Hi, Found this forum and decided to join, hoping to make new friends with a similar interest. I live in Southern Indiana and I'm working on a novel. It aspires to be something between mainstream and literary. I also like to sketch and paint. Anybody else doubly damned? Ha. My favorite authors are Margaret Atwood, Stephen King, Elizabeth Berg, Joyce Carol Oates...what are yours? K
Hi and welcome from another new member. Maybe you can enlighten me, since I am not native english speaker I havent quite understood the difference between "literary" and "commercial" fiction?
Tesoro Tesoro, Nowadays I think literary can be just a pretension but mainstream means it would defy being put in a genre like sci-fi or horror or romance and would appeal to a wide audience. Literary usually means a story that defies being put in a a strict genre too. A story that is literary is usually one with layers of meaning and is well crafted. A Harlequin romance would be a good example of commercial fiction but not mainstream because it fits into the romance genre and the plot mainly deals with romance. A mainstream novel might have a romantic subplot but it would be about something that deals with an issue that men and women might both be interested in. Jodi Piccault's novels are good examples of mainstream because they have alot more going on in them than just romance. They also are bordering on being literary. Her books are also commercial because you could find them at a Walmart, a grocery store, or at a college book store. They have a wide appeal. Literary fiction says something about the human condition usually. Something about the story will stick with you later, giving you things to ponder on. Most college writing courses focus on literary fiction. Some examples of authors who write/wrote lit. fiction: Margaret Atwood, Joyce Carol Oates, Donald Barthelome, Raymond Carver.... Some genre fiction reaches this level if it is very well written and it delves with the meaning of life, psychology, mythology, has symbolic meanings, good use of metaphors, etc. It can be dramatic or comedic but seldom simple. I hope this helps. K.
Hello KR, Welcome to the Writing Forums. Please read How to Use the Review Room before you post there. Posting your own writing for people to comment on should not be among the very first things you do here. It is worth taking the time to see what other people have done to improve their writing, and see if some of it applies to your writing as well. That is part of why we require members to review other members' work before posting their own for review. On the other hand, there are no restrictions, other than content and copyright rules, on showcasing your work in your member blog. Also, be aware that posting a piece of writing on any public site, including this one, will greatly diminish your chances of selling it for publication. Removing the writing later does not alter that fact - once posted, it is irreversibly considered published. So do not post anything more than a small excerpt of any piece you are planning to submit for publication. If you haven't explored the site yet, you should probably do so soon. Newcomers often gravitate to the Lounge, the Word Games, or the Review Room, but there is much more to be discovered if you poke in the corners. Remember to check out our FAQ as well, and be sure to read through the forum rules, too, to avoid any misunderstandings or hurt feelings. Respect for one another is our principal mandate. As for the Review Room, new joiners often wonder why we do things a bit differently on this site than on other writing sites. We emphasize constructive critique as a vital writing skill. Training your eye by reviewing other people's work helps you improve your own writing even before you present it for others to see. Therefore, we ask members to review other people's writing before posting work of their own. The Review Room forums on this site, therefore, are true workshops, not just a bulletin board for displaying your work (and on that note, please only post each item for review in one Review Room forum). Also, please use the same thread for all revisions and additional excerpts from the same piece of writing. See this post, Why Write Reviews Before Posting My Work? for more information. And while you're looking around, don't forget to check out the RPG forum for improvisational fiction. Also try our Weekly Short Story Contest and Weekly Poetry Contest. They actually run more than one week apiece, but any member may enter, and all members are urged to vote for their favorites. Enjoy your stay here, and have fun!
