Does your young writer know what type of story they’re writing?
Sometimes, when the question is asked, a young writer might respond with, “I’m writing a fantasy” or “I’m writing a realistic fiction”. It’s great that they understand those concepts, but recognizing the difference between genre and type is the next step in really understanding stories. Genre refers to the category of story. That covers the general content and style of writing. For example, fantasy stories have certain elements that mystery stories don’t have. In fantasy stories, you will expect to read about fairies or magic and potions. In a mystery, readers expect lots of questions to be answered, clues to find, or pieces of a puzzle to put together in order to find out what’s really going on. This information is all about what details are in the story. When writers talk about type of story, however, they’re referring to the action or plot of the story and the process that characters go through from the beginning to the end of the story.
Overcoming the Monster: when characters have to fight a creature that comes between them and accomplishing their goals.
The focus of the story is on where the creature comes from and how it is defeated. In these types of stories, conflict development is about the battle becoming more and more intense until the main character seems to be losing. Then something miraculous happens to turn things around and the character wins in the end.
Think of stories like Jack and Beanstalk or Jurassic Park where are literal monsters roaming around. Or, perhaps the monster is less distinguishable as in Avatar when the “monster” was the invading humans.
Stories like these fascinate us because it shows heroism and triumphs over obstacles.
What modern monster movies can you think of?
The Quest: follows characters as they search for someone or something that is vital to overcoming their obstacles and accomplishing their goals.
In this type of story, characters set out to accomplish something but soon realize that there’s a missing piece. In order to get this missing piece, they must go on a journey that often involves some danger. When they recover the item or meet with the person, they get critical information that they can now use to vanquish their foe or solve their problem.
Think of stories like Shrek going off to find the princess so he can get his swamp back, or Indiana Jones in search of treasure and lost artifacts.
Quest stories are filled with adventure and fulfill our sense of curiosity.
Can you name other popular stories that fit this description?
Rags to Riches: refers to a story in which the main character starts off poor and through a series of events becomes rich.
The story can be about how the person becomes rich, or what happens after they become rich. It can even be about a situation where a rich character becomes poor and tries to become rich again.
Think of the iconic Cinderella or Aladdin. Both these stories show main characters who come into a life of riches after enduring poverty and hardship.
Readers love these types of stories because it instills hope and gives them something to look forward to.
Name a few other Rags to Riches stories in the comments.
Voyage and Return: is about characters leaving their home, having experiences, and returning wise and more capable of accomplishing their goals.
In these types of stories, there’s usually a major event that causes the character to leave, often in disgrace or under emotional circumstances. While away, they learn what is needed so they can return home with skills and knowledge that will help them overcome the obstacle, solve their problems, and attain their desires.
This of stories like The Lion King and Moana. In both these stories, circumstances lead to frustration that forces the main characters to leave their home and when they returned, they had the answers they needed to overcome their problems.
People love these kinds of stories because they show how life has a way of working things out. Characters grow and develop and readers identify with their struggles.
What other Voyage and Return stories can you identify? Share them in the comments.
Rebirth: stories which focus on character development as the main character learns and grows and becomes a better person.
In many cases, the main character starts off with a flaw. Perhaps they are mean or have a bad habit that hurts them and those around them. The story follows the character as they encounter situation after situation which leads them to changing their negative ways. The character learns valuable life lessons and in the end expresses gratitude for those lessons.
Think of stories like A Christmas Carol and Beauty and the Beast. In these stories, there’s a main character who is demanding and unkind, but their situation changes after the experiences of the story.
In A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge changes from a vile man into a kindhearted person. In Beauty and the Beast, the Beast is transformed emotionally into a nice person and physically from a beast back into a human being. Both are redeemed.
These stories are fun and interesting because readers like to see changes in characters, especially on such an epic scale as they are completely transformed from one thing to another.
Can you think of other Rebirth stories? We’d love to hear your list. Write them in the comments below.
