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Genres
The 5-Leaf Genre Clover, and the content genres: Action, Horror, Crime, Thriller, and more.
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- Books like Indiana Jones: What to Read NextAre you a fan of the Indiana Jones movies? Do you love action-packed adventures, exotic locations, and historical or archaeological themes? If so, you
- Third Person Point of View: Omniscient, Limited, or Objective with ExamplesIn the realm of storytelling, the third person point of view holds a unique and powerful position. Widely used across different genres and styles of w
- How to Give Helpful Writing FeedbackAs a writer, it’s nearly impossible to get helpful, specific, actionable feedback on your writing. Even if you join a WRITING GROUP, most of the feedb
- Content Genre: Objects of Desire and Values in StoryEach of the twelve Content Genres sets the tone for what the audience will experience during the story. Content genres can be external, focusing on ch
- Genre Conventions: Must-Have Elements of StoryGenre conventions are specific requirements for the story's ALTERNATE WORLD , AVATARS , and catalysts that create conflict and enable solutions. Witho
- Western and Eastern Genre: Stories of Subjugation and FreedomAn external story in the Western/Eastern genres focuses on the conflict between the individual and society. It turns on the subjugation / freedom spec
- Genres of Writing: Definition, Examples, and 12 TypesGenre is a label that tells audience members what to expect from our stories. It is a clear framework to catalog all stories and helps writers give au
- Obligatory Moments in Story and GenreObligatory Moments are the key events in every story that change the human value and pay off reader expectations in a story. The value shifts are the
- Action Genre: How to Tell an Exciting Life and Death StoryAn external story in the Action genre focuses on the protagonist’s sacrifice for positive movement along the death / life VALUE spectrum while generat
- Status Genre: Stories of Success and FailureAn internal story in the Status genre focuses on the protagonist’s need for respect. These stories turn on the failure / success spectrum while genera
- Society Genre: Stories of Power and ImpotenceAn external story in the Society genre focuses the protagonist’s need for recognition in a disenfranchised group. It turns on the impotence / power sp
- War Genre: Honor and Dishonor in Pro War, Anti-War, and Kinship StoriesAn external story in the War genre focuses on the self-actualization of the protagonist through the expression of the gifts of love and self-sacrifice
- Thriller Genre: The Blending of Action, Crime, and Horror StoriesAn external story in the Thriller genre focuses on the protagonist's need for safety. This leads the reader to identify with the protagonist, who seek
- Horror Genre: Stories of Life and Damnation against Uncanny, Supernatural and Ambiguous MonstersAn external story in the Horror genre focuses on the ability of a protagonist to self-actualize through the expression of the gift of courage and self
- Love Genre: Stories About Obsession, Courtship and MarriageAn external story in the Love genre focuses on the need for connection in a variety of forms, including desire, commitment, and intimacy, allowing rea
- Crime Genre: Justice and Injustice Stories of Mystery and IntrigueAn external story in the Crime genre focuses on the Justice / Injustice spectrum while generating feelings in the reader of intrigue (solving the puzz
- Structure Genre: Arch-plot, Mini-plot, and Anti-plotThe Structure Genre indicates to our reader who or what the change of the story will affect. It addresses whether the change will occur for a single A
- Worldview Genre: Stories About Maturation, Disillusionment, and RevelationAn internal story, Worldview genres focus on the lens through which we view the world and the consequences of those lens choices. It turns on the naiv
- Style Genre: Setting the Experience for the ReaderThe Style Genre sets the tone for what the audience will experience during the story. It puts constraints on what we include in the story to keep a co
- Reality Genre: Realism or Science Fiction / FantasyThe Reality Genre puts constraints on the way the ALTERNATE WORLD of our story operates by establishing codes, laws, and norms. It dictates how much t
- Time Genre: How the Reader Experiences Time in Your StoryThe Time Genre indicates how the reader experiences the time it takes to go from the beginning to the end of your story. It answers how long the story
- Story Beats: The Key to Line-by-Line WritingBeats are the smallest UNIT OF STORY that writers use to convey the details of the ALTERNATE WORLD , AVATARS , and story events to their readers. A be
- Morality Genre: Altruism Stories of Redemption, Punishment, and TestingAn internal story in the Morality genre focuses on the choice to act on behalf of ourselves or others and the consequences of that choice. It turns on
