Forums

2024-04-16

Edgar Allan Poe, born on January 19, 1809, in Boston, Massachusetts, is one of the most influential figures in American literature, particularly renowned for his

Notifications

Clear all

fiction to the fantastical realms of and fantasy. This forum will be your compass in navigating the rich landscapes of prose, offering insights into each genre's unique characteristics, themes, and storytelling techniques. Whether you're an aspiring writer seeking to hone your craft or a voracious reader eager to deepen your understanding of the prose world, this space is designed to illuminate the diverse avenues of narrative expression.

"> Prose Genres

Posts

Topics

Comedy

Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term originated in ancient Greece: in Athenian democracy, the public opinion of voters was influenced by the political satire performed by comic poets in theaters. The theatrical genre of Greek comedy can be described as a dramatic performance pitting two groups, ages, genders, or societies against each other in an amusing agon or conflict. Northrop Frye depicted these two opposing sides as a "Society of Youth" and a "Society of the Old". A revised view characterizes the essential agon of comedy as a struggle between a relatively powerless youth and the societal conventions posing obstacles to his hopes. In this struggle, the youth then becomes constrained by his lack of social authority and is left with little choice but to resort to ruses that engender dramatic irony, and provoke laughter.

Essay

An essay is, generally, a piece of prose that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal and informal: formal essays are characterized by “serious purpose, dignity, logical organization, length,” whereas the informal essay is characterized by “the personal element (self-revelation, individual tastes, and experiences, confidential manner), humor, graceful style, rambling structure, unconventionality or novelty of theme,” etc.

Fan-Fiction

Fan or fanfiction (also abbreviated to fan fic, fanfic, fic, or FF) is fictional writing written in an amateur capacity by fans, unauthorized by, but based on an existing work of . The author uses copyrighted characters, settings, or other intellectual properties from the original creator(s) as a basis for their writing. Fan ranges from a couple of sentences to an entire novel, and fans can retain the creator's characters and settings and/or add their own. It is a form of fan labor. Fan can be based on any fictional (and occasional non-fictional) subject. Common bases for fan include novels, movies, musical groups, cartoons, anime, manga, and video games.

Fantasy Fiction

Fantasy is a genre of speculative involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and drama. From the twentieth century, it has expanded further into various media, including film, television, graphic novels, manga, animations, and video games.

Fiction

is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places in ways that are imaginary or inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a narrow sense, “” refers to written narratives in prose – often referring specifically to novels, novellas, and short stories. More broadly, however, encompasses imaginary narratives expressed in any medium, including not just writings but also live theatrical performances, films, television programs, radio dramas, comics, role-playing games, and video games.

Non-Fiction

Nonfiction (also spelled ) is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide accurate information regarding a real-world topic. Nonfictional content may be presented either objectively or subjectively. Nonfiction is one of the fundamental divisions of narrative writing (specifically, prose)— in contrast to , largely populated by imaginary characters and events, though sometimes ambiguous regarding its basis in reality.–Wikipedia

Flash Fiction

Flash fiction is a fictional work of extreme brevity[1] that still offers character and plot development. Identified varieties, many of them defined by word count, include the six-word story; the 280-character story (also known as "twitterature");[3] the "dribble" (also known as the "minisaga," 50 words); the "drabble" (also known as "microfiction," 100 words);[2] "sudden fiction" (750 words); "flash fiction" (1,000 words); and "microstory". –Wikipedia.com

Horror

Horror is a genre of that is intended to frighten, scare, or disgust. Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychological horror and supernatural horror, which are in the realm of speculative . Literary historian J. A. Cuddon, in 1984, defined the horror story as “a piece of in prose of variable length… which shocks, or even frightens the reader, or perhaps induces a feeling of repulsion or loathing”. Horror intends to create an eerie and frightening atmosphere for the reader. Often the central menace of a work of horror can be interpreted as a metaphor for larger fears of a society.

LGBTQ+

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) movements are social movements that advocate for LGBT people in society. In writing for this audience, some focus on equal rights, such as the ongoing movement for same-sex marriage, while others focus on liberation, as in the gay liberation movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Earlier movements focused on self-help and self-acceptance, such as the homophile movement of the 1950s. Although there is not a primary or overarching central organization that represents all LGBT people and their interests, numerous LGBT rights organizations are active worldwide.

