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nano_writers2009-05-31 12:24 pm
Blue/Purple Mini Challenge: What Genre Is It?
The first sentence from ten different novels is quoted below, each novel a well-known representative work of a particular genre. With careful reading, can you identify the correct genre? Bonus points if you recognize the opening line and can name the book and author!
Let us know how you did in the comments below: what clues did the author provide?
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 4
“The light hadn’t even officially turned green at the intersection of 17th and Broadway before an army of overconfident yellow cabs roared past the tiny deathtrap I was attempting to navigate around the city streets."
“Some years ago there was in the city of York a society of magicians.”
“You will rejoice to hear that no disaster has accompanied the commencement of an enterprise which you have regarded with such evil forebodings.”
“A purple ocean, vast under the sky and devoid of all visible life apart from two minute ships racing across its immensity.”
“When I was a young boy, if I was sick or in trouble, or had been beaten at school, I used to remember that on the day I was born my father had wanted to kill me.”
“At the beginning of July, during an extremely hot spell, towards evening, a young man left the closet he rented from tenants in S-----y Lane, walked out to the street, and slowly, as if indecisively, headed for K-----n Bridge.”
“A merry little surge of electricity piped by automatic alarm from the mood organ beside his bed awakened Rick Deckard.”
“The old chrome-yellow school bus crawled south on Market Street at half past seven that May morning.”
Literature
1 (25.0%)
Romance
0 (0.0%)
Adventure
0 (0.0%)
Mystery
3 (75.0%)
Historical
0 (0.0%)
“OK – answer me this: why would anyone want to wear an overcoat in San Francisco in the middle of summer?”
Sci-Fi
0 (0.0%)
Mystery
1 (25.0%)
Literature
0 (0.0%)
Young Adult
3 (75.0%)
Adventure
0 (0.0%)
“Madam – I sit down to give you an undeniable proof of my considering your desires as indispensable orders.”
Mystery
1 (25.0%)
Chick Lit
0 (0.0%)
Adventure
0 (0.0%)
Erotica
2 (50.0%)
Historical
1 (25.0%)
Answers for the curious will be posted Friday!
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For example (and perhaps this is one of the entries that you are referring to): "Some years ago there was in the city of York a society of magicians." works very well as a first sentence as it establishes setting and tone and most importantly, the story's characters - "a society of magicians." Granted that "magicians" could refer to people who practice the theatrical art of "magic" but to refer to a society of magicians, I believe, points the reader in a different direction.
Or not.
It may also be that the poll was a poor way to generate this type of discussion especially considering that it wasn't working (and still may not be *waves fist in frustration*).
If I may ask, which sentence/book do you recognize? Does it fit any of the suggested genre?
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'Some years ago there was in the city of York ... '
I think recognise Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by S Clarke. I haven't read it, but it was reviewed in the Historical Novel Review, so I am presuming it has large doses of the historical genre. I can't remember which category they reviewed it under (reviews are put under era, but also Alternative histories, children's etc). Suspect it has some fantasy aspects from vague memories of read reviews.
The other is:
'A merry little surge of electricity piped by automatic alarm from the mood organ beside his bed awakened Rick Deckard'
'Deckard' gives it away as being 'Blade Runner' & 'Do Androids dream ...' Presumably Sci Fi, though there were other elements in there.
Lots of the other sentences could be leading to historical fiction, for all I know.
Sorry if I'm being dense!
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But I digress. As a writer, I can approach the idea of genre from several POVs. As others have said, one can sit down and simply write their story, giving little thought or concern about genre. But from another direction, with theme in hand (or cause or concern or situation), I might want to consider what setting, characters, etc. (the things that help categorize genre) would best tell my story and work from there. Do I want or need a wizard or detective or Queen's captain to tell my story? What time and place would best serve the theme(s) that I want to write about?
As to Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (you have correctly identified the novel), I believe that many readers of (traditional) historical fiction would refuse to accept it as a historical novel but instead as a work of speculative fiction (fantasy in this case) with a well-written historical setting (as opposed to a more traditional fantasy setting). But in the end, no matter the genre, it is a fascinating read!
Thanks for commenting!
Sources...
“The light hadn’t even officially turned green at the intersection of 17th and Broadway before an army of overconfident yellow cabs roared past the tiny deathtrap I was attempting to navigate around the city streets.”
The Devil Wears Prada: A Novel by Lauren Weisberger
Fantasy:
“Some years ago there was in the city of York a society of magicians.”
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell: A Novel by Susanna Clarke
Horror:
“You will rejoice to hear that no disaster has accompanied the commencement of an enterprise which you have regarded with such evil forebodings.”
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Adventure:
“A purple ocean, vast under the sky and devoid of all visible life apart from two minute ships racing across its immensity.”
The Wine-Dark Sea by Patrick O'Brian
Historical Fiction:
“When I was a young boy, if I was sick or in trouble, or had been beaten at school, I used to remember that on the day I was born my father had wanted to kill me.”
The Last of the Wine by Mary Renault
(Athens in the time of Socrates)
Literary Fiction:
“At the beginning of July, during an extremely hot spell, towards evening, a young man left the closet he rented from tenants in S-----y Lane, walked out to the street, and slowly, as if indecisively, headed for K-----n Bridge.”
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Richard Pevear
Science Fiction:
“A merry little surge of electricity piped by automatic alarm from the mood organ beside his bed awakened Rick Deckard.”
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
Mystery:
“The old chrome-yellow school bus crawled south on Market Street at half past seven that May morning.”
The 8th Confession (The Women's Murder Club) by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
Young Adult:
“OK – answer me this: why would anyone want to wear an overcoat in San Francisco in the middle of summer?”
The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel by Michael Scott
Erotica:
“Madam – I sit down to give you an undeniable proof of my considering your desires as indispensable orders.”
Fanny Hill: Memoirs Of A Woman of Pleasure by John Cleland
How did everyone do? Once again, genres are somewhat fluid and many novels fall into two or more genre categories. But most follow a set of conventions that address both publishers' and readers' expectations which may be seen even in the novel's first sentence.