This week: Generic Genres Edited by: Jayngle Bells  
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| We're taking a quick break from our Spotlight series to discuss some of the ins and outs of The Quill Awards. You might be surprised to find the information is helpful to more than just The Quills! |
When you create an item on WdC, you get to select the genre you're writing in.
You get to select up to three genres, actually.
But you probably don't.
Why not?
The most common reason I hear is, “because the item I wrote is X genre”. While that may be true, ask yourself if it appeals to a wider audience. Is your horror piece also ‘dark’? Maybe your ‘thriller’ piece focuses on some ‘psychology’ aspect? Could your ‘romance’ piece also be about a ‘relationship’? No one is suggesting you be disingenuous with your genre selections. This is about casting a wider, but still relevant, net.
After all, isn’t the point of putting your work out there to get it read? People often search by genre for things to read. A random read may hinge on how an item’s classified. The classification that gets eyeballs on your work might land you a rating, review, email, merit badge, Awardicon, or even a Quill nomination.
One question we frequently receive concerns why some people have so many nominations.
Well...they don’t. They may have several category nominations (short story, long poem, short poem, flash fiction, etc.), and that often happens for prolific writers who present their work in a variety of ways (newsfeed, contest entries, blog links, searchable items). But remember, everyone is limited to two such entries in any category.
So why are those same items seen over and over?
GENRE SELECTION.
If you select three relevant genres that fall under Quill criteria, you automatically give yourself up to three extra categories to compete in.
Let’s take a fictional flash fiction prompt about a baker with a top-notch pie recipe who is also secret agent. I’m calling mine Apple Spy. You’re welcome.
Multiple authors may write completely unique pieces based on the scenario above. One may write a serious spy thriller where the pie thing is only a passing joke about their first assignment. Another may write a cosy mystery. A third author writes a story similar to the first author. I write Apple Spy. Someone nominates all four of us for a Flash Fiction Quill.
The first author picks “Thriller” as a genre, and nothing else. This means they’ll be eligible for awards in the overall Flash Fiction category, and the Thriller category. Two chances to win! But they missed out on two more chances!
The second author picks “Mystery”, “Comedy”, and “Other”. They’ll be eligible for awards in the Flash Fiction category, Mystery category, AND Comedy category. Three chances to win! They still missed out on one chance, though.
The third author picks “Thriller”. The piece has dark humour running through it, so they also select “comedy”. There’s also a strong romance subplot, so they choose “romance” as their third genre. They qualify for Flash Fiction, Thriller, Comedy, AND Romance. FOUR CHANCES!
I’m being lazy, or I’m in a rush (deadlines aren’t really my thing) and I click “other”. I never go back and consider who my audience is. At Quill time, I get one chance. Flash Fiction. That’s it.
Again, this is not about randomly assigning genres to pad your chances. In the community, no member likes to be duped into reading a piece labelled “romance” if there’s no significant romance component. This is about carefully choosing who your target readers are and what aspects of your pieces might overlap.
Sometimes you may really only have one genre. But don’t pick a genre and run because it’s less time-consuming. You’re doing yourself a disservice in getting eyes on your work, and should you receive a Quill nomination, you’re essentially declining the opportunity to be considered for the genre categories.
As of 2025, the Quills groups genres into genre classes. They are:
Best Action
Includes: Action/Adventure, War, Western
Best Arts / Entertainment
Includes: Arts, Entertainment, Fashion, Hobby/Craft, Music
Best Comedy
Includes: Comedy, Satire
Best Current Affairs
Includes: News, Politics
Best Cultural
Includes: Community, Cultural, Food/Cooking, Foreign, Holiday, Home/Garden, Regional, Sports, Travel
Best Drama
Includes: Drama, Gothic, Melodrama, Tragedy
Best Educational / Academic
Includes: Educational, History, Philosophy, Psychology, Reference, Research
Best Horror / Dark
Includes: Dark, Death, Horror/Scary
Best Identity / Relationship
Includes: LGBTQ+, Family, Friendship, Genealogy, Men's, Parenting, Relationship, Women's
Best Inspirational / Spiritual
Includes: Inspirational, Religious, Spiritual
Best Mythology / Legend
Includes: Folklore, Mythology
Best Mystery / Crime
Includes: Crime/Gangster, Detective, Mystery, Thriller/Suspense
Best Nature / Animals / Health
Includes: Animal, Environmental, Health, Nature, Pets
Best Personal
Includes: Biographical, Emotional, Experience, Nonsense, Opinion, Personal, Tribute
Best Professional / Technology
Includes: Business, Career, Computers, Finance, Internet/Web, Legal, Medical, Military, Scientific, Technology, Transportation
Best Romance / Erotica
Includes: Adult, Erotica, Romance/Love
Best Advice / Self Help
Includes: How-To/Advice, Self Help
Best Speculative Fiction
Includes: Fanfiction, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Steampunk
Best Supernatural
Includes: Ghost, Occult, Paranormal, Supernatural
Best Youth
Includes: Children's, Teen, Young Adult
There are still plenty of opportunities to expand your genre selection, and the new structure minimizes orphan entries/low entries (which wouldn't be awarded due to lack of nominees). That's why it's still important to select all three genres when you can!
For reference, here's the genres the Quills do not use as the three genre selections:
Activity*
Contest*
Contest Entry
Other
Personal
Reviewing*
Writing
Writing.com
As of 2026, "Community Awards" are no longer eligible for genre categories. This includes, but is not limited to: activities, contests, forums, fundraisers, and groups.
I hope to see you and your three genres in The Quills!
*Activities and contests have their own categories and should be properly identified through their genres. There is also a standalone award for best reviewing.
This newsletter was written in 2021 and updated in 2023 and 2025. |
Check out all things Quill here:
| | The Quill Book (E)
Current rules, past winners and nominees, and historical items.
#2265257 by Jeff  |
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| If you have questions about the Quills, please email Jeff or Jayngle Bells . Don't be shy! If you're wondering about something - someone else probably is, too! |
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Contests & Activities: May 26, 2021 Issue [#10786]
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