Story Genres
In his book Save The Cat! Blake Snyder provides his readers with ten types of story genres screenwriters work with and provides examples of popular Hollywood movies that exemplify these genres. Snyder’s ten genres differ from standard film genre types such as Romantic Comedy, Epic, or Biography, which he argues don’t tell readers what the story is about.
Snyder’s ten genres all articulate what a particular story is about:
The quest story, which is the kind of story Home of Her Heart is (see Post 8)
The survival story, which features an actual or metaphorical monster in the house.
The wish fulfillment/come-uppance story, in which the main character begins the story with a particular wish or desire they want to come true.
The character with a problem story, which features an ordinary person finding themselves in extraordinary circumstances.
The rites of passage story, which focuses on a moment of life transition.
The buddy love story, which provides a main character with someone to discuss important story issues with.
The whydunit story, which focuses on the “why” a murder has happened rather than on “who” committed the murder.
The fool triumphant story, which features a character who at first seems naïve or foolish, but then is revealed to be the wisest character in the story.
The institutionalized story, which tells stories about groups, institutions, and families.
The superhero story, which in opposition to the character with a problem story, features an extraordinary person in an ordinary world.
What Snyder’s list of ten story genres offered me as a first-time novelist is a way to articulate what my story Home of Her Heart was about. Once I could articulate what my story was (a quest story) and what my main character wants in the story, I could begin to develop the events of the story and develop the supporting and minor characters that helped my main character Luisa achieve (to some extent) what she wanted at the beginning of the story.
All the best,
Tara
References
Snyder, Blake. (2005). Save The Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You’ll Every Need. Michael Weise Productions.