Genre Brochure Project

Classroom Project: Genre Brochure

• Find a partner or work alone. Together, agree upon and choose one of the writing markets (choose one bolded category--use your article "The Genre Wars" to help you create the material for your brochure--the material or answers for your brochure can be found in that handout!):
• Historical fiction: romance, detective thriller, adventure, family saga, drama, multi-volume, African-American/urban
• Romance: paranormal, historical, regency, horror/gothic, LGBT, inspirational, contemporary, African-American/urban
• Mysteries and Thrillers: detectives, cozy, Christian, noir, forensic, police procedural, courtroom/legal, LGBT, historical, thriller, ghost story/paranormal, horror, spy, action
• Science Fiction: soft, hard, apocalypse, cyberpunk, feminist, comic/humor, first contact, colonization, military, time travel, steampunk, space opera, dystopian, speculative
• Fantasy: heroic, Arthurian, dark, urban, alternate history, RPG, high, science fantasy, speculative, magical-realism, fable
• Autobiography & Memoir: bootstrap, political, family, celebrity, travel, survival, extraordinary lives, confession/conversion, spiritual memoir, writer's memoir, new journalism
• Humor/Comedy/Satire: any of the above; humor often parodies other writing styles or genres; jokes, memoir, non-fiction, etc. are popular forms.
• Children's/Young Adult: any of the above, usually with more fantasy or realist elements 
• New Journalism: memoirs, science, travel, history, writing about writing, creative non-fiction, etc.
• Choose one of the genres in bold above--check the subcategories so that you know what you're getting into--more details can be found in the article you should have read as homework... (The Genre Wars)
• Together, you will be expected to create a brochure for your chosen genre to promote the genre to a fantasist, realist, or pragmatist reader (see last class's post for details!)
• Take a look at the questions bulleted below. You will want to be able to answer these questions in your brochure.
• In a Microsoft Word Doc, from the FILE menu, please select New From Template.
• Choose BROCHURE as a template. Select the one you like. Create only a 6-panel brochure (not an 8-panel one or half page). TIP: if you write 3 panels, your partner can write the other 3 panels...
• Create a brochure about your chosen genre by following the steps below. Be creative. Play around with the design and how you present the information in a clear and creative way. Avoid white space and consider what looks good from a design standpoint. You may use graphics and lists to provide answers to these questions:

1. Describe this genre. What is it?
2. Who is the target reader (a fantasist, a realist, a pragmatist, or what combination?)
3. What are some expectations a reader of this genre might expect?
4. What are some categories of this genre? AND what are the expectations a reader might expect from this genre?
5. Examples of some popular or famous books or films that fit this genre; and/or examples of authors who write in this type of genre.

As a general guideline:

Page 1: Panel 1 (most left = inside flap); Panel 2 (center = back panel of brochure); Panel 3 (title. Please include your name(s))
Page 2: Panel 1 (inside flap); Panel 2 (inside center); Panel 3 (other flap)

Panel 3 (page 1): Title & Name with picture representing your genre.
Panel 2 (page 1): List of resources, citations, or where a reader can find more information if interested.
Panels 1 (page 1) & Panel 3, (page 2): Lists of various sub genres; examples of the style or popular books/films/authors, etc. that fit the genre
Panels: 2 & 3 (page 2): expectations of a reader; samples of work/examples of the form; identification of the target reader; a more detailed explanation as to what the genre is...

See my model as an example.

NOTE: Brochures should not have too much text--they should use graphics and pictures to get information across. Big concepts (like subgenres) can be listed, as opposed to painstakingly explained. Write your notes in your journal (double dipping!) and organize your notes to select only the most important information about your chosen genre in the brochure!

Finally, before you leave today, please complete your brochure design. If you finish early (before the end of class) work on your homework please.

HOMEWORK: Read "The Tell Tale Heart" and answer the circled questions. Write a passage/story using mood/tone (mood or tone can be horror or some other emotion like comedy/humor or mystery, etc.). See circled questions in the handout you received in class today. ?'s are due next class (Monday).