March 1,2021
Is ‘genre-bending’ and ‘genre hybrid’ a reality or a fallacy? Has plot changed since Shakespeare or the Bible?
Let’s talk about the Bible first. It’s got it all. It’s filled with stories of love and hate, treachery and loyalty, peace and war, failure and redemption. There are stories of birth and death, and what might have been the first beauty pageant.
Face it, human emotions are messy. No matter how hard we try, they interfere with everything we do. Is it possible to write a fiction book without them?
I would argue the answer is no. At the heart of it, conflict is what makes a story. So what if fantasy bleeds into science fiction? Does it advance the book? Then it’s fine. There’s a touch of an Amish plot in a mystery? Whatever. Because the genre isn’t the important part.
I tried to come up with one—just one—fiction book that doesn’t bleed from one genre to another and can’t. Even books that have non-human main characters use human-like emotions to further the storyline.
Let’s tackle the second half of the question. Has plot changed over all these years? I’ll go back to what I said earlier. At the heart of every story, you’ll find conflict. Whether it’s the Bible or Shakespeare, that’s what makes a story. And genres are just the window-dressing.
Let’s check out what everyone else has to say by following the links below. And, until next time, stay safe!
Is ‘genre-bending’ and ‘genre hybrid’ a reality or a fallacy? Has plot changed since Shakespeare or the Bible?
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Amish plot? They have their own?
Here we go confusing Genre with story form and style. A cozy mystery in outer space is a cozy mystery. Sub genre of Crime Fiction. Technically it would be Crime Fiction, cozy, dystopia. Because it’s a cozy someplace that’s not now. How fun is all that pigeonholing? None. Genres are drill downs like a diagrammed sentence.
Amish romance is its own sub-genre with its own set of rules that i’ve never bothered to explore. I’m not sure if it’s a subset of Christian romance because I’ve never checked out that category.
That’s Genre, not Plot, but I get it. Christian Fiction is the one that kills me every time.
You can keep your convention, especially if it gets in the way of a good tale. I don’t care what you call it, as long as it moves me.
I like how you pointed out that boiled down, stories are conflict.
Can you imagine living a life that didn’t have conflict in it? Even minor ones?