Hello there! I'm about to to pitch my novel but have been stuck on the definition of my genre for a while. My novel falls is the adult age category, and is literary fiction. However, that feels so non-descriptive... It's so general. Large chunks of my novel take place in a subjective, dream-like world of the protagonist. What do you think about pinning the novel down as Literary fiction with elements/an undertone/a hint of surrealism? Thank you
In the present! I might see what you're referring to...it's been quite a few decades since 'surrealism' was booming. What about 'surreal' elements, then? Thank you
The term for writing that doesn’t fit neatly into a single descriptive catagory is ‘interstices’. It refers to the spaces between the norms. How does ‘adult themed interstices literary fiction’ sound to you?
That was it exactly. If it were Historical Fiction you were writing I'd suggest that you scrap the word surrealism and go with supernaturalism. In your case, I might put it like this... Literary Fiction with a touch of the surreal. Also, I'm assuming the "xxx" in this thread's title denotes spaces, and not Triple X-rated content? Hopefully you're not writing Dinosaur Erotica that rises to the level of "Literary Fiction".
Although I'd browse through Dinosuar Erotica with utmost curiosity, I see that I have to reconsider the way I denote ' blank space' And I really like your last suggestion...with a touch of the surreal describes my novel really neatly!
Ohh that XXX on the title, tsk tsk tsk, dirty mind. Anyway try your idea of surrealism on your story and then let us see
I wouldn't be so quick to call my novel literary fiction even though it is. I think this is the sort of thing that shows more than you should tell it if it is intact literary fiction we're talking about here. I know there is cross-genre, but the two things you are describing don't mesh well for me as a reader. Literary fiction tends to focus quite a bit more on the mundane than genre works and not have dream-like worlds in it. I don't want any fantasy in my literary fiction. And I imagine you could drive some genre lovers away by calling it literary. I don't know your story so maybe you made it all work. But calling a novel literary really doesn't say much if anything about it that can't be said in better ways and demonstrated in the query letter.