Genre Guide — Literary Fiction
Genre Guide — Literary Fiction

Genre Guide — Literary Fiction

Western Beat Sheet

Export All to RTF Copy All to Clipboard Section Your Notes Introduction of Protagonist (Approx. 0-2,000 words): Introduce the protagonist, a rugged individualist, a weary lawman, or a newcomer to the frontier, highlighting their skills, values, and the harsh realities of life in the Wild West. Dig Deeper The protagonist, a seasoned gunslinger with a mysterious past, a weary lawman seeking justice, or perhaps a young homesteader, is introduced in a world of dusty plains, city saloons, or the untamed wilderness. We should initially establish their skills with a gun and/or their horse, their moral code, and their reasons for...

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Should I Write Literary Fiction?

Do you tire of the silly tricks and the same old plots in genre fiction? Does it all just feel like a cheesy action movie to you when you would rather be watching an art film? Then literary fiction might work for you. If you read a lot of literary fiction, then you already know that it is all different, and there aren't a lot of standard tropes and cliches. If you haven't read much literary fiction, but...

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Literary Fiction Guide

There is some argument over what literary fiction really is, but you know it when you see it. It’s high brow stuff. Driven by rich characters and settings rather than a page turning plot line. It tends to deal more often with the mundane, but presenting that mundane life in ways that are unique. It is anything that we might call “literature” rather than genre fiction.  Literary fiction is harder to describe than other genres because it’s subject matter, settings, themes, and voice, can be nearly anything. As long as it is finely crafted, polished until it gleams, and doesn’t...

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Historical Fiction Guide

Historical fiction is all about the setting. You can do anything you want within it — mystery, thriller, drama, romance, and more — but in the best historical novels, the setting takes center stage, or rather becomes the theater itself. And the walls of that theater must become more real to the reader than than the walls of their own home. A master of this genre transports the reader to the story’s place and time entire, setting them down in the middle of not just a tale, but an entire world that hasn’t been seen in many years. The amount...

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Historical Fiction Study Materials

Back to historical fiction Online Resources 5 Tips for Writing a Fully Realized Historical Setting — From Writer’s Digest and Nekesa Afia The first question for historical fiction writers is “What era and area will I write in?” Along with the books in the Informational section below, here are some online options for helping you pick: Khan Academy’s World History Course — Khan Academy is a non-profit organization aiming to provide free, quality education to everyone. A lot of the material is aimed toward children, but there’s plenty of stuff for adults as well. Check out their world history courses and see...

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