Mixing Genres
It’s More Than Just Slipstream
In a magazine called SF Eye (1989, issue 5), Cyberpunk author Bruce Sterling coined this term for fiction that blended science fiction, fantasy, and literary fiction, slipstream. In his words:
“ … this is a kind of writing which simply makes you feel very strange; the way that living in the twentieth century makes you feel, if you are a person of a certain sensibility.”
As a genre it’s supposed to make its readers feel a bit uncomfortable with its juxtaposition of elements. By mixing elements, it has become a genre unto itself, a darker form, even more unusual than magic realism.
More important: it isn’t the only mixed genre in existence. Some make very interesting stories.
TV and movies have great examples. It’s been years, and the writing quality is a big reason for its popularity, but Firefly mixed SF and western genres to interesting effect.
There are other mixes that happened already and well: almost anything works with YA (except erotica. That’s wrong, and sick. Don’t do it). The Hunger Games and Divergent series both showed that YA and Dystopian science fiction work well together.
Both the Percy Jackson and (no surprise) Harry Potter series showed that YA and fantasy work well together.
The Dresden Files has shown a great blend of paranormal fantasy and detective fiction — although the series seems to have veered away from the police stuff.
If I made a list of mixed genres, it would be pointless. I’ll cite an example or two, but all available would be impossible.
The mixture makes for interesting reading because of the differences caused by mixing the rules of different genres. For example, the mixture of police procedures with the supernatural in the Harry Dresden novels.
Call to Action
Mash at least 2 genres together in a story or novel (if you’re ambitious). Compare and contrast the rules of the genres in your writing.
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