seems to be a little heavy for what I want. Today we ask ourselves what we want out of our reading for leisure, then go through all the basic (not sub) genres for tropes. It is totally okay if a genre just doesn't work for you. This may help you pick up the books you'll enjoy, rather than what you dislike.
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I had several historical fictions on my second chance pile. I'll tell you exactly why. I don't want to sit with the emotion they bring to the table, nor do I want to be distressed by what I read. I realize history is hard to face and when I want to face that history I'll research it myself. Otherwise, I'll pass on the mental distress of wartorn nations and facing the Nazis. I'll try it if a friend says "It's good", but when it is too heavy I find it hard to get through.
The story above is to make this exact point; what do you want out of your leisure reading? In the case of my reading life, I want entertainment. I don't want to be distressed by what I'm reading because I'm doing this to relax, not be more stressed. I can certainly cry over a book situation. I'll cry over fictional characters and the death of them any day of the week. I just don't wish to sit with the real and distressing emotions of real wars. Ask yourself what you want from your reading before you pick up a book. If you picked up Game of Thrones because you wanted a cozy novel, you might need to rethink it (one example, but I'm sure all of us have done something similar).
Genres and Tropes
Mystery
Starting with the mystery genre, let's dig in. Mysteries have a murder or crime involved, which a character or characters have to solve. They can be cozy or intense, depending on the author and topics at hand. Heinous crimes are not off the table. I put the website for trigger warnings in books at the bottom of this blog post for your reference.
Tropes of this genre include unreliable narrator, misjudged death, incompetent police, early suspect, unassuming suspect, villainous victim, everybody did it, multiple murders, stuck in one place, person with vital info is killed, killer playing detective, detective team up, detective suspect, nosy characters, criminal consultants, detectives with substance abuse issues, history/past returns, blackmail, amnesia, lightbulb moments, big reveal, and twist endings. (For more details)
Suspense and horror play along with mystery and mix with it, so you might have some overlap in horror and suspense.
Horror
Horror is meant to disturb or scare you, to make you want to scream, cry, and be upset. Honestly, if you don't know, you shouldn't frequent horror in general, nor should anyone hand you horror. There is psychological and physical horror, including gore. Sometimes gore is not part of it, but Stephen King is definitely a gore-fest when it comes to his horror. You can even play with it for comedic effect like movies sometimes do.
Tropes of this genre include slasher/one killer after everyone, summoning evil, abandoned places, open windows/doors, nightmares being real, death to people having sex outside marriage/cheaters, cursed artifacts, old footage, "let's split up", old secret places, bad weather at night, alone in a dark place/house, weird neighbor, "no trespassing" means nothing, "something is definitely wrong and no one believes me", odd things seen in mirrors, immortal bad guys, being watched, monsters everywhere, no communication, "I'll be right back" and never coming back, women and children last, and one final scare when everything seems alright. (For more details)
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Scream and Shawn of the Dead are both movies that take a comedic twist on these tropes. The Scary Movie series also takes these tropes and converts them to laughter. Domestic horror is where the main character sees everything is wrong in the world, but everyone else acts normal. Horror is diverse and you should keep in mind that psychological horror is effective because it takes normal and twists it into something terrifying.
Horror can also represent mental illness or what is wrong with the world. It can point to what society is doing wrong. Keep in mind that you can read literary horror/fiction like The Yellow Wallpaper and read into the role of women and female hysteria. Victorian-era horror is just as good as modern novels.
Romance
This is where you need to know an author's tendencies. When you pick up an author who's spicy by nature, sex scenes abound. Romance is all about romantic relationships. It can blend with any genre and work. Werewolves? Aliens? Dinosaurs? All real romances. Vampires are really popular. It can be clean or dirty (no sex or sex included).
A note to anyone who needs to know the difference between erotica and a romance with sex, note the plot. Does it have one? If so, it's a romance with sex. One scene of sex, or even a handful, doesn't make it erotica. No plot and mostly sex makes it erotica. Sex is in other genres, too, so it isn't exclusive to romance. Long story short, could you read a coherent plotline? Then it's romance. If you can't, you've got erotica.
Romance is even more diverse than horror, so here are some of the many tropes you can find.
We have love triangles (or corners, depending on how you perceive a triangle), second chance at relationship, enemies to lovers, friends to lovers, couple oblivious to their good chemistry, office romance, forced proximity, one bed, fake dating, betting, secrets, amnesia, different worlds/society standings, forbidden love, first love, holiday romance, grump and sunshine, sworn off love, allergic to commitment, suspect and investigator, falling for someone already taken, and fish out of water/strange place. (For more details)
Science fiction (sci-fi)
Think space, future, Star Trek, Star Wars, and technology that we don't have (yet). It can be out-there in concepts and connects to futuristic society. It's also about alien races and time travel. It gets lumped with fantasy sometimes, but fantasy is different. Both are epic in nature, though (epic as in, not real life).
