Western/Eastern GenreĪn external story in the Western or Eastern genres focuses on the conflict between the individual and society. Read our in-depth article on the Thriller Genre. The protagonist ends up as a victim and faces damnation if they fail to identify and defeat the villain. Thriller stories blend elements of three other genres as the powerful individual protagonist from the ACTION genre faces the embodiment of evil (the monster) from the HORROR genre in a story about unmasking an antagonist who has committed a crime against society, as in the CRIME genre. This leads the reader to identify with the protagonist, who seeks to defeat an antagonist that personifies evil.
Thriller GenreĪn external story in the Thriller genre focuses on the protagonist’s need for safety. Read our in-depth article on the Crime Genre. Crime GenreĪn external story in the Crime genre focuses on the Justice / Injustice spectrum while generating feelings in the reader of intrigue (solving the puzzle) and security or personal safety when the perpetrator is exposed. Read our in-depth article on the Horror Genre.
The Horror genre pits a single victim (even though there may be multiple AVATARS) against impossible odds and a supernatural, scientifically explainable or ambiguous monster possessed by evil and intent on annihilation. Horror GenreĪn external story in the Horror genre focuses on the ability of a protagonist to self-actualize through the expression of the gift of courage and selflessness in the face of fear. Read our in-depth article on the War Genre. Each AVATAR can act heroically by defending fellow warriors honorably in the face of horrific pain and loss. War GenreĪn external story in the War genre focuses on the self-actualization of the protagonist through the expression of the gifts of love and self-sacrifice. Read our in-depth article on the Action Genre. In Action stories, readers see the lengths the protagonist will go to protect themselves and/or other potential victims. The external content genres of writing are: Action GenreĪn external story in the Action genre focuses on the protagonist’s sacrifice for positive movement along the death / life VALUE spectrum while generating feelings of excitement in the reader. The Content Genre is divided into two sections: external and internal. It sets expectations for the reader using the FOUR CORE FRAMEWORK, CONVENTIONS, and OBLIGATORY MOMENTS. The CONTENT GENRE defines what is contained in a story and specifically determines the need and VALUE at stake. There are four categories of the Reality Genre our stories can fall into: Absurdism, Factualism, Realism, and Fantasy. It dictates how much readers must suspend disbelief when building the worlds of our stories in their minds. The REALITY GENRE constrains the way the ALTERNATE WORLD of our story operates by establishing codes, laws, and norms. The mediums include Documentary, Musical, Dance, Literary, Theatrical, Cinematic, Epistolary, and Animation. The broad categories are Drama and Comedy. This genre leaf is divided into two broad categories and several mediums. It puts constraints on what we include in the story to keep a consistent feel so the audience does not get confused. The STYLE GENRE sets the tone for what the audience will experience during the story. There are three categories of the Structure Genre our stories can fall into: Archplot, Miniplot, and Antiplot. It addresses whether the change will occur for a single AVATAR or throughout the whole system or context. The STRUCTURE GENRE indicates to our reader who or what the change of the story will affect. There are three categories of the Time Genre our stories can fall into: Short, Medium, and Long form. It answers how long the story will take to consume. The TIME GENRE indicates how the reader experiences the time it takes to go from the beginning to the end of our stories. We can check our stories to make sure we are using the best combination possible to deliver a satisfying story experience.īy defining the specific genres and their conventions, we can start to look for each element within masterworks and study to understand ways of meeting these expectations within our own stories. The goal of the Genre Five-Leaf Clover is to help us think about how each element or leaf comes together to form the global story.
It helps to think of the five categories visually, so we present them as a five-leaf clover. Each of the five leaves helps us determine a different element of a story’s experience. The Story Grid Genre 5-Leaf Clover is the tool we use to define the genres of writing in our stories. Genre Categories: Introducing the Story Grid Genre 5-Leaf Clover