A Question of Genre - What is Literary Fiction?

Maybe you could spare yourself some worries if you stopped thinking of literary fiction as the only kind of fiction that's well-written?

The genres are essentially marketing categories, not indicators of quality.

Hello Michelle S. Very interesting article and question indeed. I'd like it if you posted a link about the said article the literary editor wrote as I'm very interested in reading it as well. It's been a question I've been having for quite some time myself. You see, I've read many different genres and styles of books, from popular contemporary ones, to classic ones, to unknown ones, and I can't help but notice a very distinct difference not only in the writing style of the authors, but also in which way their basic themes are handled. After I read your article, I also went to goodreads out of curiosity to see which novels where at the top of the literary works. I've read only some of them and although I might not agree with the ranking myself (but this is a subjective matter rather than an objective) I can see why these books where chosen. Furthermore, I went as far as to read the definition of "literary works" in wikipedia and I think that it describes the genre in a very similar way to the one I perceive it to be.

My own observation upon "literary fiction" is that in comparison to "genre fiction", it is indeed written with much more beautiful prose, that although many times it seems to not push the plot forward, it does not distance itself from the matters that the author wishes to put forth. More likely, it seems like the author takes his/her time to depict in more depth the aspects of interest that are focused upon "the human condition" without rushing to continue upon the plot or disclose a straight forward moral conclusion. Moral values are put to the test and a great deal of character building happens from within the protagonist's observations and concerns (introspective reflection) than his actions. Short or even long back stories of the protagonist, explaining his/hers choices of action are boldly put forth, slowing down, but also interlocking with the present happenings.

When I say "beautiful prose" I don't mean academically written sentences with fancy vocabulary (although I don't protest to them) but sentences that are written in such an insightful way that inspire the reader to the extent of them being inscribed in his memory long after the book has been read, thus somewhat influencing their perspective in life in general. Sentences that "moved" generations of readers, many of which remain timeless. (Famous quotes and such).

The majority of books I read that contained this distinct style of writing, is indeed old literature. Some books really influenced my perspective in depth. I consider the writing to be more romantic but also more philosophical in context. There may be more contemporary works of literature that are written in similar fashion, but I just didn't happen to stumble upon them. I think that part of the reason, is today's marketing.

I am not a snob and I enjoy reading books from any kind of genre and writing style, but each book, each style serves as a different recreational medium for me. The difference is in the context of what I'm searching for. Do I want to enjoy a book that is consisted of fast paced action that is mostly plot driven, or a book that I might not be able to finish within one week, due to its more heavy tone and references that are meant not for a straight forward moral lesson most of the times, rather than a question mark, to make me re-evaluate my opinions upon such complex themes. I find some books entertaining and some other educational, apart from the entertainment.

I do not wish to offend any genre writer or author when I say this but it's quite obvious to me that popular genre fiction, lacks in "human condition" references and introspective. I enjoy it very much but for me at least, it serves more as entertainment. I might read a book in a day, very devoted upon what is going to happen in the next page, but after finishing it, it will unfortunately soon be forgotten. I won't bother to read it a second time (I rarely read something twice in general), while I might have a second look into a literary book a read some years ago, if not reading it from start to finish, at least revise my underatnding upon the parts that caught my attention in the past. I do not mean that genre fiction lacks insightful content, please don't misunderstand me, but it is handled in a very different manner. The new moto of "show, don't tell" or "stick to the present actions" serve the plot magnificently, but also restricts the fashion in which the author can express him or herself.

So, to wrap this up I see the points being made about the "literary fiction" as a stand alone genre and I agree with them. It is not meant as an insult to authors that write genre fiction, rather than a difference in categorization due to their content and way of expressing it. They are not better, but different. To make it more simple, they focus in different things. They express their opinions differently.

I myself, haven't settled upon a writing style yet. My inspiration is all over the place, my influences are quite contradictory and so far, with only a look at my writings someone can tell that I jump from one genre to the other and from one writing style to another, due to my raw drive of inspirational moments. I am still experimenting and feel somewhat indecisive upon my approach. I sometimes get a feel of expressing something more "literary" but to tell you the truth, I find it very much intimidating. (Got whipped one too many times upon my attempts).

Surely, times do change and artists wish to follow the pulse of the new era, since it's more relative, but apart from that, I think that the publishing industry (as well as the movie industry and the game industry, but that's a big issue to analyze here) has molded the writing style and expression of the contemporary authors just as much and not solely in a good way. Publishers rules upon the way a work of fiction needs to be written, in order to be clearly categorized into a specific genre and keep it's pace up and suspenseful, as to attract the maximum attention of today's target group, seems to be unifying the writing style, causing variation to be narrowed down, as the original voice gets drowned in between the editing part. The road to success is more important than the outcome of an "original" work. Big publishing companies and professional editors alike, warn the writer not to move further away from the current wave, because it's considered risky. The negative effects of this trend includes the intimidated aspiring writers that try to stick to the wave, but lose their voice and thus originality, making their works read as blunt movie scripts rather that literature. Some writers that are innately into that wave make it (Steven King being a leading master of this art). It is not distinctly different than their original voice, so they handle it masterfully and get good results, but as for the writers that try to push themselves into that narrow frame, it has different outcomes. They end up dry.

I'll try to highlight this point by expressing my personal introspective upon a popular work of fiction, that I find as an extreme example of what's going wrong. Have you ever read Assassin's Creed? Yes, the game based novel. I started reading it (the one that was placed in Florence - Italy, can't even remember the title) in a time that I had no other books around me (a friend of mine lent it to me) and I had to cover a one hour way by train every day, only to go to work. I struggled, I really did, to read it till the end since I had nothing better to do in the train, but my god... What a drag! It was just so boring which was such a pity, because the plot was intriguing and the setting was intriguing, but the way it was written was just so... dry. The character was... whatever. The point is that it failed to built any sort of interest in me to keep on going, although the plot moved fast and focused into showing and not telling. It made me feel nothing and appeared as though an A.I. had written it. But just to make it clear, this is an extreme example. An example in which a novel fails. And no, it being a by product of a game is not an excuse for bad writing. The writer could have stuck to the original plot and make it work if he (or she, I can't remember really) wanted and was capable enough. But I don't blame the writer or his/hers skills, since I haven't read anything else from him/her to come to a legit conclusion, more likely as I suspect that this failed attempt is a product of the industries' harsh and shallow guidelines.

So, I think that what the "literary snobs" mean to say, when they say that "literary fiction" is dead, is just a metaphor for the decline of this genre, since commercialism and marketing influenced radically the way that writers express their stories.

To tell you the truth, the today's writers which I can tell by merely their voice can be counted in the fingers of only a hand of mine. Again, this doesn't mean that their works are not good enough or lack in imagination, it's just that their voice isn't so unique; it doesn't stand out. They focus elsewhere. But I must also admit that so far, every book of "literary" content that I ever read, is old. Quite old... I haven't yet read a contemporary book of this genre. At least I don't think so. Lol.

Pardon my long reply.