Is it okay to add a genre in the latter part of a novel series?

[vny]

I'm currently in the progress of making an outline for a novel series of mine. It starts out with the main characters only being youngsters so of course I can only include fantasy/adventure but as they grow older in the latter books they'd have to slay their enemies and there'd be some bloody and slightly gory descriptions . . . so do I have to add like, maybe "thriller" in the genre labels? Or can I just make the whole series a "fantasy fiction"? I don't know. Please help me and give me advices!

 

[The Judge]

It looks to me as if you're writing YA, at least for now, and notwithstanding the battles and general slaying and gore that might come along, it remains fantasy all the way through. It certainly doesn't look to be a thriller at any stage, though, which is a wholly separate genre with different requirements.

But my advice is to stop worrying about genre at this point and just enjoy yourself writing the books, then see what you've got at the end of that process, and also what sub-genres of fantasy might be around at that time, since there are always new labels being affixed to fantasy!

Meanwhile, I'll move this over to Writing Discussion since it's a writing matter

And before I forget, Welcome to the Chrons!

 

[paranoid marvin]

As long as the progression in your story is a natural one it stays in the same genre of fantasy/adventure. As The Judge says, what you describe isn't 'thriller'.

From what you have described, it sounds like a similar progression to the 'Harry Potter' which, however dark and dangerous they got, never left the fantasy genre.

And I wish you well with your story.

 

[Astro Pen]

Hello and welcome to chrons

One reality you need to consider is that the public may well not buy your series in sequence. (Sorry, they are fickle). If they buy a random volume and decide they want more, probably then buying volume one as their second purchase, will they be happy if they find a substantial change of mode or texture?
Since you are at the outline phase you are not committed yet and have the thinking head room to consider whether this is a wise approach.

You are setting up a delicate balancing act between 'stand alone' stories and a progressing meta structure for the series.
Creating a cohesive series with major changes in values, say child to adolescent to adult is something I would, personally, avoid. Making it a one volume doorstop 6-800 pages might be a better option?

Others will express opinions and likely contradict me here, that is the nature of chrons discussions Cherry pick at will.

 

[BlueDragonSapphire]

I'm currently in the progress of making an outline for a novel series of mine. It starts out with the main characters only being youngsters so of course I can only include fantasy/adventure but as they grow older in the latter books they'd have to slay their enemies and there'd be some bloody and slightly gory descriptions . . . so do I have to add like, maybe "thriller" in the genre labels? Or can I just make the whole series a "fantasy fiction"? I don't know. Please help me and give me advices!

For right now since you're in the early stages of your story I would worry more about the details rather than the overall genre, write the story you want, and decipher the marketable specifics later.
I find it more restricting when we label the genres of our stories too early in the creation process, but for some people, I guess it helps them so I recommend you write down the genres you feel more comfortable including in your story and work from there.
There is no wrong or right way to tell a story, every writer's process is different so do whatever makes you feel more comfortable.
And to answer your question, include however many genres you want, like I said it's your story, I find it admirable to include different genres such as fantasy and thriller in the same book, it makes for a much more interesting read.
Good luck with your story and I hope this helps!

 

[Wayne Mack]

I do not think adding anything to the genre label is necessary and certainly not before the first book is even written. My expectation from the thriller label is that it means a style of ending each chapter with a cliffhanger and does not really say anything about the level of violence in the tales.

 

[Magic_Muscle]

I think most of the crew here is getting the point across honestly. I've always considered the notion of 'genre' to be a guideline at best. But stay true to your material, and unless you're trying to tap dance around a certain rating and avoid censorship (AKA reading level, children vs YA novel ect) I wouldn't sweat it.

Broadly, I'd say fantasy or fantasy adventure. Or YA fantasy. Simple isn't necessarily bad.

 

[vny]

It looks to me as if you're writing YA, at least for now, and notwithstanding the battles and general slaying and gore that might come along, it remains fantasy all the way through. It certainly doesn't look to be a thriller at any stage, though, which is a wholly separate genre with different requirements.

But my advice is to stop worrying about genre at this point and just enjoy yourself writing the books, then see what you've got at the end of that process, and also what sub-genres of fantasy might be around at that time, since there are always new labels being affixed to fantasy!

Meanwhile, I'll move this over to Writing Discussion since it's a writing matter

And before I forget, Welcome to the Chrons!

Thank you, this definitely helped! And i'm happy to be welcomed here. :>

 

[vny]

Hello and welcome to chrons

One reality you need to consider is that the public may well not buy your series in sequence. (Sorry, they are fickle). If they buy a random volume and decide they want more, probably then buying volume one as their second purchase, will they be happy if they find a substantial change of mode or texture?
Since you are at the outline phase you are not committed yet and have the thinking head room to consider whether this is a wise approach.

You are setting up a delicate balancing act between 'stand alone' stories and a progressing meta structure for the series.
Creating a cohesive series with major changes in values, say child to adolescent to adult is something I would, personally, avoid. Making it a one volume doorstop 6-800 pages might be a better option?

Others will express opinions and likely contradict me here, that is the nature of chrons discussions Cherry pick at will.

I see your point, thanks for this!

 

[vny]

Thank you for the advices, everyone! I'm truly appreciative. I feel welcomed here.

 

[Flaviosky]

After reading the comments and having revewed some kind of wise opinions about writing, I'd say you could have some caution in maintaining consistency through the development of the story by using raw (explicit) descriptions early in the novel so the bloody content doesn't come as a surprise in terms of narrative style.