Five popular genres in fiction

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Fiction is a work of imagination. The subject matter in fiction can be anything from fantasy ideas to everyday life. A fictional story can take place in the present day, the future, or the past. Some examples of works of fiction are folk tales, fairy tales, short stories and novels. There are various genres under fiction for example romance, young adult, fantasy, sci-fi, horror, historical, magic realism and many more. 

However, the top five most popular genres are as follows

1) Fantasy: It is a genre in fiction writing where magic and supernatural elements form the centre plot of the story. It will involve characters with unusual abilities, myths, unimaginable incidents, interesting discoveries and challenges daring adventures, battles etc. made up in a fictional world. There's no limit to the story as everything is possible in the fantasy genre.

The genre is popular among both children and adult. The reason is simple- it gives the reader an escape from everyday life and reality. Reading about flying ponies and talking chipmunks, your imagination transports you to a different world altogether. Your work worries, household hassles and homework are forgotten. Probably this is why it is memorable for children as well as adults as they want to reread and go back to their favourite stories. Some of the popular fantasy fiction books are Harry Potter series and Lord of the Rings trilogy.

2) Sci-fi: Science fiction mostly called by its abbreviation sci-fi, is a modern genre of fiction. It talks about science and technology and it’s impact on society. Almost all of their concepts are futuristic that include space travel, time travel, parallel universes,extra-terrestrial lives etc. The unexplored locations, advanced technology, fantastical discoveries, quests etc. are the elements that keep the reader hooked to the story. If there’s one science fiction novel you can go back to time and again, it has to be Dune by Frank Herbert.

3) Children Fiction: The genre encompasses a wide range of works, including acknowledged classics of world literature, picture books and easy-to-read stories written exclusively for children. The stories help the young readers to sprint away to Wonderland and other far off places in their imagination. Stories of ghosts, spirits, goblins, moral fairy tales are all a part of children fiction.Both classic and modern children’s books continue to be loved for ages. Charlotte’s Web, Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, Harry Potter series are some of the most popular books under the children fiction category.

4) Suspense and Thriller: I think we all agree that suspenseful stories are too good to miss. Suspense is created when the reader is unaware of the outcome. Suspense involves elements like twists, codes, clues, threats, deception, surprise etc. As a writer, you can develop them in the story or in the title or the in character or in the plot or even while choosing the words to describe it.Books under this genre are hard to put down. One of the most popular suspense fiction books include Gone girl by Gillian Flynn and Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown.

5) Romance: Most of the readers will associate with this genre today. These stories are about romantic relationship between two characters. The stories are characterized by conflict, sensual tension, emotions, desire etc.The writer will keep the characters apart from each other most of the time but an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending.Pride & Prejudice, The Notebook, Fifty Shades Of Grey are some of the top romantic novels that are very popular among readers.

By: AbhijitKanel