There's Sci Fi and Fantasy, but what is just down to earth plausible fiction called? Is it just Genre fiction? And I'm not talking about literary movements like "realism" or "romanticism" etc, just the class of fiction that takes place in our realm of reality.
Unless it's a true story or heavily factual, it's "fiction." Sci fi and fantasy are genres which fall under fiction. There are many other genres, such as crime drama, mystery, romance, horror, etc. A work can also be multiple genres, such as a sci fi crime drama, or a fantasy romance. So, to answer your question, there's no single name for "plain ol' fiction." There are genres other than fantasy and sci fi, you know. Personally, I've always had issues with people calling things "fantasy" or "sci fi" alone. "Fantasy" just means there is a fantastical element in the story (i.e. magical abilities or supernatural creatures). "Science fiction" just means the story involves some form of scientific feature which shapes the story (i.e. space travel or AI). Neither of these terms says anything at all about the story's actual narrative, other than "it has ____ in it." "Romance" tells us what the story is about: love. "Horror" tells us what the story is about: psychological trauma. "Mystery," "crime drama," etc all tell us what the story is about, while "fantasy" and "sci fi" don't. Twilight is considered "fantasy" but is it about vampires? No, it's about teenage love. It's a "fantasy romance." Is Star Wars about space travel and the Force? No, it's about an intergalactic war, Luke's coming of age, and all kinds of stuff. It's a "fantasy epic" or a "fantasy bildungsroman." Just calling it "sci fi" doesn't tell us anything other than "hey, it has spaceships and robots in it." Sorry to stray slightly off topic, but I really had to air my feelings on that. Those two terms ("fantasy" and "sci fi") are so freakishly broad. It really bugs me when I see all fantasy novels lumped together and all sci fi works lumped together, without some form of additional categorization. They are not all about the same thing. /rant
Right. Well, my point was I'm writing a humor piece on how to distinguish fantastical stories from realistic stories. What terms would you recommend for labeling the two different groups? Just fantasy and fiction? I realize you just explained how you hate those generalities, but for the purpose of my article, generalities are what I'm looking for.
Most good fantasy is fairly realistic... it just operates in a reality different from our own. But I think you already ackowleged that. Semantics aside, I see what you're getting at. I think you just answered your own question: call one type "fantastical stories" and the other "realistic stories." Without more information, I can't think of anything more fitting.
My smartass response would be: However, I have seen literature that doesn't fit into a set genre referred to as "literary fiction." However, I have also seen that term used in a more restrictive sense for fiction that is written in a higher level of style. You could also refer to it as genre-crossing fiction, but then you will probably be pressed/expected to identify what genres are being blended. You could also call it generic fiction. If it's a humorous piece, maybe you could call it "Brand X" or "store brand" fiction.
I would most likely classify it as "general fiction" or just "fiction." That's how it's classified on a lot of websites that sell books.
