Wattpad India Awards 2021

Learn: Exploring New Genres

It's possible that this time Wattpad India Awards gives you the chance to finally write that story. The one you've always wanted to write, the one scrawled away on notebooks or in a three-year-old word document.

It's time to explore new genres and move outside your comfort zone.

A brief perspective on Genre:

A part of what makes moving into a new genre so tricky is that everywhere you go there is a different definition. As a story may fit into different genres and sub-genres at a time, where exactly someone chooses the definition can depend entirely on them.

First, your opening move is to acknowledge what your strength is in what you currently write. Mark down your strengths in the sense of story.

Are you really good at world-building? Great at romantic development? Maybe action clash? Do you come up with unique backstories?

Once you've noted where you're strong, you should also take a moment to acknowledge where you're weak, all that you need to work on.

With this information, you can start looking to other genres and identify where within a genre you can apply your strengths and where you're going to really struggle. When picking a genre to explore you should:

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Play to your strengths: The point of exploring a new genre is not to feel bad at what you're not good at. The easier way to pick up on a new sport, game, hobby, or language is to spot the things you do understand and build around them. If you're good at writing romantic tension, other genres that allow you to write that should be where you explore. You can go from Teen Fiction to Paranormal, where you can still write romantic tension in a sort of fantastical world.

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Introduce your strengths to the genre: Since genre is undefined, this can play to your benefit. Really good at action scenes but want to write a romance? Time for a romance between two spies. If you enjoy Fantasy and want to cross the aisle to Science Fiction, then substitute fantastic beasts with alien creatures to adapt your world-building abilities.

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Avoid your weaknesses if they are the root of the genre. If you're not good at romantic tension, you should not jump into Romance where that's the primary driver. There are plenty of adjacent genres that let you work on your weaknesses without making the entire plot reliant on it. Start introducing romantic subplots to your primary genre.

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So you've picked a genre. Maybe you adhere to the advice above; maybe you still need to push on into unknown territory. It's time for research!

When you're digging into a genre, be careful to not let precise definitions as your single guiding light. You'll want to take a look at a bunch of opinions on what makes the genre and make note of where they're similar and where they diverge. Some are more obvious than others (hi Mystery!) while others can be quite broad in their definitions (Star Trek, The Hunger Games, and The Man in the High Castle are all somehow Science Fiction).

Next, it's time to take a look at the stories themselves.

Look for lists of classics, as well as current bestsellers and skim through. Check the back copy, check the reviews on them, open a chapter or two and take notes. You could also head to YouTube and see if you find video essays talking about movies and TV series from the genre.

Be very cautious with the advice since some of it only applies to visual media, but the broad markers of story genre should be there in an easy to digest format.

Now you know your strengths and you've examined what the genre is about. The final stage is that it's going to take time. You can only practice to make yourself better.

Try to play in your lane, stick to your voice, and avoid overexposure to your weaknesses until you build up the experience and confidence. You won't get it exactly right on your first go and that's alright. It's what the Short Stories were made for, so feel free to create smaller works in different genres to help build up your confidence and experience.

Feel free to ask for help.

Make sure you try to find someone who is going to be patient, kind and understanding in their advice. There are lots of people within any genre who are happy to welcome even more people.

Happy exploring!

<<Question of the day>>

Do you write in the same genre that you like to read? Or do you love to explore different genres?

<<Fun activity>>

Let's play a little bingo today!

Mark the genres that you read/write on Wattpad. How many rows or columns can you fully cross-out?