There are many Genres in writing. From Romance to historical fiction, or realistic fiction. There are too many to count. But, there are some main genres that are the most popular and are easy to understand and start basic writing with. The examples I have are Fiction, Nonfiction, Fantasy, Mystery, and Romance.
Fiction describes imaginary people and situations. I can be realistic, or farther from reality. Fiction is a widely popular subject and can be fun to write. Going into a bookstore, the biggest section is fiction. There is children's fiction, Young-adult fiction, and adult fiction. But, writing fiction can come with a few problems;
Plots are complex as it. At least in Romance or Nonfiction, you know your goal, and how to meet it. Fiction is so wide open, anything can happen. And although it sounds appealing, it can become a disaster. I myself have thrown out storylines I loved because after the first chapters, it started getting so complex, it was too hard to finish.
Points of view are key. It leads your book from the very start. Deciding who should 'tell' your story, is key. It's a hard decision to make. And having a two-person point of view can be disruptive and unpleasant if not done correctly.
In Romance, you know the book will end up in heartbreak or love, bringing out strong emotions. In Nonfiction, you know the story will end in facts. In Mystery, the mystery is normally solved. In fiction, the pressure is on to come up with a good ending that can close your book and close it well, or set you up for the next book. It's hard to tell when you want your book to end, or what to wrap up and what to leave out. It can cause problems throughout the rest of the story if not done right.
Nonfiction stories are memorable, knowledgeable, and can help future generations with papers, or just to see what has happened in the past. But, Nonfiction can be difficult to write. You need facts, and to get them right. One wrong fact, and it's technically not nonfiction anymore.
Don't put excessive facts in your writing if you choose nonfiction. Yes, you need facts, but nobody needs to know every detail of every event. If you write what you want, and not what the book is supposedly about, it hurts your book, and it may not be popular.
Yes, dialogue is allowed in Nonfiction writing. Diary's if well kept, are technically Nonfiction, and dialogue is used in them. Nonfiction books don't have to be just facts. It can be boring. You can find facts on the internet. Make your book special with some Dialogue.
Not all nonfiction if facts. Nonfiction doesn't have to be about the stereotypical 'history.' Nonfiction can be what someone ate for lunch yesterday, of what is going to happen in a month, as long as you are sure it will happen. Nonfiction isn't just dates and names. It's still a story, and not many people accept that.
Now, fantasy is a cool genre because almost anything you could ever want could happen can happen. Unicorns, wizards, magic, or other weird things, like inanimate objects that speak. But fantasy can have some problems, like any other genres.
Now, it's true, you can create whatever you want when you write a fantasy story, but that comes with a problem. You have to create literally everything from scratch. Want wizards? What does their power come from? Where do your people come from? What realm? What is their family tree? There are many details that go into a fantasy story, and it can be fun to create them, but for most people, I find it can be a drag and is exhausting in the end. Having to remember everything you create can also be difficult.
Naming your characters, worlds, and creatures can be difficult. Trying to keep up with it all is hard and can be bothersome. It's not impossible, but it requires a level of organization some people just don't have. It's nothing to be embarrassed about, it just means that fantasy writing isn't for you.
Writing fantasy is a lot of work, which has been re-established, but it is also time-consuming. Popular fantasy writers take many years to finish their books. Some writers spend years planning before they even start writing, let alone finish. It takes a lot of patience and works to create a complete fantasy project, and the majority of individuals aren't up for it.
Mystery can help whena reader is looking for a crime to solve, and can be fun to write. But, ther are things to consider about this genre.
If you manage to start writing a mystery story, you need to make sure your story is at least decipherable. I'm not saying it has to be simple, but it needs to have evidence to it, otherwise, the reader has no clue what's going on, and isn't pleasing to read. Leave some hints.
Some Mystery stories have different or weird perspectives for their book. Select writers use multiple perspectives as well, to add that extra confusion and mystery to their story. The perspective you choose has to be meaningful to the story, even if the character isn't prominent to the story.
Everyone assumes the mystery has to be solved. Your story can end in a mystery. Or end the story with a second mystery, as long as it makes sense. There is no law stating the mystery has to be solved. That would be saying that the couple has to end up together in a romance, which doesn't always happen. If you want to surprise your readers, end your mystery story in a mystery.
Finally. We have arrived at my favorite genre. Romance. Now still, I will be unbiased in my description of the genre, even though, personally I think it's flawless.
A common mistake in Romance writing is putting the two main love interests together too fast. Now I am guilty of this in the first story I have written, so I know it can be difficult, but think for a minute. people don't just become in love overnight. It takes time, and one of the biggest struggles in Romance writing is making moves happen too fast.
Everyone knows about the cliche bad-boy and good-girl romance. Sometimes, if well written, they can be appealing to read, but in most cases, relationships need to have some common ground. No relationship can survive if the two in it have nothing in common. Yes, when you write, technically you have the freedom to create your characters as you see fit, but that can be destructive and becomes more of a fantasy romance.
Don't get me wrong, lust can be useful in Romance stories, but some romances are all lust. Makeout scenes and more. Real relationships are made of more than that. The love interests need to have conversations, and they need to be vulnerable to each other. That doesn't mean they have to become soft for each other, but they need to be able to take down their hard exteriors and be themselves, like in reality.