Genre - Tumblr Posts
bird box is horror and a quiet place is terror, if you’re looking for an example of the distinction
Guillermo del Toro, from Cabinet of Curiosities: My Notebooks, Collections, and Other Obsessions
Just wanted to say that I agree with your tags on that Stoker gifset 100%. It was so effective because of how subtle and understated it was compared to basically every other psychological movie out there right now. Talk about an underappreciated film.
thanks! Stoker falls into probably my favourite genre, psychological drama, especially fiction that tries to render the temperature, texture, patterns of a character’s consciousness. A lot of films try to do this to a greater or lesser extent, but the whole atmosphere of Stoker is a reflection of India’s strange, languorous, lucid, sensuous, intricate psychic life. The basic condition of human beings is that we’re terribly alien to one another, and I think one of the best things art can do is to, even only fleetingly, bridge the gap between your sense of the world and one that’s completely other and strange to you. (India is really strange.)
I think Stoker’s underappreciated because it’s so heavily, beautifully stylised, which can often be smokescreen for a total lack of depth. ok, it’s not a profoundly philosphical film, but it is a lush piece of Southern gothic that deftly deconstructs gothic tropes of blushing virginal victims, seductive monsters, and female sexuality as a source of unspeakable horror, with a frame of reference running from fairytales to Lolita. The title’s obviously an allusion to Dracula, the tale of a predator whose vampirism is a basically not-at-all-veiled metaphor for sex. except in this version—spoiler alert—Mina Harker steps delicately out of her victim role, shoots Dracula in the neck with a rifle and buries him in her back-garden, then drives off for a very American killing spree.
but I’d actually say there’s plenty of contemporary or near-contemporary psychological films of similar quality, e.g. Melancholia, Martha Marcy May Marlene, Shutter Island, The Diving Bell & the Butterfly, We Need To Talk About Kevin, Doubt, Shame, Truth. (If you extend this to TV, I’d mention Hannibal.) At the more violent / graphic end of the scale, you’ve got Hitchcock, Cronenberg, Aronofsky & Fincher, and films like Memento, Black Swan, The Machinist & American Psycho
women writing horror that focuses on the fears of women in a society that is a constant danger to their mental health and well-being? genius. men writing horror where women suffer for shock value? garbage.
🎶✨when u get this, list 5 songs u like to listen to, publish. then, send this ask to 10 of your favorite followers (positivity is cool)🎶✨
thank u for sending friend!! 💓
Neuron by j-hope (of course)
Marigold by Aimyon
Guilty as Sin? by Taylor Swift
Lucky by Halsey
Way Home by Kim Soohyun
i diversified it by picking songs that frequent my youtube replay clicks slkdjf otherwise this would all be hobi and tae and bts 😭
https://www.reddit.com/r/StrangerThings/comments/8hjawu/spoilers_stranger_things_has_been_the_most/
I read a lot about how Stranger Things is scary. I don’t really find Stranger Things very scary, it’s not like The Babadook or The Conjuring. For comparison’s sake it’s about as harmless as something like the level of Horror in the film Daybreakers. Daybreakers had some mild jump scares but it’s mostly a character piece. The real monsters are Charles Bromley and Bromley-Marks Pharmaceuticals.
The same can be said for Stranger Things. The demogorgon and the Upside Down are minor window dressings to a larger character narrative. Brenner, Owens and Hawkins Power & Light are more terrifying because they are preying on childhood fears and distrust and the fear of the unknown in the adults.
I really don't think Stranger Things is going to have this happy fairy tale ending where all the kids survive and end up growing up together and marrying each other because Stranger Things is still in the Horror genre.
In Horror, most of the characters end up dying in the end. There are sacrifices to be made for the protagonist. I think that Joyce, Nancy, Max and/or Eleven/Jane will be the last character(s) standing because typically the female character ends up defeating the threat if they can. I think Stranger Things is ultimately a woman's journey and that the women in the story will outlast all of the male characters.
BASICS:
Genres:
Alternate World: A setting that is not our world, but may be similar. This includes “portal fantasies” in which characters find an alternative world through their own. An example would be The Chronicles of Narnia.
Arabian: Fantasy that is based on the Middle East and North Africa.
Arthurian: Set in Camelot and deals with Arthurian mythology and legends.
Bangsian: Set in the afterlife or deals heavily with the afterlife. It most often deals with famous and historical people as characters. An example could be The Lovely Bones.
Celtic: Fantasy that is based on the Celtic people, most often the Irish.
Christian: This genre has Christian themes and elements.
Classical: Based on Roman and Greek myths.
Contemporary: This genre takes place in modern society in which paranormal and magical creatures live among us. An example would be the Harry Potter series.
Dark: This genre combines fantasy and horror elements. The tone or feel of dark fantasy is often gloomy, bleak, and gothic.
Epic: This genre is long and, as the name says, epic. Epic is similar to high fantasy, but has more importance, meaning, or depth. Epic fantasy is most often in a medieval setting.
Gaslamp: Also known as gaslight, this genre has a Victorian or Edwardian setting.
