Literary writers speak up

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Maxx

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My workshop partners were adamant last night that my novel is literary. I really didn't want it to be perceived as literary (while still saying the important things that I wanted to say) because I have heard over and over again that the market for literary fiction is dismal. An agent does have the full, so I guess that I will keep my fingers crossed. If she doesn't like it, I will trunk it while I write a thriller.

Good luck with the Thriller. I've sent out a fair amount of genre items and they haven't done all that well so I've drifted back to writing "literary Sci Fi". the funny thing about that non-generic genre is that it emerged from me telling stories (the three-sentence kind you can put into conversations at dinner parties) and people saying "Why don't you write that?" Now just say "My latest story is xxx Insert # sentences***" and nobody says "I'm glad you wrote that"...they just nod encouragingly and wait for the story you haven't written and then they say "Why don't you write that?"
Now I just say, "No, that story is too good to write."
 

college boy

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I get questions about what genre The Russian Code is. Why does it need to be a genre? It is literary fiction with a strong narrative. I guess that it is easier to sell something if you can pigeonhole it first.
 

Chris P

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I get questions about what genre The Russian Code is. Why does it need to be a genre? It is literary fiction with a strong narrative. I guess that it is easier to sell something if you can pigeonhole it first.

Genre is a marketing tool. If I'm browsing for a new read it helps if I can narrow my search by eliminating ones I'm not interested in at the moment.
 

Truth and Fiction

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Hi all. I'm new to the Water Cooler and thought I'd say hi. I write literary fiction (novels, short stories) and have a collection coming out next year. I am starting to dabble in personal essays and creative nonfiction, as well. Just wanted to say hello and add my voice as a writer of literary fiction in this thread/forum.
 

KellyAssauer

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Welcome Truth & Fiction!

Hope you find this site helpful! If you'd like to check out the current literary writing here, I'd suggest the Share-your-work (SYW) section of the site under The AW Writing Lab on the main page. Lot's of great stories and ideas being batted about! Or, click on the link at the bottom of my note here for the social group for Mod Lit Fic Writers that we only started last week! Happy to have you! Best of luck with the upcoming publishing!

-Kelly
 

gladspooky

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I'm currently trying to find representation for a literary fantasy novel.

I'm not sure if that's the most precise genre for it, but the way I justify the literary part (if I ever needed to) is, "I could have written it without the fantasy element, but I didn't."

I don't know if agents use the same definition. It just seems to make a lot of sense for this book.
 

donatos

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At the risk of sounding grandiose, current trends and definitions in the fiction genre make one major, and some minor allowances to what is currently defined as literary, even though it may be that a work will find it's way into "literature" without meeting those requirements.

First and foremost in the definition is the method by which the story is told. If your story (or anyone else's) is using plot to move the story forward (making the characters replaceable because it's 'what happened' that's most important) then the piece is not usually considered literary fiction. If, however the story is presented in such a manner whereupon it is character driven (ie: what happens to person x and how they deal) then it's more likely to be considered modern literary fiction.

There are sub-categories or exemptions/additions to this basic definition of character-driven. These are: when the piece has a particular unusual style, or if the work incorporates a tightly woven thematic presence...

These definitions do not mean that any plot-driven story won't be considered of literary merit... only that it doesn't fit the definition of the modern literary fiction genre.

I hope that helps some?

Also, private messages do not need to be resent when pop-up windows disappear, simply click on the "user CP" menu item which takes you to your settings... and then to 'private messages" "List messages" options on the side bar. =)

and Welcome to AW! =)

Yes, but this is a verrrrrry American way of viewing literary fiction. European and Latin American fiction hold the plot before the characters. Nobel prize winners like Jose Saramago and Mario Vargas Llosa are immediate writers that come to mind in regards to literature and plot. I think what literature means is that there are several dynamics going on. But yes, heavy character development wouldn't explain why we hold dear the works of Italo Calvino, Borges, Kafka, Bulgakov, I guess the term is situationist. I think what literature comes down to is the pleasure the writing itself gives, regardless of the story. In literature, or literary writing, what stands above both character AND plot is style. Literary writing is for the master stylist.
 

wrinkles

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Literary fiction isn’t defined by writing style, or the use of language, flowery or otherwise. And it definitely it isn’t a marketing term used for novels that don’t fit well in a genre category.

