 Comedy: July 15, 2020 Issue [#10272] |
This week: Genre Mashups Edited by: Lornda~Thoughts with Bikerider  
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“I am a writer. If I seem cold, it’s because I am surrounded by drafts.” ~Unknown Author
“Keep a small can of WD-40 on your desk—away from any open flames—to remind yourself that if you don’t write daily, you will get rusty.” ~George Singleton
"Writer’s Block: When your imaginary friends stop talking to you.” ~Unknown Author
Genre mashups are a fun way to liven up your story. Find out how you can use a combination of them in your next story.
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 Congratulations to BIG BAD WOLF is Merry  ! He wins a 'Queen of Comedy' Merit Badge for submitting the topic for this newsletter.
Writing in different genres can be fun to way to liven up your story. But, how far can you push a genre mashup? By examining a few facts, we can find the answer. Notice the number of genres used in each of these examples:
 T.V. Show: Firefly created by, Joss Whedon: Sci-fi, Thriller, Western, Comedy, Action, Adventure, Drama and Fantasy.
 Movie: The Princess Bride by, William Goldman: Romance, Fantasy, Comedy, Adventure, Fairy Tale, and Drama.
 Novel: 11/22/63 by, Stephen King: Historical, Sci-fi, Thriller, Fantasy and Crime. What a mix of genres, but he obviously pulled it off because he won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Best Mystery/Thriller and it was nominated for both the British Fantasy Award for Best Novel and the Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel.
 On the topic of Novels, author Seth Grahme-Smith pushed the genre mashup even further by combining the historical novel of Pride and Prejudice with modern zombie fiction. The book, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies was born, giving writing credit to Jane Austen. The genres are a mishmash of historical fiction, thriller, comedy, and horror. Sounds like the ultimate genre mash up of all time! The novel was later made into a movie, which grossed 16.4 million, followed by a prequel, a sequel, and in 2010, a video game was based on it.
Even though these examples have a plethora of genres, there is one red flag to take into consideration. Always remember, the story comes first. Try not to force a bunch of genres into it because you think it will be cool. The genres should be seamless through the story and used as building blocks to make the story better and perhaps surprise the reader along the way.
Genre mashups can be a fun way to blast your way through writer’s block. Try choosing three or four from the genre list here at Writing.Com. Set a timer for fifteen minutes and write to see what happens. If you’re having a hard time selecting them, here’s a genre generator.
You can enter any number to generate some interesting genre combinations. By typing four, it generated Biography / Buddy Comedy / Cyberpunk / Contemporary. With this combo of genres, it could generate some interesting stories. It might be as exciting as Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.
If you do not want to use the generator, try asking another writer to give you an idea. In his survey response, BIG BAD WOLF is Merry suggested a couple. Why not write about a Noir detective that ends up in the Old West, or an alien from a highly technologically advanced society in a medieval-fantasy setting. There are so many genres to choose from to add some zip to your story, and hopefully, comedy is one of them.
Fun Genre Fact: Do you know the difference between a Western, a Spaghetti Western, and a Meat Pie Western?
The best sounding genre ever!  |
Answer ▼
A Western is made in the United States. A Spaghetti Western is Italian made, and the Meat Pie Western is Australian.  (Meat Pie Western movies: The Man from Snowy River (1982) / Quigley Down Under (1991) / True Story of the Kelly Gang (2019).
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 For the fun of it, I entered the genre of Comedy along with two other random genres into the WdC's search engine. It found some cool items to read.
Comedy/Fantasy
Comedy/Cultural
Western/Fan Fiction/Comedy
Comedy/Relationship/Animal
Thriller-Suspense/Action-Adventure/Comedy
Death/Comedy/Romance-Love
Mystery/Comedy/Sci-Fi
Comedy/Horror-Scary/Paranormal
Psychology/ Comedy/Detective
Check this out. If you want to read and review items here to familiarize yourself with the different genres, consider this item to help you!
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Have an opinion on what you've read here today? Then send the Editor feedback! Find an item that you think would be perfect for showcasing here? Submit it for consideration in the newsletter!
https://www.Writing.Com/go/nl_form
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 Have you used a bunch of different genres in your story? Which combinations have you tried?
 Feedback from last month's newsletter: "Writing the Real Life for a Laugh"
Lilith 🎄 Christmas Cheer  : "Thanks for a wonderful newsletter that's full of laughs!"
Thank you for stopping by with your comment, and for sending in the idea for the newsletter!
eyestar~*  : "Brilliant and helpful tips and hey, thanks for sharing the dad jokes too! I enjoyed reading your picks of the week, too. "
The dad jokes were so funny, and I laughed at another one the other day: How come ants do not get sick? Because they have anty-bodies. Thanks for the comments!
 Reminder: If you have topic for the Comedy newsletter, fill out the survey below. It pays you 1k in gift points! If I use it for a newsletter, you'll win a 'Queen of Comedy' MB!  "Invalid Item"
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