Sometimes just hearing the types of genres and subgenres are enough to kickstart an idea for a story. Here is a list of the most common fiction genres and subgenres:

Fantasy
Animal stories
Knights and dragons
Toy stories
Alternate worlds
Heroic quest
Gothic and ghost stories
Fairy Tales
Fantasy creatures (Elves, dwarves, orcs, trolls, etc.)

Science Fiction
Artificial Intelligence / Brain transfer
Parallel universe
Time travel
Apocalyptic
Aliens
Biopunk / Biotechnology
Colonization / Distant world humans
Robots
Immortality, or very, very long life

Mystery
Cozy mystery
Police detective(s)
Hardboiled private investigator
How-done-it
Bumbling detective

Romance
Regency
Small town Christmas / Holidays
Historical
Comedy

Thriller and Suspense
Espionage
Military
Psychological
Mystery thriller
Conspiracy

Western
Gunfighters
Gunslingers
Defeat the evil leader
Mountain men
Lawmen
Growing up in the Wild West

Adventure
Swashbuckler
Disaster
Superhero
Sports
Survival

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If you’re trying to come up with a great story idea, starting with a genre or subgenre can give you a solid foundation. Think of genres like mystery, science fiction, fantasy, horror, historical fiction, or romance—they each come with built-in expectations that can help guide your story. And then there are subgenres, which narrow things down even further, like psychological thrillers, sci-fi robots, or western lawmen. These categories can spark ideas just by making you think about what kind of world you want to create.
Once you’ve picked a genre, start thinking about characters who naturally fit within it. In a detective story, for example, you’d typically have a brilliant but flawed investigator. In fantasy, you might have a hero on a quest. These character types exist for a reason—they work well with the kinds of conflicts that show up in those genres. But here’s where it gets interesting: sometimes the most exciting stories come from characters who don’t fit the expected mold. What if your detective is a teenager running an investigation at their high school instead of a seasoned cop? What if your fantasy hero is just a regular farmer who never wanted to go on a quest? Playing with expectations like this can make your story stand out.
Now, think about your character’s goal. Every good story has a character who wants something badly. That goal should make sense within the genre you chose. In horror, a character might just want to survive the night. In historical fiction, they might want to change society’s rules or uncover a long-lost secret. A great goal is something big enough to keep the story going, but personal enough to make the reader care.
Conflict is where everything really comes to life. Your genre helps shape the kind of obstacles your character faces. In a survival thriller, the conflict might be against nature—like trying to escape a sinking ship or survive in the wilderness. In a dystopian sci-fi story, it might be against an oppressive government. And sometimes, the best conflicts happen within the character themselves—do they have the strength to make the right choice, even when it costs them everything?
So, start by picking a genre, then brainstorm characters who either fit the norm or completely break expectations. Give them a goal that pushes them forward, and then throw in conflicts that challenge them at every turn. The more pressure you put on your character, the more exciting and engaging your story will be.