Fiction genres by

Short Story

anastasiaschultz10 — 2018-09-19 01:53:23 UTC

The short story is the newest of literary genres today. It was developed in the mid-1800’s. The short story is different from other genres of fiction because it is a brief story, shorter than a novel and has only a few characters. Its word limit is between one thousand and twenty thousand words. The expectation of a short story is that it can be read in a single sitting.

In the mid-nineteenth century, the short story received its attention. It became more popular because the popularity of magazines started to grow. Usually this type of genre consists of a few important episodes or scenes. The structure of a short story is a Freytag’s Pyramid. It begins with with exposition, rising action, then climax, failing action, and finally conclusion. The writer must be concise since the story is approximately 1,000 words. Characters have to be developed quickly, as well as the plot must move rapidly.

“The Gift of the Magi” is one of earliest and most famous short stories in the United States. It was written by O. Henry in 1905. This story is about a young couple that explains how they meet the challenge of buying each other a Christmas gift when they don’t have enough money. This sentimental tale has a moral lesson: we often don’t value what we truly should.

A writer sums up the difference between the short story and a novel as: “Short fiction seems more targeted - hand grenades of ideas, if you will. When they work, they hit, they explode, and you never forget them. Long fiction feels more like atmosphere: it's a lot smokier and less defined.” (Paolo Bacigalupi - American science fiction and fantasy writer).
Mays, Kelly J. The Norton Introduction to Literature. New York: W.W. Norton and Co., 2017.

Bacigalupi, Paolo. "Short Stories Quotes." Good reads, goodreads.com. Accessed 12 Sept. 2018.

"20 Great American Short Stories." American Literature, americanliterature.com. Accessed 12 Sept. 2018. Hansen, Arlen J. "Short Story." Encyclopedia Britannica, britannica.com. Accessed 12 Sept. 2018.

Graphic Novel

anastasiaschultz10 — 2018-09-19 01:58:08 UTC

A graphic novel is very different from other genres of fiction. It is usually thought of as a book-length comic. This form of comic has panels of visual art with text in rectangular boxes. Often when we think about comics, we think that it is just a funny story. However, many comics and graphic novels emphasize drama, adventure, character development, striking visuals, politics, or romance.

People sometimes call graphic novels “comics” but they are different from each other. Graphic novels are longer and are more complex. Comic books contain a story with many issues, graphic novels have their storylines wrapped up in only one or two books. For example, in the graphic novel that I read in class Persepolis, the author writes about some memories and experiences from her life. In the excerpt “The Shabbat,” Marjane Satrapi writes to influence others not to think that all people in Iran are extremists or terrorists. She wants to remind us that there are innocent people that lose their lives in wars.

One of the first comics started in 1940’s. Will Eisner is credited with having popularized the term “graphic novel.” His novel called “A Contract With God and Other Tenement Stories” was published in 1978. It is considered a perfectly executed graphic novel, showing readers what America during the early 1930’s. Through four interconnected stories, Eisner uses his memories of growing up in New York during that time period. Historians agree that this book was the first real graphic novel.

One of the most famous and popular graphic novels is “A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History.” It is the first installment of a Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel acclaimed as “the most affecting and successful narrative ever done about the Holocaust.”

“Comic books and graphic novels are a great medium. It’s incredibly underused.” – Darren Aronofsky, American filmmaker and screenwriter.

Aronofsky, Darren. "Graphic Novels Quotes." Az Qoutes, azquotes.com. Accessed 12 Sept. 2018.

“Good reads, goodreads.com. Accessed 12 Sept. 2018.

Pramod, Nair “A Contract With God and Other Tenement Stories.” Good reads, goodreads.com. Accessed 12 Sept. 2018.

Sarkar, Patricia. "A Contract With God and Other Tenement Stories." Best Graphic Novels Ever Written, geeks.media. Accessed 12 Sept. 2018.     Murray, Christopher. Weblog post. Graphic Novel, britannica.com. Accessed 12 Sept. 2018.  "Graphic Novels." ipl, ipl.org. Accessed 12 Sept. 2018.

Psychological Novel

anastasiaschultz10 — 2018-09-19 02:03:33 UTC

In a psychological novel, internal thoughts and motivations are the focus rather than the exterior surroundings. The character’s emotional and mental states are described thoroughly. The author of a psychological novel writes about the why’s rather than the what’s or how’s. Internal monologues and stream of consciousness are terms often used in relation to these types of novels.

In the psychological novel, character is foremost in developing the story, while the plot, which is key in other genres, is secondary. The story may not follow a direct timeline, but can move backward and forward in time with the character’s memories. The author develops and describes the character in great detail – who does he know, what are his goals, why is he driven to act as he does, what helped him form into the person he is today. As an example, Joyce’s Ulysses (1922) takes place in Dublin in a 24-hour period, but the events of the day evoke associations that take the reader back and forth through the characters’ past and present lives (Britannica).

As psychology grew in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries with famous psychologists such as Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, the psychological novel came into being and was further developed. People began to have more interest in psychology and in turn the popularity of psychological novels grew. However, psychological writings did exist prior to this time. According to Britannica, one of the best examples prior to the nineteenth century was Hamlet, which was written by famous playwright William Shakespeare describing the inner thoughts and lives of its characters.

"Famous Psychological Novel Books and Novels." Ranker, ranker.com. Accessed 12 Sept. 2018.  "Definitions of Fiction Categories And Genres." Resources,resources.writersonlineworkshops.com. Accessed 12 Sept. 2018. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Psychological novel." Encyclopædia Britannica, 7 May 2007, www.britannica.com. Accessed 12 Sept. 2018.