Memoire | Biography

A memoir (/ˈmɛm.wɑːr/; from French mémoire [me.mwaʁ], from Latin memoria ‘memory, remembrance') is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobiography since the late 20th century, the genre is differentiated in form, presenting a narrowed focus. A biography or autobiography tells the story “of a life”, while a memoir often tells the story of a particular event or time, such as touchstone moments and turning points in the author's life. The author of a memoir may be referred to as a memoirist or a memorialist.

Mental Health Writing

I almost think that mental health writing should be its own genre given the volume of work devoted nowadays to mental health issues. Links between creativity and mental health have been extensively discussed and studied by psychologists and other researchers for centuries. Parallels can be drawn to connect creativity to major mental disorders including bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, OCD and ADHD. For example, studies have demonstrated correlations between creative occupations and people living with mental illness. There are cases that support the idea that mental illness can aid in creativity, but it is also generally agreed that mental illness does not have to be present for creativity to exist.

Mystery

Mystery is a genre where the nature of an event, usually a murder or other crime, remains mysterious until the end of the story. Often within a closed circle of suspects, each suspect is usually provided with a credible motive and a reasonable opportunity for committing the crime. The central character is often a detective (such as Sherlock Holmes), who eventually solves the mystery by logical deduction from facts presented to the reader. Some mystery books are . Mystery can be detective stories in which the emphasis is on the puzzle or suspense element and its logical solution such as a whodunit. Mystery can be contrasted with hardboiled detective stories, which focus on action and gritty realism.

Novel

A novel is a relatively long work of narrative , typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose derives from the Italian: novella for “new”, “news”, or a “short story of something new”, itself from the Latin: a novella, singular noun use of the neuter plural of Novellus, diminutive of Novus, meaning “new”. Some novelists, including Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Ann Radcliffe, and John Cowper Powys, preferred the term “romance” to describe their novels.

Novella

A novella is a narrative prose whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most short stories. The English word novella derives from the Italian novella meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) facts.

Playwriting | Stageplay

A play is a work of drama, usually consisting mostly of dialogue between characters and intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. The writer of a play is called a playwright.

Romance Writing

A romance novel or romantic novel generally refers to a type of genre novel which places its primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and usually has an “emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending.” However, precursors include authors of literary , such as Samuel Richardson, Jane Austen, and Charlotte Brontë.

Satire

Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of and less frequently , in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or exposing the perceived flaws of individuals, corporations, government, or society itself into improvement. Although satire is usually meant to be humorous, its greater purpose is often constructive social criticism, using wit to draw attention to both particular and wider issues in society.

Science Fiction

(sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative that typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universes, extraterrestrial life, sentient artificial intelligence, cybernetics, certain forms of immortality (like mind uploading), and the singularity. predicted several existing inventions, such as the atomic bomb, and robots, whose names entirely match their fictional predecessors.

Scriptwriting | Screenplay

Screenwriting or scriptwriting is the art and craft of writing scripts for mass media such as feature films, television productions, or video games. It is often a freelance profession. Screenwriters are responsible for researching the story, developing the narrative, writing the script, screenplay, dialogues, and delivering it, in the required format, to development executives. Screenwriters, therefore, have great influence over the creative direction and emotional impact of the screenplay and, arguably, of the finished film. Screenwriters either pitch original ideas to producers, in the hope that they will be optioned or sold; or are commissioned by a producer to create a screenplay from a concept, true story, existing screen work or literary work, such as a novel, poem, play, comic book, or short story.

Serial Fiction

In literature, a serial is a printing or publishing format by which a single larger work, often a work of narrative , is published in smaller, sequential installments. The installments are also known as numbers, parts, or fascicles, and may be released either as separate publications or within sequential issues of a periodical publication, such as a magazine or newspaper. Serialization can also begin with a single short story that is subsequently turned into a series. Historically, such series have been published in periodicals. Popular short-story series are often published together in book form as collections.

Short Story

A short story is a piece of prose that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest types of literature and has existed in the form of legends, mythic tales, folk tales, fairy tales, tall tales, fables, and anecdotes in various ancient communities around the world. The modern short story developed in the early 19th century.

Songwriting

A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions and writes lyrics for songs. A songwriter can also be called a composer, although the latter term tends to be used mainly for individuals from the classical music genre and film scoring, but is also associated with writing and composing the original musical composition or musical bed. A songwriter who mainly writes the lyrics for a song is referred to as a lyricist. The pressure from the music industry to produce popular hits means that songwriting is often an activity for which the tasks are distributed between a number of people. For example, a songwriter who excels at writing lyrics might be paired with a songwriter with the task of creating original melodies. Pop songs may be composed by group members from the band or by staff writers – songwriters directly employed by music publishers. Some songwriters serve as their own music publishers, while others have outside publishers.

