Are All the Genres in Writing Transmutable and Combinable?
No genres are so set that they cannot be blended, altered, and mixed.
Both of my recent sci-fi series are not entirely sci-fi. Mostly sci-fi, yes. But not completely.
Forgotten Fodder crosses into police procedural, mystery, and conspiracy. Sure, it’s about clones and takes place in spaceships, space stations, and colonies within 30 light-years of Earth. But it still has other genre elements to it.
Void Incursion is very much sci-fantasy. There are swords, space kingdoms, and various fantastical elements that are arguably more fantasy than sci-fi.
The Vapor Rogues is Steampunk. But Steampunk, as a genre, covers many different bases. Some are alternative history, some sci-fi, some fantasy, some is all the above. Steampunk, as a genre, is transmutable by design.
What prompted this topic? On a Facebook sci-fi writer group that I’m part of, someone asked, “How much science-y detail is the right amount?” This started a discussion about whether sci-fi as a genre can take a backseat to a story centered more on characters and their experience.
Given that there are multiple approaches available for any and all genres, I think it’s important to recognize and acknowledge that all genres in writing are ultimately transmutable.
Focus — character, plot, other?
No matter what genre you are writing — the focus of a given story is going to vary for one reason or another.
Sometimes you focus on character. The people in your story are the driving force of the narrative. They take you through whatever the action is, and the reader hopefully relates to them.
Sometimes you focus on the plot. The overarching plot is what drives the narrative. Your characters are subject to the plot, and they are driven by the story rather than the other way around.
Sometimes, there is another driving force behind your story. It might be a prophecy, a specific historic event, or some other McGuffin (i.e. The Maltese Falcon or the Ark of the Covenant). Driving the story and the plot and characters centers around this.
