Of the dozen categories of fiction writing, the below descriptions are the most up-to-date definitions.  Sometimes knowing what others call what you are doing, helps.  Good writing.

Drama – stories composed in verse or prose, usually for theatrical performance, where conflicts and emotion are expressed through dialogue and action

Classic – fiction that has become part of an accepted literary canon, widely taught in schools

Comic/Graphic Novel – scripted fiction told visually in artist drawn pictures, usually in panels and speech bubbles

Crime/Detective – fiction about a committed crime, how the criminal gets caught, and the repercussions of the crime

Fable – narration demonstrating a useful truth, especially in which animals speak as humans; legendary, supernatural tale

Fairy tale – story about fairies or other magical creatures, usually for children

Fanfiction – fiction written by a fan of, and featuring characters from, a particular TV series, movie, etc.

Fantasy – fiction with strange or otherworldly settings or characters; fiction which invites suspension of reality

Fiction narrative – literary works whose content is produced by the imagination and is not necessarily based on fact

Fiction in verse – full-length novels with plot, subplot(s), theme(s), major and minor characters, in which the narrative is presented in verse form (usually free verse)

Folklore – the songs, stories, myths, and proverbs of a people or “folk” as handed down by word of mouth

Historical fiction – story with fictional characters and events in a historical setting

Horror – fiction in which events evoke a feeling of dread and sometimes fear in both the characters and the reader

Humor – Usually a fiction full of fun, fancy, and excitement, meant to entertain and sometimes cause intended laughter; but can be contained in all genres

Legend – story, sometimes of a national or folk hero, that has a basis in fact but also includes imaginative material

Magical Realism – story where magical or unreal elements play a natural part in an otherwise realistic environment

Metafiction – also known as romantic irony in the context of Romantic works of literature, uses self-reference to draw attention to itself as a work of art, while exposing the “truth” of a story

Mystery – this is fiction dealing with the solution of a crime or the unraveling of secrets

Mythology – legend or traditional narrative, often based in part on historical events, that reveals human behavior and natural phenomena by its symbolism; often pertaining to the actions of the gods

Mythopoeia – this is fiction where characters from religious mythology,traditional myths, folklores and history are recast into a re-imagined realm created by the author.

Realistic fiction – story that is true to life

Science fiction – story based on impact of actual, imagined, or potential science, usually set in the future or on other planets

Short story – fiction of such brevity that it supports no subplots

Suspense/Thriller – fiction about harm about to befall a person or group and the attempts made to evade the harm

Tall tale – humorous story with blatant exaggerations, swaggering heroes who do the impossible with nonchalance

Western – set in the American Old West frontier and typically set in the late eighteenth to late nineteenth century

So what is your favorite?  And to paraphrase a commercial – “What’s in your notebook (or laptop)?”