Tropes include space travel issues, time travel issues, alternate universes, it was all a simulation, bad robots (like in i,Robot), bad aliens, aliens are humans, pure energy lifeforms, secrets labs/bases, mad scientist, bad AI (artificial intelligence), cloning, creating monsters, nanotechnology, techno-jargon, dystopian futures, utopian futures, advanced tech, philosophical discussions, technology stunted, and morals/ethics. (For more details)
There is no better way to talk about issues than to put them in fiction, much like horror. Sci-fi can talk about a lot. Time travel novels are a whole genre by themselves, almost. I don't read as much of this, but I do watch Star Trek and Star Wars.
Fantasy
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Tropes include ancient/medieval settings, taverns, good vs evil, evil sorcerer, good sorcerer, chosen one, reluctant hero, the main quest, side quests, ancient and powerful artifacts, libraries filled with books, fantasy creatures, training someone, antagonist to ally, hidden truth/inheritance, damsels in distress, orphan hero, hyperbole (I'm the best or the most powerful), all hope lost, backup shows up, and paying the price for winning. (For more details)
Historical Fiction
This genre is generally heavy on wars and dark events. You have lots of WWII and WWI, as well as Colonial America, combinations of fictional and real events, historical figures as characters...etc. Themes of religion, politics, and economic turmoil show up front and center. It isn't uncommon to have a present and past timeline at the same time. Traveling and daily life are common tropes. You find resistance fighters, romance subplots (lots of them), tragedy, death, and the darker parts of history.
Be sure to prepare for heavy tones. This is not your light reading. Research was done in most cases, and most have their sources in the back. Sometimes they will have a brief message saying they bent some history to make the plot work or discuss the historical context further. For more on writing this genre, click here.
Nonfiction
I don't have to explain too hard on this one. It's not fiction, so it'll be a true story of some kind. Biographies, investigations into true crime, and Bible studies fit here. The Bible would also be in this category (religion is not fiction, so I'm putting religious books with nonfiction for the blog).
This has fewer tropes and is the exception to this blog category. What you see the most is research papers in the form of books, biographies, autobiographies, Bible studies, the Bible, true crime (histories on serial killers, for example), and how-to guides of all kinds. You also have craft books (instructional) in this category.
Suspense
Suspense differs from horror and mystery. Suspense is often paired with these two genres, but it is defined as a genre of tension and high stakes. For example, whether someone will survive *fill in the blank* or not knowing when the other shoe will eventually drop. It's hard to separate from the mystery genre or the horror genre. As such, it shares many tropes with both. Romantic suspense is also a common fusion; romance can blend with nearly anything. It is not a thriller - that's another genre that people connect to suspense.
Tropes include plot twists, the protagonist is forced to interact with an unpredictable character, unreliable narrator, detective and sidekick, femme fatale, broken character, isolated locations, "the killer is in this room/trapped here with everyone", oddly placed corpses, "we're running out of time" or a ticking time clock, ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances, good vs evil, betrayal, being hunted by something/someone, and survival in general. This is only some of the tropes. Anything that keeps the tension tighter than piano wire or keeps the stakes super high will be suspense.
People call this "thriller" but it isn't technically that. You google suspense and thriller pops up. It isn't helpful in this blog scenario to search "suspense". I pulled some of this from what I've read. Let's define thriller for real; it is technically a bigger category encompassing horror, detective genres, and suspense. It is a mix of all of that, plus action and big emotion.
Action and Adventure
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This is your NUMA files, Indiana Jones, and James Bond. It's fight scenes, top-secret missions, and high-risk fun. You can easily throw in a romance subplot (just like every other genre here). They will mix well with suspense. They'll be mostly action, probably include witty banter, and have high stakes.
Tropes include unfamiliar settings, danger, heroism and heroic acts, exciting sequences of events, reluctant heroes, a mentor, macguffins (objects that keep plot moving, but hold less importance), chase scenes, fight scenes, surviving near death situations, secret identities, last-minute rescues, misfit team, betrayal/lies, being a macgyver of sorts (very creative problem solving and devices), "you're my hero", large and slightly unrealistic plots, lots of violent solutions to problems, fancy cars, and weapons of varied kinds.
A Brief Note
I think I've hit the core genres. I'm not including contemporary, literary, or short stories because all those can be one of these core genres. Every classic also varies in theme - one can be horror and another themed around home life. Basically, no one agrees on core genres and you can't find an agreed-upon-by-all list. Subgenres are abundant among these core genres. You might like a subgenre of one and hate another subgenre of the same overall genre. Most books are a mix of many genres and subgenres.
As promised, here is the website for trigger warnings: https://booktriggerwarnings.com/index.php?title=Welcome
Sources:
https://kindlepreneur.com/book-tropes/
https://www.writersdigest.com/write-better-fiction/popular-fantasy-tropes-for-writers
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I wrote a book! I am delighted to say that I have 5 five-star reviews up on Amazon now, which is amazing. I hope you like it, too. If you're interested in buying a paperback, hardcover, or ebook version go to my website link in this blog or click here to go straight to my Amazon page.
Jack Thomas is running from a past case. He's hiding in Wrenville. Is his past case catching up with him?
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