Gunpowder: Gunpowder crosses epic or high fantasy with “rifles and railroads”, but the technology remains realistic unlike the similar genre of steampunk.
Heroic: Centers on one or more heroes who start out as humble, unlikely heroes thrown into a plot that challenges them.
High: This is considered the “classic” fantasy genre. High fantasy contains the general fantasy elements and is set in a fictional world.
Historical: The setting in this genre is any time period within our world that has fantasy elements added.
Medieval: Set between ancient times and the industrial era. Often set in Europe and involves knights. (medieval references)
Mythic: Fantasy involving or based on myths, folklore, and fairy tales.
Portal: Involves a portal, doorway, or other entryway that leads the protagonist from the “normal world” to the “magical world”.
Quest: As the name suggests, the protagonist in this genre sets out on a quest. The protagonist most frequently searches for an object of importance and returns home with it.
Sword and Sorcery: Pseudomedieval settings in which the characters use swords and engage in action-packed plots. Magic is also an element, as is romance.
Urban: Has a modern or urban setting in which magic and paranormal creatures exist, often in secret.
Wuxia: A genre in which the protagonist learns a martial art and follows a code. This genre is popular in Chinese speaking areas.
Word Counts:
Word counts for fantasy are longer than other genres because of the need for world building. Even in fantasy that takes place in our world, there is a need for the introduction of the fantasy aspect.
Word counts for established authors with a fan base can run higher because publishers are willing to take a higher chance on those authors. First-time authors (who have little to no fan base) will most likely not publish a longer book through traditional publishing. Established authors may also have better luck with publishing a novel far shorter than that genre’s expected or desired word count, though first-time authors may achieve this as well.
A general rule of thumb for first-time authors is to stay under 100k and probably under 110k for fantasy.
Other exceptions to word count guidelines would be for short fiction (novellas, novelettes, short stories, etc.) and that one great author who shows up every few years with a perfect 200k manuscript.
But why are there word count guidelines? For young readers, it’s pretty obvious why books should be shorter. For other age groups, it comes down to the editor’s preference, shelf space in book stores, and the cost of publishing a book. The bigger the book, the more expensive it is to publish.
General Fantasy: 75k - 110k
Epic Fantasy: 90k - 120k
Contemporary Fantasy: 90k - 120k
Urban Fantasy: 80k - 100k
Middle Grade: 45k - 70k
YA: 75k - 120k (depending on sub-genre)
Adult: 80k - 120k (depending on sub-genre)
WORLD BUILDING:
A pseudo-European medieval setting is fine, but it’s overdone. And it’s always full of white men and white women in disguise as white men because around 85% (ignore my guess/exaggeration, I only put it there for emphasis) of fantasy writers seem to have trouble letting go of patriarchal societies.
Guys. It’s fantasy. You can do whatever you want. You can write a fantasy that takes place in a jungle. Or in a desert. Or in a prairie. The people can be extremely diverse in one region and less diverse in another. The cultures should differ. Different voices should be heard. Queer people exist. People of color exist. Not everyone has two arms or two legs or the ability to hear.
As for the fantasy elements, you also make up the rules. Don’t go searching around about how a certain magic spell is done, just make it up. Magic can be whatever color you want. It can be no color at all. You can use as much or as little magic as you want.
Keep track of what you put into your world and stick to the rules. There should be limits, laws, cultures, climates, disputes, and everything else that exists in our world. However, you don’t have to go over every subject when writing your story.
World Building:
Fantasy World Building Questionnaire
Magical World Builder’s Guide
Creating Fantasy and Science Fiction Worlds
Creating Religions
Quick and Dirty World Building
World Building Links
Fantasy World Building Questions
The Seed of Government (2)
Guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy
Fantasy Worlds and Race
Water Geography
Alternate Medieval Fantasy Story
Writing Magic
Types of Magic
When Magic Goes Wrong
Magic-Like Psychic Abilities
Science and Magic
Creative Uses of Magic
Thoughts on Creating Magic Systems
Defining the Sources, Effects, and Costs of Magic
World Building Basics
Mythology Master Post
Fantasy Religions
Setting the Fantastic in the Everyday World
Making Histories
Matching Your Money to Your World
Building a Better Beast
A Man in Beast’s Clothing
Creating and Using Fictional Languages
Creating a Language
Creating Fictional Holidays
Creating Holidays
Weather and World Building 101
Describing Fantastic Creatures
Medieval Technology
Music For Your Fantasy World
A heterogeneous World
Articles on World Building
Cliches:
Grand List of Fantasy Cliches (most of this can be debated)
Fantasy Cliches Discussion
Ten Fantasy Cliches That Should Be Put to Rest
Seven Fantasy Cliches That Need to Disappear
Avoiding Fantasy Cliches 101
Avoiding Fantasy Cliches
Fantasy Cliches
Fantasy Cliche Meter: The Bad Guys
Fantasy Novelist’s Exam
Mary Sue Race Test
Note: Species (like elves and dwarves) are not cliches. The way they are executed are cliches.
CHARACTERS
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