Pages

Monday, December 11, 2017

The Ultimate Cheat Sheet for Dark Fiction.


Dark Fiction, let's define. Fiction that is dark in both setting and themes which explore the more grim side of humanity. It may contain elements of Horror, but it isn't written with the sole purpose of scaring the reader. Since Dark refers more to a story's mood and themes it can be applied to a variety of different genres. Herein lies the confusion, for me anyway.



So, if you write Dark Fiction and have a difficult time deciding which genre your story falls into, know you are not alone. Several genres have similar elements, and then there are like a bajillion sub-genres and sub-sub-genres that it is hard to decipher. Okay, I might be over-exaggerating, but still, there is a ton to wade through, and why does it matter?

Well, besides telling booksellers where to shelf your book, genres are also about readers expectations. Each genre has its own set of conventions that a reader expects to find when they pick up that book and if it doesn't meet those expectations, then you can expect some scathing reviews and a myriad of other unfavorable things could happen. Needless to say, it behooves an author to do their research and pick a suitable genre for their work. A good place to start researching genres, in general, is at Book-Genres.com. They also have examples of books for each category which is very useful.

To help decipher the different Dark Fiction genres, I created this cheat sheet which focuses on the main element/s that drives a particular story. While it by no means covers every possible genre and sub-genre it focuses on those which tend to cross elements and can be the most confusing.



What do you think, Night Writers, are there other Dark Fiction genres that have crossover elements you find hard to determine? Are there any other unique identifiers that should be added to these genres? Let me know what think in the comments.

As always, Night Writers, stay beautifully haunted!

❤ Shadow.

1 comment:

  1. Vampires is not at all like in the movies or books. Sure, I understand. You are young you have the whole world open to you. You can be anything that you choose if you apply yourself and try hard to work toward that goal. But being a Vampire is not what it seems like. It’s a life full of good, and amazing things. We are as human as you are.. It’s not what you are that counts, But how you choose to be. Do you want a life full of interesting things? Do you want to have power and influence over others? To be charming and desirable? To have wealth, health, and longevity, I can help you solve any problem you are having
    (1) If you want your ex back.
    (2) If you want to stop having bad dreams.
    (3) You want to be promoted in your office.
    (4) You want women/men to run after you.
    (5) If you want a child.
    (6) You want to be rich.
    (7) You want to tie your husband/wife to be yours forever.
    (8) If you need financial assistance.
    (9) If you want to stop your divorce.
    (10 If you want to divorce your husband.
    (11) If you want your wishes to be granted.
    contact the Vampires Lord on his Email: Richvampirekindom@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete