More and more producers are seeking genre-specific screenplays, like a horror with no comedic relief or perhaps an action or action/adventure that doesn’t try to be a suspense thriller.

Roughly seven out of ten scripts submitted to the Extreme Screenwriting Competition in 2008 listed the wrong genre!

If the readers starts out thinking that they're reading a "Suspense Thriller" and then realize that it’s a "Crime Drama" or if the screenwriter indicated that the genre is "RomCom", but the script reads like a straightforward "Comedy" it will make that reader wonder hw you, the screenwriter, could have written an entire script without knowing the genre! 

 
Without fully understanding how a specific genre works, the screenwriter greatly reduces the chance of a sale!  Why? Because genres have rules! If a "RomCom" doesn’t have a big kiss scene near the end, then why would a producer buy it? If a "Suspense Thriller" does not establish red herrings, then how can a producer sell it to an audience who love a good mystery and expect to be misled?
 

• What is the difference between a "RomCom" and a "Comedy?"
• How does a "Suspense Thriller" differ from a "Crime Drama" or a "Mystery?"
• When is a story a "Supernatural Thriller" and when is it a "Horror?"
• When is an "Action/Adventure" really just an "Action" flick?
• When does a story become a "Satire?

Here are a few recognizable patterns to help you discern which genre your story is:
 
SUSPENSE THRILLER - Usually involves a crime-related mystery with a “Who did and why?” question attached. To sell, this genre should be written with a double twist ending!
 
CRIME DRAMA - Unlike the Suspense Thriller, we know who did it and we know why. We’re just waiting for the good guys to figure it out and catch the bad guys. 
 
MYSTERY - Unlike the Suspense Thriller or Crime Drama, Mystery doesn’t usually involve a crime component, but does pose a question that drives the story.
 
SUPERNATURAL THRILLER - It’s a horror with a strong mystery attached. 
 
HORROR - No real mystery. We know the perpetrator is a vampire, werewolf, witch, demon, etc. To sell this genre, the threat should remain in the end.
 
ROMCOM - Story focuses on whether two love interests will get together against all odds. To sell, this genre requires specific rules be met, like a big kiss scene at the end.  
 
COMEDY - Story doesn’t center around a romance and is chalked full of punch-lines, misinterpretation and fun!
 
ACTION/ADVENTURE - Story takes us to a place we’ve only dreamed of going before. It travels to the exotic and the unknown.
 
ACTION - It doesn’t travel like the Action/Adventure, but holds us spellbound with non-stop shoot ‘em up, bang-bang moments!
 
SATIRE - Pokes fun at a person, place, or thing by blowing it out of proportion. To sell, satires tend to be stories surrounding social or political issues. 
 
The list provided above is a generalization of the genres. To fully grasp a specific genre, watch as many movies as possible in that genre, note patterns and begin to formulate your story based on those patterns and you’ll find that you have a genre-specific script that’ll beat the pants off the competition since seven out of ten scripts tend to either lack an understanding of how a specific genre works or they tend to mix the genres.

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