Genre Grief
The Stigma of Writing In Particular Genres
Confession: I’ve never read The Outsiders. It’s the book that many feel started the Young Adult (YA) genre in fiction, that age group that is older than young kids, but not ready for full-on adult stories. We know YA: The Hate You Give, The Fault In Our Stars, The Hunger Games, etc. The introduction of complex story-lines, familial and romantic relationship issues, difficult friendship situations, and dire predicaments that might seem hopeless, are topics that YA stories address to transition readers from kid to adult books.
I recently talked with Bethany Mangle, debut author of Prepped coming Spring 2021 (S&S/McElderry Books) on an episode of my podcast. Bethany is a YA author and Prepped is the story of a girl living in a doomsday community who has a mind of her own. She knows she needs to leave, but will have to get help in order to escape — enter the boy from the bunker next-door.
Bethany mentioned to me that she has experienced a stigma associated with writing YA books. Other adults wonder why she would want to read and write stories meant for teenagers. Perhaps they haven’t considered the need for stories that represent young people, stories that show common stresses and worries, characters who, from which, both young and old(er) can learn.
YA isn’t the only genre that gets a lot of grief in the writing and reading communities. Here are some others along with their stereotypes:
- Fan Fiction (horrible writing + groupie attitudes + no original ideas)
- Romance (overly-sexualized women + bad plot + cliche characters)
- New Adult (YA + sex + 20 year-old’s bad decisions with no growth)
- Chick Lit (trite female characters + cosmos and high heels + no depth)
- Science Fiction and sub-genres (petri dishes + space + octopus monster + lazy writing of female characters)
- Horror (clowns)
- Gore (killing for the sake of killing + sex + blood + more blood + no plot)
- Memoir (made up stuff)
- Cozy Mystery (cats + vicars + dead grandmas + comfy sweaters)
- Anything LGBTQIA (over-the-top-non-hetero + nightclubs and gay sex + non-relatable lifestyle)
- etc…
There is bad writing (whatever that may include to you) in all genres. And, like anything else, if we stay in our comfort zone, we’re going to miss out. If you’re a writer who has never written speculative fiction, give it a go. Never read a historical romance? I recommend Lady Macbeth by Susan Fraser King. Looking to try a collection of funny essays? Bright Lights, Big Ass by Jen Lancaster is a great place to start.
There are talented writers in every genre, if you spend the time finding them. If you’ve tried reading and even writing fantasy and it doesn’t interest you, that’s okay, too. But, please don’t lean on stereotypes to make decisions. And, whatever you do, don’t disparage a writer and/or reader for enjoying a good story.
