Quiz: What Genre of Story Should I Write?

If you’re confused on what kind of story you should write next, look no farther! This article is a detailed guide in ten questions that will supercharge your next writing project and give you a head start on your next published novel! (Plus…it’s fun to answer these kinds of quizzes)

I only ask two things of you as you take the following (hopefully entertaining) quiz: one, please keep both ears open to the call of creativity. If I end up giving you any ideas on how to start new stories or even to bolster existing ones, drop the quiz the moment you get it and race off to write. Reading articles about writing is a poor excuse for actually firing up Google Docs (but you should still read our stuff).

Secondly, you are in no way married to this quiz. Don’t worry: I’m not cursing you with chains of honor and upright dealing that will cause you to get run over with a cement mixer if you don’t start the story that I recommend that you did. This golden rule trumps whatever I tell you in this quiz: above all, write whatever story you want to write.

Without further ado, let’s get into it!

#1: If you had to pick between the options below to make a college major out of, which one would you?
A: History
B: Creative Writing
C: Engineering
D: Other

#2: Suppose an architect friend of yours offers to build you your dream house, free of charge. What specifications are you going to give him?
A: You want it plain and simple, but pragmatic and useful
B: You want it to be a stone castle with impressive ramparts and battlements
C: You want it to be decked out with the latest and greatest innovations in architecture, fashioning the house to be as high-tech as possible
D: You would prefer a house that was nice but had a lot of alternative exit points and didn’t stand out to passing vehicles

#3: What kind of books did you prefer to read when you were young?
A: The sensible kind, filled with normal characters and normal adventures
B: Fairy tales, or any other kind of literature with magic involved
C: Something involving space and travel therein
D: Tales of mystery and suspense

#4: In which way are you the most likely to respond to a difficult problem in your life?
A: Keep a cool head and think about what to do next
B: Go talk to the wise old man next door
C: Hop on a computer or grab a book and do research on how to fix the problem
D: Get on your deerstalker hat and start investigating people

#5: Besides writing (obviously) what hobbies do you have?
A: Chatting with friends in person or over the internet
B: Just writing (Translation: I have no life)
C: Some pastime involving critical thought or problem-solving skills
D: Reading conspiracy theories and Eureka-ing over them

#6: Since you were a kid, which of the following proficiencies describe you the best?
A: I was extroverted and talkative
B: I was dreamy and quiet
C: I was nerdy and loved incredibly niched things no one else did
D: I was inclusive, secret, and mysterious

#7: You find yourself in great peril, but a wish for whatever weapon you choose is granted to you. Choose your weapon.
A: A handgun
B: A magic sword
C: A laser weapon
D: The right knowledge at the right time

#8: You visit the mystic pet store with a free-pet ticket that you got from a newspaper clipping. Which pet are you going for?
A: A simple dog or cat
B: A baby dragon or manticore
C: An intelligent supercomputer that tells witty jokes
D: A parrot that tells the future

#9: Someone (evil) smashes your computer and you have to write everything on paper. What will you do?
A: Get a pen or No. 2 pencil
B: Purchase the finest feathered quill money can buy
C: Get to work on fixing your computer
D: Don your deerstalker hat once more and hunt down the miscreant

#10: Once you get out of this quiz, which of the following are you most likely to do?
A: Keep reading
B: Run off and grab something to eat
C: Get back to work
D: Immediately theorize about what I’m going to suggest based on your answers without looking at my suggestions

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Record your answers. The results are explained below:

Based on the percentage of what answers were which letter, that will be what your story primarily is. The other percentages that follow close behind can be influences of sub-genres of the main one. I’ll give examples below, but not before I give the genres of the corresponding letters.

If you answered mostly “A”, then your next book will be Contemporary Realistic Fiction! You delight in the simple and ordinary, and you see a uncommon beauty in the everyday–a beauty that could easily be immortalized in a book.

If you answered mostly “B”, then the world of dragons and elves beckons! Your genre is Fantasy. You are rapt in interested attention in many books, but especially the works of fantastic superworldliness.

If you answered mostly “C”, you are (probably) interested in the ever-expanding world of Science Fiction. Theories about what might happen if humanity pushed themselves farther in the realm of science crowd into your mind as you dream of the future.

If you answered mostly “D, I hope your deerstalker hat is still on (did you look that up yet?), because the game’s afoot! Your genre is Mystery. Both in real life and in the books you read and write, you don’t stop until you’ve gotten to the bottom of life’s mysteries.

If you’re looking for a sub-genre, take the second most answers that you chose and use that. If you want to go even deeper, take the next most after that, and so on and so forth. You could come up with some really interesting combos, like sci-fi mystery or CRF and fantasy.

Good luck, and happy writing!

Be sure to check out my latest novel, Book 1 in the Praetors of Lost Magic Series, and our Publications page. Until then, writers!