Thriller | Suspense

Thriller and suspense are genres of , that have numerous, often overlapping subgenres. Thrillers are characterized and defined by the moods they elicit, giving viewers heightened feelings of suspense, excitement, surprise, anticipation, and anxiety. Successful examples of thrillers are the films of Alfred Hitchcock.Thrillers and suspense generally keep the audience on the “edge of their seats” as the plot builds towards a climax. The cover-up of important information is a common element. Literary devices such as red herrings, plot twists, unreliable narrators, and cliffhangers are used extensively. A thriller is often a villain-driven plot, whereby they present obstacles that the protagonist must overcome.

Tragedy

Tragedy (from the Greek: τραγῳδία, tragōidia[a]) is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall the main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy is to invoke an accompanying catharsis, or a “pain [that] awakens pleasure”, for the audience. While many cultures have developed forms that provoke this paradoxical response, the term tragedy often refers to a specific tradition of drama that has played a unique and important role historically in the self-definition of Western civilization. That tradition has been multiple and discontinuous, yet the term has often been used to invoke a powerful effect of cultural identity and historical continuity—”the Greeks and the Elizabethans, in one cultural form; Hellenes and Christians, in a common activity,” as Raymond Williams puts it.

Travel Writing

The genre of travel literature encompasses outdoor literature, guide books, nature writing, and travel memoirs.

True Crime | Crime

True crime is a nonfiction literary, podcast, and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people associated with and affected by criminal events. The crimes most commonly include murder; about 40 percent focus on tales of serial killers. True crime comes in many forms, such as books, films, podcasts, and television shows. Many works in this genre recount high-profile, sensational crimes such as the JonBenét Ramsey killing, the O. J. Simpson murder case, and the Pamela Smart murder, while others are devoted to more obscure slayings. True crime works can impact the crimes they cover and the audience who consumes them. The genre is often criticized for being insensitive to the victims and their families and is described by some as “trash culture”.

Prose Genres

Prose, with its boundless flexibility and depth, encompasses a world of narrative possibilities, from the stark realism of literary fictionFiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places in ways that are imaginary or inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a narrow sense, "fiction" refers to written narratives in prose – often referring specifically to novels, novellas, and short stories.[4][5] More broadly, however, fiction encompasses imaginary narratives expressed in any medium, including not just writings but also live theatrical performances, films, television programs, radio dramas, comics, role-playing games, and video games.... to the fantastical realms of science fictionScience fiction speculates on future possibilities through the lens of science and technology, offering "What if?" scenarios. It blends futuristic ideas like space and time travel with scientific plausibility, reflecting on societal and ethical issues. This genre includes hard science fiction, emphasizing accuracy, and soft science fiction, focusing on social implications. More and fantasy. This forum will be your compass in navigating the rich landscapes of prose, offering insights into each genre's unique characteristics, themes, and storytelling techniques. Whether you're an aspiring writer seeking to hone your craft or a voracious reader eager to deepen your understanding of the prose world, this space is designed to illuminate the diverse avenues of narrative expression.

RSS

No topics were found here

57 Forums
38 Topics
39 Posts
1 Online
39 Members

Forum Icons: Forum contains no unread posts Forum contains unread posts

Topic Icons: Not Replied Replied Active Hot Sticky Unapproved Solved Private Closed

Knowledge Base Contact Us

Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe, born on January 19, 1809, in Boston, Massachusetts, is one of t...

Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman, an iconic figure in American literature, was born on May 31, 1819,...

Ray Bradbury

Ray Bradbury, born in Waukegan, Illinois, in 1920, is a towering figure in Ameri...

Gertrude Stein

In the heart of Paris, amidst the buzz of avant-garde creativity, Gertrude Stein...

Ploughshares

Discovering Ploughshares: An Online Haven for Writers Ploughshares, an esteemed ...

AGNI

Tin House

TriQuarterly

Apex Magazine

Granta

Narrative Magazine

The Rumpus

A note to our visitors

This website has updated its privacy policy in compliance with changes to European Union data protection law, for all members globally. We’ve also updated our Privacy Policy to give you more information about your rights and responsibilities with respect to your privacy and personal information. Please read this to review the updates about which cookies we use and what information we collect on our site. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our updated privacy policy.

Forums

Recent Topics

Prose Genres

Famous First Lines

Take your writing to the next level.

Drop us a line

Story & Craft

Let's have a chat

Get in touch.

Help us Grow.

Join today – $0 Free