I know its a fantasy, but ...

JustSarah

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Now that I've finished Valley To Nowhere, I'm not really sure what genre to really call it other than some barely fantasy fantasy thing.

It's set in an unspecified historical time, in a town that doesn't really exist. So in a way this lends it more to fantasy. Yet I don't have magic in quite the same way as how I might typically think of it with JRPGs I've played.

The emphasis is more on the symbolic nature of the setting, and various concepts in the story. I didn't mean it to turn out that way, it just sort of did.

The magic for example being like if the forest or valley were actually alive in nature, and had some sort of sinister purpose. This always seems to be the default if I'm not doing a lot of plotting.

It's like horror, but not horror in that it's intent is different.
 

Kerosene

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If it has fantastical elements, it's fantasy--or at the least, spec-fic.
You don't need magic, just something(s) that can't be explained with science.

Labeling it interstitial will limit marketability considerably.
 

Night_Writer

It's all symbolic.
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Paranormal and Supernatural seem to be used interchangeably a lot. There is a difference, but it's subtle. You could probably use Paranormal for your work. But since it involves forests and valleys, and has a clear "Nature" element, that's why I suggested Supernatural. Super-nature, as it were.

Yeah, the UFOs are definitely on the Paranormal side. :)
 

Night_Writer

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Super-nature is a term that I came up with myself, so you might not find it anywhere (but who knows?). It's a term I use to help me keep the word Supernatural in perspective.

A dead protagonist could be either Supernatural or Paranormal, depending on how the story is handled.

Probably doesn't make much difference in the end what label you use for that one. Sounds interesting, and I'd probably read it.
 

Latina Bunny

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I noticed you seemed to be confused about the genre of your work (works?) in a few threads. I am not sure if this is the same one as the one with fairies/goblins and magical laptops?

I think you may be overthinking this... If you looked through older threads in the sci-fi/fantasy section of A.W., You would find out there are many types of fantasy out there. :)

Also, there are threads that ask about what defines paranormal, etc, like this thread:

http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=213105

Based on the description you have given, it seems like it would be fantasy or, because of the symbolism, it could be magic realism. If you're worried about the historical aspect, then it could be historical fantasy. (That is, if it has historical aspects recognizable to history of our Earth.) If it has scifi elements, then it could be argued to be science fantasy?

If all else fails, it's at least spec-fic...

Either way, if it has fantasy elements, then it would be shelved into the sci-fi/ fantasy /spec-fic section. If it's literary, it could be put into the general fiction/literary/mainstream section.
 
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JustSarah

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Thanks, I guess I'll see where it goes after revision.

I was initially thinking of in between historical fantasy and magic realism (though I wouldn't call it literary -- but that could just be my problem). Then throwing electronic readers in one of the shorts, threw the whole thing out of balance.XD
 

Pking

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Now that I've finished Valley To Nowhere, I'm not really sure what genre to really call it other than some barely fantasy fantasy thing.

It's set in an unspecified historical time, in a town that doesn't really exist. So in a way this lends it more to fantasy.

The emphasis is more on the symbolic nature of the setting, and various concepts in the story. I didn't mean it to turn out that way, it just sort of did.

I recognize this in my own story. I'd characterize it as mythological. Mythology presents an image of the world (symbolic) in which we try to make sense of it. The stories and drama that unfolds are there to strengthen this image of the world. So maybe mythological fantasy? I don't know for sure myself what to call it.
 
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