What's in a Genre?

Above: A photo of the aurora borealis from our driveway, on October 10, 2024. The sky on the right side of the photo has a deep pink color, fading to lighter pink and then green as you move left. The tree line is along the left and bottom edges of the photo.

October 11, 2024

Updates

Mysteries of the Material: Edits are complete! Earlier this week, I filed for copyright and formatted the manuscript in Vellum (software for formatting books). Now it’s time for me to read through it on my Kindle.

I often tell people that I “draft with my heart, edit with my mind, and read through with my eyes.” This is a bit of an exaggeration, of course, as I draft with all three. However, the sentiment is that while I’m drafting, I write what my heart feels is correct. When I edit, I take the whole story into consideration and make logical adjustments for flow and clarity. While reading, I put on my “reader eyes” and search for those pesky errors that are often overlooked. As I’ve mentioned before, those do happen.

Ah, this is so exciting! We’re less than seven weeks away from publishing, and I can’t wait to share this book with you all. Stay tuned!

——

In the meantime, a question was raised in Mastodon’s writing community earlier this week that I thought would be insightful for readers. Let’s dive in.

What Genre Do I Write In?

Most people have a pretty good understanding of what to expect from stories in the fantasy genre, at least in general. The same is likely true of stories in the romance genre. But when these genres are combined, it gets a little murky.

Romantic Fantasy

My stories fall into the sub-genre of romantic fantasy. In short, stories in this category are ones where the fantasy aspects drive the story, but there’s a strong romantic subplot.

Let’s use The Way of the Wielder as an example. Jaslan begins researching a magical object, and in so doing discovers a truth that awakens the power of legends. Jack becomes involved with a secret organization that has ulterior motives, and is pulled into espionage to investigate what those are.

These stories are entwined, but they don’t need to be. I could have focused only on Jaslan’s research, or only on the secret organization Jack’s investigating, but I chose not to. Instead, I built out each character’s background more, so that I could weave them together into a much richer, deeper, and more intricate narrative. Put another way, the main plot of the story would still exist without the romance.

Fantasy Romance

On the other hand, fantasy romance stories are, simply put, romance stories told within a fantasy setting. Here, the romance is the story. Sure, there could be dragons or fae creatures or talking plants, but the story isn’t about the fantasy aspects; it’s about the romance (often explicit, and perhaps even erotic, romance) between two characters. Put another way, the main plot of the story would still exist without the fantasy.

(This is, of course, a generalization. Many fantasy romance stories have characters who are magical, and are the main character because of that magical ability. But the story isn’t about their magic—it’s about the romance with their love interest(s).)

Romantasy

At this point, you probably have a decent grasp of the difference between romantic fantasy and fantasy romance. So I’ll throw you a wildcard.

You’ve probably heard the term romantasy. It’s become popular over the last decade or so, in large part due to authors like Sarah J. Maas and Jennifer L. Armentrout. In fact, there’s some speculation that the term was coined by Maas’ publisher. Regardless of its origins, what’s important to note is that it’s more closely aligned with fantasy romance than romantic fantasy. Confusing, since its formation is that of romance and fantasy.

At the End of the Day…

When you get right down to it, all three of these sub-genres include beats of both fantasy and romance at varying levels. If you enjoy fantasy stories and are comfortable with a bit of love in the narrative, you might like a romantic fantasy story. If you enjoy romances but want to escape into a fantasy setting for a while, you might want to give fantasy romance or romantasy a try. Either way, this is a very popular area for writers (and readers) right now, and there’s no shortage of stories to explore.

An important note: Some publishers don’t distinguish between these sub-genres, and some bookstores don’t even separate them out on the shelves. If you’re trying out something new and aren’t sure you’ll like it, do some quick research and see if it sounds like something you’ll enjoy.

——

That’s all for now. Check back next week, when I’ll release the blurb for Mysteries of the Material. And the week after that, it’s all about the cover!

Until next time, be well, and stay creative.

~Sarah