Is genre writing creative?
What is genre writing? It's writing that falls into a specific category
or kind of literary work that's defined and distinguished by a specific combination of
theme, subject, and other literary factors. Examples of authors and works characterized by genres are Isaac Asimov (science
fiction), Zane Grey
(western fiction, J.R.R. Tolkein (fantasy), Agatha Christie (mystery
fiction), and Stephen King (horror).
- Explore the subject of literary genres at greater length at The Muse Of
Literature's feature titled Literary Genres:
click here.
Strictly speaking, a work written in a specific literary genre falls into
one of the other of two categories: either it's fictional or it's
nonfictional. This is the case even though the fictional or nonfictional
character of some specific genres tend to combine both fiction and
nonfiction; genres like these can overlap with respect to their factuality
and truthfulness.
For example, two authors writing in the different and distinct genres
science fiction and fantasy can produce similar works that
resemble one another with respect to the amount of scientific content each
contains.
The science fiction genre and the fantasy genre are distinct by reason
of definition; but works that borrow factual content from both genres raise
the question of whether a new third genre should be defined, one that
combines scientific content, which is factual and definitely nonfictional,
with science fiction and fantasy content, both of which are definitely
nonfictional.
As another example, consider works like autobiographies and biographies.
Ostensibly, both genres consist only of nonfictional works because their
authors are telling the truth about themselves or someone else. But a
specific biography or autobiography that's highly exaggerated can amount to
an imaginary or fictional work, depending upon the author's unrealistic
treatment of his subject or on his self-aggrandizement. In cases like
these, a biography or an autobiography can essentially amount to a novel,
which by definition belongs to a fictional genre.
Is genre writing creative? Our conclusion: in no way does a work's genre
automatically determine whether or not it's creative. Both fictional and
nonfictional works may be creative or uncreative, depending on factors such
as those discussed above in the section titled
Is Fictional Writing Creative? Is Nonfictional
Writing Creative?
Then why mention genre writing here in the context of literary
creativity, fiction, and nonfiction? Because it's a matter of consequence to
realize that fictional genre writing as a whole tends to be far more
creative than nonfictional genre writing.
