Why Effective Storytelling is More Important than Genre Labels

Ken Liu — Fri, 06 Jul 2018 16:03:31 GMT

Current Revision posted to Identifying Your Genre by Ken Liu on 7/6/2018 4:03:31 PM

Book genres are a way to group stories with similar elements and themes, and identify books in the distribution and sales process. A book's genre will affect where it is placed in a bookstore or how it is categorized online. The genre label can also impact reader expectations. Readers of contemporary romance or thrillers expect certain elements or characteristics to be present in a story that is categorized under these labels. While some writers identify their desired genre early on in the writing process, award-winning author Ken Liu doesn't consider genre when writing his stories. His books are often labeled as science fiction, fantasy, or a blend of the two genres, but Liu doesn't care to easily fit into one label or the other. He writes to tell the stories he wants to tell with a focus on the literalization of metaphors. By putting effective storytelling first, Liu isn't distracted by genre labels and isn't trying to write to fit into a certain category.

www.authorlearningcenter.com/.../Why-Effective-Storytelling-is-More-Important-than-Genre-Labels.mp4

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