Speculative Genre

Speculative has been used as a catch phrase for horror, science fiction, and fantasy. While these are sub-categories of this genre, speculative fiction is a genre in its own right, and some speculative novels have nothing to do with these common subcategories. Speculative fiction involves an unusual story using fantastic happening. Sometimes these stories have a spiritual aspect to them, particularly in Christian fiction and stories involving magic, but not always. What these stories always have is the question, “What if?”

Orson Scott Card Quote (See How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy, Writer’s Digest Books, 1990, p. 17)

Speculative Fiction includes all stories that take place in a setting contrary to known reality. This includes:

1. All stories set in the future, because the future can’t be known. Out-of-date futures, like that depicted in the novel 1984, simply shift from the “future” category to:
2. All stories set in the historical past that contradict known facts of history or “alternate world” stories.
3. All stories set on other worlds, because we’ve never gone there. Whether “future humans” take part in the story or not, if it isn’t Earth, it belongs to fantasy and science fiction.
4. All stories supposedly set on Earth, but before recorded history and contradicting the known archaeological record–stories about visits from ancient aliens, or ancient civilizations that left no trace, or, “lost kingdoms” surviving into modern times.
5. All stories that contradict some known or supposed law of nature. Obviously, fantasy that uses magic falls into this category, but so does much science fiction: time travel stories, for instance, or invisible-man stories.

I would add one more to this list. Christian fiction which covers the spiritual realm such as miracles, prophecies, apocalyptic themes, demons, angel, and other spiritual beings would also be classified as Speculative.

Sub-Catagories:

Alternate History: Stories where history changes. Example: “Guns of the South” by Harry Turtledove.

Apocalypse/Holocaust: The end of the world as we know, the world being destroyed, or end times prophecies being fulfilled.  Example: The Left Behind Series.

Coming of Age: The human race takes a big evolutionary leap. Example: “Emergence” by David R Palmer.

Contemporary Fantasy/Magical Realism: This is set in the modern world but has spiritual or supernatural forces involved. Examples in the Christian realm are Frank Peretti’s “This Present Darkness” and “Piercing the Darkness”. An occult example is “The Harry Potter Series”.

Cyberpunk: This is a science fiction sub-genre that involves virtual reality and technology changing society. Example: “Neuromancer” by William Gibson

Dystopian: Dysfuntional utopias. Example: “The Giver” by Lowis Lowry

Fairy Tales/Light Fantasy: These stories have a lesson built into them and usually include fairies, elves, animals with human traits, goblins, trolls, or enchantments and charms, set in a rustic setting. “The Hobbit” or “Lord of the Rings” by TR Tolkien are examples. So is “The Chronicles of Narnia” by CS Lewis.

Horror/Dark Fantasy: These stories have dark themes. Example: “Interview With a Vampire” by Anne Rice.

First Contact: These are stories about how we react to being confronted by an alien species for the first time. Example: “The Left Hand of Darkness” by Ursula K. Le Guin

Futuristic: These stories tell of a future shaped by events of today going in a certain direction. “1984” by George Orwell was one of the best in this sub-genre.

Science Fiction: This involves future technologies and space exploration. I’ll give examples of this when I post about the Science Fiction genre.

Slipstream: This sub-genre is set in our world but distorts things in some way. Example: “White Noise” by Don DeDillo

Steampunk: Take a Victorian setting and give it modern technology, and you have steampunk. Example: “The Difference Engine” by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling.

Suspense/Thriller Genre

The suspense/thriller genre is closer connected to the mystery genre, but the perspective is different. A mystery genre starts with a crime that needs to be solved. Suspense starts with what’s at stake. It creates drama before the crisis event. For a good suspense to work, the reader has to know learn what the protagonist is up to and what’s at stake if he fails. Dean Koontz is a master at suspense. In “The Husband”, we learn in the first scene that somebody has kidnapped the protagonist wife. The story is who did it but what’s at stake if the protagonist fails.

The suspense writer must create tension by inserting a strong protagonist and developing inventive story developments that avert a certain outcome. The suspense/thriller is usually told in 3^rd person multiple points of view. Every scene is fast paced and ends with a cliffhanger or ticking clock that makes the reader want to turn the page. It also needs to be filled with misdirection to keep the reader guessing. It’s generally 90,000 to 100,000 words long.

Good suspense never lets up. It’s a fast-paced pressure cooker that builds the tension from the beginning and keeps it up until the end.

This article from Writer’s Digest Online shows nine ways to keep the suspense high in your story.

Suspense/Thriller Subcategories:

Suspense/Thriller Subcategories often overlap. Here are some of them.

Action/Adventure: This contains a race against the clock with lots of violence, and an obvious antagonist. Think sword fight, gun battles, and explosions.

Conspiracy: The hero discovers a conspiracy among a powerful group of enemies, but he can’t prove it, and nobody will believe him.

Crime: A crime of series of crimes is committed. The difference between this and the mystery genre is the perpetrator is clear immediately. Sometimes this genre focuses on the criminal instead of the hero and usually focuses on action rather than psychological aspects.  

Disaster: The main conflict is due to an act of nature.  

Horror: Horror main intent is to illicit fear in the reader.

Drama: These suspense stories are usually a little slower paced and rely on character development more than plot.

Eco-thriller: These stories involve environmental aspects. The antagonist is usually a corporation or government official whose actions cause havoc on the environment.

Legal: The hero is a lawyer, and some or most of the setting takes place in a courtroom.

Medical: This is a suspense novel that revolves around medical personnel.  

Political: The hero or antagonist is an agent of the government.

Psychological: The conflict between the main characters is mental and emotional, rather than physical.

Spy: The good guy is usually a spy fighting against terrorists, plots to overthrow the government, or evil regimes.

