#InkRipples~ Genres ~ FANTASY

Sorry for the delay in getting this week's blog up, but if I'd been thinking about it, this would have been perfect last week when I talked about mysteries. Just look at the suspense I've been building while you wait for me to post this week's thoughts!!

This week I'm talking fantasy.

Magic. Fantastical creatures. Sword and sorcery. All of these elements are things you'd find in a fantasy. Can there be romance? Of course! Mystery? Certainly. But, like in romances and mysteries, these are not the main plot of the story. They are sub plots.

For me, if the story's focus is the magic, or the quest for fantastic beasts or amulets, or trying to stop an evil wizard from ruling the world, the book is a fantasy. And while many fantasies have romantic elements, not all romance readers like the world building that is found in a fantasy.

So, what does this tell us about genres? 

• Often books have elements of more than one genre.
• There are great disagreements about how to classify the genre of a book. 

So what's an author/reader to do?

If you're an author, know your target audience and craft your book blurb to entice them to read your book. Don't get so hung up on the genre, but don't mislead readers by labeling your book something it might not really be. (ie: a romance when there's barely any romantic plot line, but there's a guy and girl, and they kiss...you get the idea.)

And if you're a reader, look at the covers. Does it match others in the genre you're looking for? (If you want a mystery and the cover shows a couple embracing, that could be a sign that this might not be the book you are looking for.) Also, does the book blurb set up the type of story you're looking for? 

In the end, sometimes it's worth it to take a gamble with something new. After all, you might find a new favorite author or a new audience.
Hope you've enjoyed my thoughts on genre and that you'll come back next week when I share a few of my favorite tropes.

In the meantime, I'd love to hear some of your preferred genres to read, so leave me a comment!

#InkRipples is a themed meme hosted by Katie L. Carroll, Kai Strand, and me, Mary Waibel. We post on the first Monday of every month. If you would like to participate compose your own post regarding the theme of the month, include any of the images displayed on the #InkRipples tab above, and link back to our three blogs. Feel free to post whenever you want during the month, but be sure to include #InkRipples when you promote so readers can find you. The idea is that we toss a word or idea into the inkwell and each post is a new ripple. There is no wrong interpretation.

This year's topics are:

March: Tropes
April: Revision
May: Fairy Tales
June: Blurbs
July: Heroes/Villains
August: Author Options in Publishing
September: World Building
October: Career vs Hobby
November: Finishing that Book!
December: Goals