20 flavors in one lollipop. Doesn't work.

            There is a big difference between things that are something, and other things that share traits with the original.  This doesn’t exist in just literature as well.  Video games, though some people consider them forms of literature, have different genres as well.  You might see a First Person Shooter with Roleplaying elements, but that doesn’t mean that this First Person Shooter is a roleplaying game.  This is the distinction. 

            It is very important that people get these right because it is the only things that separate genres.  Sure they almost blur the line between them, but mixing too many flavors together takes away from both and glorifies neither.  More isn’t merrier.  Think of the added elements as a twist to an already existing form of literature.  It needs to support the main genre or themes within the story or novel, otherwise the reader will be confused.

            Now knowing this does have some effect on how I read things, and I think the need for rules and structures is what formed a lot of western literatures need to have to explain things.  When these twists happen it’s what allows us to see things differently, sometimes literally when they just show the same story but in someone else’s viewpoint.  There’s nothing wrong with this technique, but it can easily get out of hand.