Literary fiction is the art of novel writing. Genre is the craft. Both are worthy, but different. And it really doesn’t matter that this distinction didn’t exist a thousand years ago, or even a hundred. It exists now. Describing literary fiction as character-driven, or emphasizing language over content, or theme over plot, or in any other of the dozen ways I’ve seen it described on this site is like describing a painting by Picasso as representations of body parts randomly transposed. It’s true on a certain level, but completely misses the point.

Art, whatever the medium, communicates something worth knowing about the world. After you’ve looked at a piece of art, after you’ve read a work of literary fiction, you’re smarter to some degree than you were before.

It takes intelligence to write literary fiction. It takes intelligence to understand and appreciate it. And if that sounds elitist, it is. Some people are smarter than others. Some people are better writers than others. Some are nicer than others. It’s just the way the world works. Doesn’t mean smart people are better, just smarter.

So that is the defining characteristic of literary fiction. If you don’t get that, if you can’t even comprehend what I’m saying, if you think this is the dumbest thing you’ve ever read, well there you go.
 

richcapo

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To me, literary fiction is fiction of any genre that is, in my opinion, superbly written. Science fiction, fantasy fiction, modernist fiction ... it doesn't matter to me. If it blows me away, it's literary to me. Most agents, publishers, and scholars would disagree, I think, but that's how I see it. Does superbly written fiction tend to have certain common qualities? I think so, but it does not always. In my opinion, literary fiction typically stresses characterization over plot and style over spectacle, but it doesn't have to. Dune is literary fiction to me, despite the fact that, in my opinion, it focuses on plot and spectacle rather than characterization and style.

_Richard
 
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Keagerz

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Hey guys! I hope no one minds me posting here. :> I'm not sure if my style is quite literary (To be honest, I'm really confused as to what literary exactly is) as of right now, but I enjoy writing contemporary stories. Right now I'm working on a collection of connected short stories that are contemporary, and I might even attempt to publish them should I gather the courage to. ;)
 

wrinkles

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Hey MacAllister. You enjoy censoring the words of others, don't you? I can't think of a worse trait for a writer. And there aren't a lot of worse characteristics for a human being.
 

Sheila Muirenn

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Hey MacAllister. You enjoy censoring the words of others, don't you? I can't think of a worse trait for a writer. And there aren't a lot of worse characteristics for a human being.

Wrinkles; Grow Up.

And really, that was deleted in February.
 

AlekT

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I have heard over and over again that the market for literary fiction is dismal.

I keep hearing this too, but a quick look at the PB best seller lists shows Water for Elephants, Cutting for Stone, A Visit from the Goon Squad, and Matterhorn, among others, all of which strike me as literary fiction. There are also many literary novels -- even by first-time authors -- being published, but not making the best seller lists. Literary fiction is out there; one market is with book discussion groups.

And that's the thing, literary fiction has such a WIDE spectrum. It can be anything. What attracts an agent to a project? Your guess is just as good as mine. And how do you sell "great writing" with a few paragraphs? With commercial fiction, the plot hooks the agent first, and then the writing seals the deal. With literary, somehow you will have to hook the agent even thought your premise sounds mundane. I mean, how do you sell THE HOURS with only two paragraphs? Almost impossible. But if you don't read it, you'll have no idea how brilliant it really is.

I've always viewed 'literary fiction' as more of a style than a genre: literary mystery, etc. The titles I listed above, and others, have an intriguing enough story line to attract the general as well as the literary-minded reader. I enjoy a good read as much as anything and these titles fit that bill. A book can be literary and still be a good read. As another example, I loved Major Pettigrew's Last Stand. There is a market for literary fiction especially when it appeals to the general reader.

Just my two cents worth.
 

astheculprit

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I have a lot of concepts but apparently lack the committment needed to write anything longer than a short story... Actually, I think I just started condensing to a point that I don't have enough context in mind to produce the longer works. I'm currently looking for friends and articles that will help with this. But to end on a good note, my flash fiction seems to be doing well in the markets.
 
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