I know what literary fiction is - when I read it, see it on a shelf in a book shop etc. But what 'is' literary fiction? If I write a book, how do I know that it is a piece of literary fiction, rather than a piece of science fiction, a family saga or an unintelligible piece of rubbish? Ideas? Cheers Wilson !!!! '' ' \_/
I think that literary fiction is a subjective standard. I was taught that the difference between literary fiction and genre fiction is the motive. Literary fiction focuses on the fine aspects of literature (tone, organization, and the portrayal of characters), while genre fiction is more generalized (mostly being about plot and story line). Of course I don't see much of a difference often. The two overlap a lot to the point where I have no idea why the line is there at all. I find that it's a needless category that really only exists so those high and mighty authors who write fancy books no one can make sense out of can feel better about themselves when their books sell like five copies, while the more generalized genre fiction makes millions. Of course that's just me generalizing myself. Lots of literary fiction has made it to best seller (I have no idea of the comparison of literary and genre though I might look that up). I do however hold my position that the typically qualified literary fiction almost always comes off to me as horribly boring.
as i just said over in the 'best-seller' thread, no one can set out to write 'literary' fiction... it's just a label that the critics apply to stuff after it's published and out there...
