trying new things

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gettingby

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My short stories are usually of a dark humor nature. This seems to work for me. I usually write in first person, and people tell me I nail the voice. I am usually a minimalist writer which has proven effective for pacing and tone.

But do you ever try to do the opposite of what you usually do? I'm trying it now. Dark dark. Third person. Longer sentences or more of a mix. I'm not to sure how I feel about the piece. Let's just call it ambitious for now.

I am wondering how often you writers attempt to try things that are outside your comfort zone while still in the realm of literary fiction. Do you stick with what works for you? Or does that get boring? Do you try new things? How long do you try new things before you know if writing a different kind of story is something you can pull off?

I don't want to write fiction other than literary, but there are still a lot of options for us literary writers. How would you describe the way you usually write and what new things are you trying?
 

Neegh

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I write in whatever POV, style, or genre that the story wants to be told in. Writing is not very comfortable for me.
 

Lillith1991

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Oh, I like this topic. Consider me thoroughly jealous I didn't come up with it. :D

I tend to write in 3rd, sometimes omni no matter the style or genre. But sometimes I write in first, if it feels like it fits the story. I also tend to naturally vary my sentence structur to depend on the POV character. If they would be more likely to use shorter sentences, even in 3rd, then so will I in order to convey their voice properly.

Not Lit or Contemporary, but I wrote a historically set Gothic Horror novella about a the origin of a vampire. And I learned that I can most certainly write at a decent for me clip if I want to, I can most certainly write in first, and historical settings are immensely fun for me.

My niche is dark of any sort, but a contemp/Lit short I recently did is lighter. There's clear conflict and potential to end badly, but it ends on a lighter note unlike a lot of my stuff. Shorts and I suspect novellas are my main method of trying out something new instead of something novel length. I would just be heartbroken if a novel in a new to me technique didn't work, but less so with shorter forms. I can rewrite a novella draft done in the wrong character view point, POV, genre etc. in a month. And shorts can be completely redone in a week if an innitial draft is some way wrong for the story. As for things getting boring, I don't think they do anymore than someone who likes to write Horror gets bord with that. Curiousity? I do get curious, hence my completely realistic short when I tends towards Speculative Fiction. I still prefer to write mostly Speculative Fiction, hopefully Literary Speculative Fiction, but now I have something else I can write and enjoy writing just as much.
 
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gettingby

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Oh, I like this topic. Consider me thoroughly jealous I didn't come up with it. :D

I tend to write in 3rd, sometimes omni no matter the style or genre. But sometimes I write in first, if it feels like it fits the story. I also tend to naturally vary my sentence structur to depend on the POV character. If they would be more likely to use shorter sentences, even in 3rd, then so will I in order to convey their voice properly.

Not Lit or Contemporary, but I wrote a historically set Gothic Horror novella about a the origin of a vampire. And I learned that I can most certainly write at a decent for me clip if I want to, I can most certainly write in first, and historical settings are immensely fun for me.

My niche is dark of any sort, but a contemp/Lit short I recently did is lighter. There's clear conflict and potential to end badly, but it ends on a lighter note unlike a lot of my stuff. Shorts and I suspect novellas are my main method of trying out something new instead of something novel length. I would just be heartbroken if a novel in a new to me technique didn't work, but less so with shorter forms. I can rewrite a novella draft done in the wrong character view point, POV, genre etc. in a month. And shorts can be completely redone in a week if an innitial draft is some way wrong for the story. As for things getting boring, I don't think they do anymore than someone who likes to write Horror gets bord with that. Curiousity? I do get curious, hence my completely realistic short when I tends towards Speculative Fiction. I still prefer to write mostly Speculative Fiction, hopefully Literary Speculative Fiction, but now I have something else I can write and enjoy writing just as much.

I'm glad you like the topic. I keep trying to make this section more lively. I really love talking shop with literary writers. I only wish more people here felt the same way.

It seems like we came from opposite ends. Even though I call my typical fiction dark comedies, they are on the lighter side for dark. Writing a darker story without the comic relief was challenging. I think there is some of it still in there, but it's not the type of story you want to laugh about, where sometimes what I write is so ridiculous that you have to laugh.

What made you want to write a lighter story? Do you think it was successful? Will you do it again or do you plan to return to the dark side? :)

For me, I've been writing these dark comedy short stories for a while, and I was starting to wonder if I could pull off anything else. It seems like you have tried a lot of different genres. Did you start with literary fiction or is that something you branched out to do?
 

Lillith1991

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Lit was something I branched out to do, normally I write some sort of speculative fiction like I mentioned. And I plan on branching out further because I don't believe that most genres are bared from also being Literary in nature. To me Lit emphasizes internal growth more than external growth. I've got a short that's Horror and is bordering on Lit despite being fairly graphic because it's about the internal growth of the MC.

I've also got more contemporary stories in me, I'm sure. Because theres some things I want to talk about that I would prefer to use a realistic setting for.
 
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inoue77

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I had always written (bad) literary fiction, but last year I wrote an epic fantasy. I've always read fantasy but never considered it before. It allowed me to learn how to properly FINISH a story. I was, prior to that, too bogged down in the minutiae; writing pretty nothings, vaguely inspired. Since I wrote and finished a genre work, something I allowed to just be what it was (good or bad) I learned more than writing 100 literary pieces or reading a 100 more. Now I'm back to literary, and I have more confidence in my storytelling ability, my characters, and my overall skills.

In terms of how I'm stretching myself currently: I'm allowing myself to write BIG. My writing up to this point has been very tightly focused on a select group of people, and now I'm trying to write about a big, immersive world. Lots of characters and settings. I'm also tackling themes that have been close to my heart for a long time but I think were too big for me up to now. I was too focused on making my stories pop, be shocking and exciting, and I'm trying, instead, to write a slow, careful, big story that's not on a scale I've done before.
 
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