Imagination is the foundation of any creative endeavour. Exploration and experimentation are two key drivers of imagination. For a writer, his arena of exploration is the vast world of books, weaved by talented writers. In this vast world of books, it is important to understand the genres which the readers love. Let's find out the genres which readers adore across the world.
Romance
Stories of love are popular from the beginning of language. Humans adore and admire tales of romance despite geography. The subgenres of romance include historical romance, romantic comedy, romantic suspense, adult romance, etc. Apart from the regular reader base of the genre, a good romantic novel find a place with non-readers as well. The most popular books of the genre include classics like Jane Eyre, pride and prejudice, modern hits like fifty shades of grey, etc.
Mystery and thriller
Suspense is the key driver of this genre. The writers of this genre are known to walk the readers with the protagonist solving crimes, unfolding mysteries with them. Be it Arthur Conan Doyle or Agatha Christie or Sidney Sheldon has always succeeded in keeping the readers on the edge of their seats wanting more from the author. Mystery and thriller are considered a very addictive genre whose subgenres include, Psychological thriller, Action thriller, Crime thriller, Political thriller, Spy thriller, Legal thriller.
Fantasy and science fiction
Dragons, Elves, orcs, artificial humans, and whatnot, everything that had happened and could happen has already been explored in this genre. The major advantage and disadvantage of this genre is the length and time for world-building, but if you have done that correctly, there are always readers for you. The lord of the rings, a game of thrones and Frankenstein are just a few names in the many popular books in this genre.
Self-Help, inspirational and religious books
The root to success and finding meaning in life is a very complicated quest of life, this genre of nonfiction deals with such questions of life, providing motivation and solution, be it for chasing your dreams, being a better version of yourself or making money. How to win friends and influence people, Man’s search for meaning, Atom habits, etc. are some important titles from the genre.
Young adult fiction
Books from this genre are written for targeted readers from age 12-18. Adult fiction can vary from Sci-Fi to romance to fantasy but they hold in common the high relatability of the protagonist to the targeted age group. Harry potter, hunger games, fault in our stars, etc. are a few examples.
Most writers were once passionate readers, but there should be a difference between the way an ordinary reader and a writer reads a book. A reader read along while a writer must see-through. Most of the writers would like to write the genre they fell in love with when they were readers and, it is so necessary to follow that passion for a particular genre, but experimentation and exploration is the key to any writer’s growth, so never restrict yourself from exploring or experimenting any genre.
This article was written by Irin Ana Cherian