Techno-thriller: These usually involve the military. 

Romance: A suspense/thriller that has an element of romance.

Because some of the sub-categories overlap, I didn’t list many authors there. These are some examples of Suspense/Thriller Authors are Dean Koontz, Ian Fleming, Ted Decker, James Scott Bell, Tom Clancy,  Dee Henderson, Brandilyn Collins, Stephen King, Dan Brown, TL Hines, James Patterson, Paulo Coelho, John Grisham, Nora Roberts, Terry Brennan, and Robert Ludlum.

Mystery Genre

The mystery genre is one of the most popular genres of fiction next to romance. A genre mystery usually focuses on a crime, most often murder. This crime must be introduced early in the novel. The main character has to solve the crime by the end of the story.

A good mystery is like a puzzle. The reader expects to try to solve the mystery alongside the main character. Many times there are false clues scattered throughout the pages. But the puzzle must solved by the main character by the end of the book.

A mystery varies in length between 75,000 and 100,000 words. Cozy mysteries are usually a little shorter.

Mysteries have a number of subcategories including the following:

Whodunit: This was the first mystery sub-genre. The story focuses on a detective who works to discover hidden clues and solve the crime, usually murder. Whodunits are written in one point of view, usually the  main character and almost always in first person. Famous whodunit authors include Nicholas Blake, Simon Brett, and Lawrence Block.

Amateur Detective: In this sub-genre, the main character is not a police detective but is very invested in solving the crime. Often the protagonist is related to or friends with the victim. Famous Amateur Detective authors include Agatha Christie, Peter S. Fischer, Ellery Queen, and E.C. Bentley.

Cozy Mystery: The Cozy Mystery sub-genre is similar to the Amateur Detective Mystery. In a Cozy Mystery the amateur detective who is usually a women, although in one series it was a cat, who lives in a small town or village where she knows everyone. All the suspects also know everyone. The main character is a likable, nosy, and trustworthy person who people feel comfortable revealing their secrets to. Usually the protagonist knows somebody in the police department who helps her gain the information she needs. Cozies never reveal gory or violent details, and sex is always behind closed doors. Because of that, this is the most common Christian Mystery. Murder She Wrote is a TV show that is catagorized as a Cozy Mystery. AK Arenz is a popular Christian Cozy Mystery author. Some other famous Cozy Mystery authors are Susan Dunlap and Ellen Crosby.

Private Detective: In these novels, the victim seeks the help of a private eye. Crimes are more violent in these novels, and there are usually dark themes involved. Some Private Detective authors are Sue Grafton and Lawrence Sanders. and Arthur Conon Doyle. John Robinson has written some Christian Novels in this genre. You can read about him here, and his books here, here, and here.

Medical Mystery: In this sub-genre, the crime usually takes place in a hospital or medical setting, and the crime usually involves medical personnel who commit the crimes. Most writers in this genre have a medical background. Some famous Medical Mystery writers are Robin Cook and Patricia Cornwell.

Courtroom Drama: For this sub-genre, think Perry Mason. The protagonist is an attorney, usually a defense attorney representing a client he or she believes is innocent. The lawyer solves the crime to win the case. Famous Courtroom Drama authors are John Grisham and Richard North Patterson.

Suspense/Thriller: Although the Suspense/Thriller is a genre of its own, it can also be a sub-genre of Mystery. It combines psychological motives and monstrous crimes. The protagonist is a good at heart person who faces a formidable adversary and must call on everything within him to face this antagonist. This is a classic good versus evil tale with a mystery to be solved. Some famous Suspense/Thriller authors are Dean Koontz, Brandilyn Collins, John Saul, and Michael Connelly.

Technical Thriller: The crime and mystery in this sub-genre revolves around a technical setting. It will always expose threats involving technology. Some Technical Thriller authors are Tom Clancy, Stephen Coonts, Dan Brown, and Larry Bond.

Genre Word Counts

Many times a writer will write a novel, edit it, polish it, write a great query letter and proposal, and submit it to a publisher or agent only to find the word count is wrong. Here are general guidelines for the word count publishers are looking for with different genres. Keep in mind that specific publishers may have different word count preferences.

Fantasy Genre: Fantasy novels can contain between 80,000 and 150,000 words (approximately). Fantasy novels can be a little longer than other novels, and they are sometimes serialized.

Romance Genre: A stand-alone romance novel is normally between 80,000 and 100,000 words. A category romance novel (like those published by Harlequin) is generally shorter (usually around 60,000 words), and each “imprint” will have its own criteria.

Historical Fiction Genre: A stand-alone historical book may be 85,000 to 100,000 words. Publishing a book longer than 100,000 words is difficult (especially for first-timers), but historical novels are sometimes longer. Historical category romances are shorter, generally about 60,000 words.

Mystery Genre: Mysteries vary in length. Stand-alone mysteries (which may have some overlap with thrillers) may be between 75,000 and 100,000 words. Cozy mysteries, like those in a series, are often on the shorter side, about 50,000 to 60,000 words.

Suspense/Thriller Genre: Thriller novels generally run between 90,000 to 100,000 words (loosely), but they can be a little longer as well.

Speculative Genre: Speculative and Horror novels vary in length and are generally between 80,000 and 100,000 words.

Young Adult (YA) Genre: Generally, YA books run between 40,000 and 75,000 words, depending on the target age group.

Western Genre: Westerns tend to be on the shorter side, anywhere from 45,000 to 75,000 words.

If you’re not sure where your novel fits on this list, the general rule of thumb is a stand alone novel is generally 80,000 to 100,000 words. A tradeback or catagory genre novel (a novel generally printed in paperback by a company that puts out manystandard genre novels a year) is between 50,000 and 75,000 words.