#AtoZChallenge: Genres–sUbterranean Fiction

The A to Z Challenge asks bloggers to post 26 articles on a themed topic. It’s supposed to be every day except Sundays during the month of April but I found that way to busy and decided to post mine ‘about’ once a month. Yes, it’ll take me a couple of years. Sigh.

My topic, like the last two times I did the conventional approach, is writing genres.

This genre:

sUbterranean Fiction

Definition

a subgenre of adventure fiction or science fiction and focuses on fictional underground settings,   

Tips

1. Because this genre is influenced by the Hollow Earth concepts, incorporate those into the story.
2. Focus on life either at the center of the Earth or well below the surface.
3. These are first, adventure stories. It just so happens that the setting is well beneath the planet’s surface.
4. The science should be accurate and where it differs from reality must be believable enough to satisfy readers. This genre isn’t fantasy.
5. Because this genre is fiction about science, incorporate that often and in detail. Readers will look for that.
6. Because of #4 and #5, spend sufficient time researching what you’re writing. If you don’t like research, this isn’t your genre.
7. The plot should be fast and prominent.

Popular Books

1. Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne
2. Orpheus in the Underworld by Jacques Offenbach (a book but originally an opera)
3. Divine Comedy–Dante’s poem, Inferno
4. Subterranean by James Rollins
5. The Lightning Stones by Jack DuBrul
6. The City of Ember by Jean DuPrau
7. At Earth’s Core by Edgar Rice Burroughs
8. Tam, Son of the Tiger by Otis Adelbert Kline
9. Indiana Jones and the Hollow Earth by Max McCoy

Click for complete list of these 26 genres

Click for a complete list of all genres I’ve written about

More U Genres:

• Upmarket
• Urban Fantasy

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Jacqui Murray is the author of the popular Building a Midshipman, the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy, the Man vs. Nature saga, and the Rowe-Delamagente thrillers. She is also the author/editor of over a hundred books on integrating tech into education, adjunct professor of technology in education, blog webmaster, an Amazon Vine Voice,  a columnist for NEA Today, and a freelance journalist on tech ed topics. Look for her next prehistoric fiction, Laws of Nature Fall 2021. You can find her tech ed books at her publisher’s website, Structured Learning