Genre Familiarization Activity - SWC

Instructions

Hi! :D So, if you're here, chances are you're a part of SWC and your leader sent you here! :D Or you might have just stumbled across my profile or want to do this for fun, which works too! XD So, this is basically an activity you can do to get familiar with a variety of genres and so you can practice thinking outside the box with plot ideas! Now, for how this works: 1. First, you click the green flag of course! 2. You will see a list of levels of difficulty. These are "Easy," "Medium," and "Hard." These correspond with 3, 4, and 5 genres respectively. Click whichever level you want to try. 3. Click or use the spacebar to spin the spinner the specified number of times. You should see a genre flash across the screen after you spin it each time. You might also see a "Spin Again" message. If you see that, you have to spin an extra time because the spinner landed on a genre already selected in a previous spin. 4. You will see a list of genres as "your challenge." Now, you must write something incorporating all of these genres to complete your challenge. You may use the full genre or just a few key elements of it. Just be creative! Now, you might not know some of these genres, in which case, here are a few descriptions and ideas you can use to include them in your writing: Adventure: Adventure is a genre that includes danger and excitement. Perhaps the broadest of all the genres, this genre can be incorporated in almost any plot where there is a journey the protagonist goes on or where the protagonist faces dangerous obstacles. Contemporary: Contemporary, a lesser-known genre, focuses on realistic situations that could occur right now. It is very similar to realistic fiction, but all contemporary stories take place around the same time they were written. Some ideas to incorporate this genre in your writing include to set your story in the present, incorporate modern elements or themes, or basing your story off of something you or one of your peers could experience. Dystopian: Dystopian is a genre that focuses on a less-than-perfect world, usually in the future. Perhaps, you could write about a society in ruins or controlled by tyrannical ruler or organization. To include this genre in your writing, just write about a society you would not want to live in. Your story can take place at any time, although it usually will take place in the future, as long as there is some element that makes the world a relative worst-case scenario. Fairy Tales: Fairy tales are the classic stories you read/watched/heard as a child. With whimsical themes and magical characters, fairy tales are stories young kids often enjoy. Try to include some of the characters from your childhood favorites in your story, or perhaps, try to write your own fairy tale from scratch! Fanfiction/Fan-Fi: Fanfiction is an unusual genre in that it essentially centers around using other people's ideas. Use a world created by someone else or characters from a pre-existing fictional universe in your own story. Perhaps add a plot twist where the hero and villain swap places, or write from a different perspective, or anything you could think of that would change the original story into something of your own! Maybe mix and match characters and the setting? The possibilities are relatively endless, as long as you keep the characters and/or setting created by another author. Fantasy: With fantasy, let your imagination run wild! After all, in a world with magic, there's nothing that can't happen! With magical characters or a magical setting, as long as there is magic, it is fantasy! Historical Fiction/Hi-Fi: Historical fiction takes place at a time in history. Think of a dramatic event in the past and place your characters in the middle of it. Though, you might need to research a few things to maintain historical accuracy in your story, but feel free to make up characters and events within the story that might not have actually existed/happened! Horror: If you like scaring people on Halloween, this is probably your favorite genre ever! Every scary movie or book is horror. Perhaps there is a serial killer on the loose, a strange series of disappearances, ghostly encounters, or deadly monsters. As long as you can scare your reader, it is a horror story! Though, just make sure that if you share it on Scratch, it isn't too scary or otherwise, you could get in trouble! Mystery: I could leave this blank and make the description of the mystery genre itself a mystery, but I chose not to for simplicity. But in a mystery, there is something to be discovered. Often, a crime was just committed and the culprit must be identified, but as long as there is something to be revealed through careful analysis of clues, it is a mystery story!