4 Unexpected Writing Genres for You to Explore

by Noely Ann Jonovan

There are plenty of literary genres out there, but people tend to flock to the popular ones. Manaferra Senior Digital PR specialist Luarda Gjata explains that the popularity of a particular genre varies depending on a country’s culture. As such, readers from the US tend to prefer classic books like Little Women, while those from Portugal lean towards more romantic stories like Baltasar and Blimunda. However, while classics and romance novels are well-loved for good reasons, you don’t have to limit your writing experience to popular genres. You may even find yourself enjoying the writing process more if you venture into unexpected literary genres like these:

Fairy Tales for Adults

Fairy tales are often intended for children. However, early versions of these fairy tales were more fitting for adults due to their darker themes. Consequently, contemporary writers have been more actively producing experimental fairy tales specifically for older audiences through novels like The Ocean at the End of the Lane. So if you want to mix fantasy and mystery,  Writing a Fairytale Book recommends that you focus on creating a character that will be thrust into an extraordinary realm. This setting needs a lot of world-building to evoke wonder in the readers. Additionally, you must create rules and restrictions for your world to ensure that the actions of your characters will remain reasonable to real-life audiences.

Magical Realism

Magical realism is quite similar to fairy tales. This literary genre also includes magical elements woven into the stories, but they’re featured in a realistic setting as a normal part of society. Experts from the University College London explain that magical realism combines fantasy and reality in a matter-of-fact style to represent the contrasting belief systems of people. To illustrate, the novel One Hundred Years of Solitude shows that elements that seem magical for people in First World countries may seem unremarkable for those in the Third World. Often, the challenge here is to learn how to use fantasy as symbolism for real issues.

Travel Literature

If you love exploration and adventure, you might enjoy traveling to a foreign place through your written masterpiece. Travel novels, like The Alchemist, use the setting as one of the major factors that drive the story. You’ll need to write what you know in this genre. A guide to careers in writing by Maryville University recommends noting down crucial details as you go on small excursions or even long trips. By doing so, you can pick up attributes that help add realism to your work. But if it’s not possible to visit the particular place you’re writing about, you have to be meticulous with your research and notes to ensure that you provide accurate information about the area.

Solarpunk Genre

Solarpunk novels like Dune are rising in popularity because of their optimistic spins on sci-fi. The genre started as an art movement, highlighting how promising the future may be if society solved crucial social issues, such as climate change and pollution. An expert from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia notes that these speculative fiction novels should show what a sustainable civilization looks like, and how the society can get there. You can illustrate this by writing about the aesthetics and the societal impact of green and well-designed neighborhoods. You’re free to take a utopian approach for this imagined world, but it’s important to include achievable, eco-friendly strategies that your readers can practice in real life.

The sky’s the limit when it comes to literary genres. By writing a novel under these unexpected genres, you may find yourself getting more creative than ever with your story.