3
How to Develop a Marketable Story
Genres and Themes
The following are the main genres in feature films: comedy, drama, thriller, romantic comedy, action-adventure, black comedy, science fiction, romance, horror, war, children's, Western, animated, fantasy, and musical.
In all film premises, try to keep the genre consistent. Comedies are comic, dramas are dramatic, thrillers keep you in suspense, and animation provides fantasy worlds. An early analysis can help you keep a better handle on the focus of the story. If a story was meant to be dramatic but comic elements come into play, then the plot might be enriched by that interweaving of genres; however, if comedy dominates, or a subplot becomes a main plot, then a different story is in the ...
Get Television and Screen Writing, 4th Edition now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
