In literary context, the terms “audience” and “genre” are closely linked with one another. When we speak of one term, we often indirectly mention the other. For example, if we say we are writing for the audience of teenage, high-school boys, most of the time, our works will fall into the genres of epics, novels, and short stories. While it is not always so, we tend to group the two terms into their individual categories subconsciously.
Similarly, when we mention a certain “genre,” we also hint at a certain intended audience. Using the same example of the high-school boys, when we mention the “genre” of Classical works (such as The Great Gatsby, Catcher in the Rye, etc.) and/or genre of science-fiction novels, our minds automatically seem to group those stories with the audience of high-schoolers. If we mention the genre of letters or reviews, we automatically come up with a different type of “audience” in our heads.
I think “audience” and “genre” are tied together more subconsciously than we think, and as a result, influence our writing. Such stories that can be considered “cliche” are often a result of this phenomenon, as many writers “think” that a certain genre has to be written in a certain way in order to please the intended audience. With that in mind, I believe we should never be afraid to take risks in writing, as doing so will be more likely to result in an eye-catching piece.
While you are talking about literary genres (e.g. science fiction) and forms (epics, novels, etc.), for this class I would like you to focus more on writing genres (reviews, blog posts, research papers). Also be aware of certain assumptions; I think you are right in suggesting that people usually associate science fiction with young males, for example, that is an assumption which does not always hold true. (For example, I read and study science fiction in grad school!)
ReplyDeleteYour analysis in the second paragraph better fits this free-write assignment, especially when you write that "many writers 'think' that a certain genre has to be written in a certain way in order to please the intended audience," and that this assumption often leads to cliched writing. I definitely want you all to experiment with non-conventional writing (but of course, you must understand the conventions before you can break them)!
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