- Performance Genre: Stories about Sports, Music, Business and ArtAn external story in the Performance genre focuses on the outward expression of the protagonist’s internal gifts and need for approval. It turns on th
- Book Tropes: The Building Blocks of ScenesTropes are a toolbox of common components to build a certain kind of story. You can put these building blocks together to create a story that meets th
- Nonfiction and Fiction Genre Dimensions“Stories are just hyper-realistic microcosms of reality.” I gaped as Shawn said it, or at least something to that effect. As often happens during trai
- The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins)Hero, Victim, Villain: Katniss, Prim/Peeta/Rue/Foxface, The Games. The villain for this first book is more the games themselves than the society or Pr
- Crafting the Master DetectiveWe all have one: a favorite detective. Who hasn’t binge-watched episodes of their favorite detective show? Okay, maybe not everyone loves crime shows
- Narrative Device: On the Origin of StoryFair warning: This post is going to skew toward a certain political bias, but those details are only the surface presentation of the larger issues we
- Heart of Darkness (Joseph Conrad)Global— Horror > Ambiguous (NOTE: The value at stake for a Horror story is Life/Death with the possibility of Damnation or Fate Worse than Death. Alth
- All Quiet on the Western Front (Erich Maria Remarque)One central character with offshoot characters who embody a multitude of that character’s personality traits: The main character, Paul Baümer, is the
- Finding the Global Genre in Epic Fantasy StoriesIn my post on “The Long Night,” about an episode from the HBO series A Game of Thrones , a reader wondered how to apply the Story Grid Methodology to
- Whipping Stories into Shape with the Hero’s JourneyDespite having seen this movie written up as a “Jazz Thriller,” which sounds like a sexy, new sub-genre that I’d love to see more of, Whiplash is a Pe
- 10 Tips for Writing Love Triangles (That Aren't Cliché)Fans of the romance genre appreciate a well-written love triangle. And it’s no secret that certain love triangles have shaped some of the most enjoyab
- The Hero's Journey: BeginningsThe Hero's Journey plays a role in all genres. Here's how some authors have innovated its conventions.
- Murder Mystery: Crafting an Intriguing Puzzle of JusticeAre you stuck with the idea of the value at stake in your genre , but struggle with how to break it down across the whole of a story? I’ve been there.
- Red Herrings: How to Mislead and Surprise ReadersNo matter what genre you’re writing in, there are probably some things you’ll want to keep hidden from your readers until the time is right to surpris
- Writing a Global Internal Genre Story that WorksIt’s become clear to me that I have a problem--I am an Internal Genre junkie. Status, Worldview, Morality, prescriptive, cautionary … I love them all!
- Free Solo: A Performance Story that Reaches New HeightsFor four months I’ve been falling asleep most nights thinking about slabs of cold gray granite called Freeblast, the Boulder Problem, and Enduro Corne
- Internal Genres Part 2: Character Driven Stories through Life ValuesExecuting Cause and Effect Last month, we looked at internal genres from the perspective of Friedman’s Framework . Our aim was to distinguish the thre
- Stories Need Great VillainsEvery story needs a great villain because without him, the hero can’t shine. He’s the force of antagonism that keeps the action moving and the reader
- Essential Action: The Key to Compelling Characterization
- Mixing GenresI read your Redemption obligatories and conventions on Storygrid. Great stuff and I love the examples you chose. I’m doing a coming of age story right
- Character Archetypes in the Thriller GenreFor today's article I'll run down the core cast list of The Silence of the Lambs and analyze how they abide the cast requirements of the Thriller Genr
- Controlling Ideas in NonfictionYes. Yes . Death defeats love at the end of Eric Segal’s Love Story . It ends negatively. As all love stories do. Someone dies first. Can't be avoided
- The Internal Genre of The Tipping PointHow would you classify The Tipping Point? “What’s the Genre?” I like to think of it as an intellectual adventure story.
- What to Expect from a Big Idea BookMy broad Genre classification of The Tipping Point as a Big Idea work of Nonfiction. But what does that mean exactly? Like in practical terms?
- Nonfiction's Big Genre SilosSo, I'm going to storygrid The Tipping Point . Where do I start? The first thing I want to do is define the broadest, but most specific (I know that s
- Back to GenreA. EXTERNAL: The External Content Genre has all of the markings of the thriller (see the earlier posts, THE UNIVERSAL APPEAL OF THE THRILLER and THE M
- Flash Forward: The Foolscap in Action"What was the final external crisis in the ENDING PAYOFF of MOBY DICK?" "Best Bad Choice: Ahab must decide whether to let go of the harpoon rope attac