Genre and speculative fiction

This chapter is all about writing genre fiction. In that statement lies our first problem: genres are often defined by what is common, reused or similar; creative writing is often defined as the pursuit of originality, especially when being conceived, theorised and taught in tertiary institutions. Generic expectations are often viewed as 'a constraint on textual energy'I and this perspective can act as a disincentive to write in genres. I argue here for a recognition of the pleasures and possibilities of genre and offer you some ways to approach the creation and composition of texts within one of the most widely read genres: speculative fiction. [extract