I love to play around with form and structure, often there are sometimes better ways to tell a story. Don't get me wrong, most of what I write are straight forward, linear storylines. However, as a writer that primarily focuses on the short form, it can be enticing to try something you're not even sure you can pull off. It's more okay to be overly ambitious and imaginative. Maybe these kinds of stories are a little more than a rarity for me. Most of what I write I would call traditional storytelling for the most part. But I think in can be beneficial for a writer to put themselves through this sort of thing if for no other reason than to deepen their relationship with story. I do read a lot of literary journals and magazines which will sometimes publish a more experimental piece of writing. And I am always so in awe of them when I come across them. Still, experimental works are not the norm, I would say. Novels can be experimental too, but I get that's a much bigger commitment and a bit of a gamble not knowing how well what you're doing working until you're finished. But when these sort of out-side-the-box stories really work, there's nothing like them, IMO. What do you guys think of experimental works or writing? What sort of things have you tried, and how did it work out for you?
I like trying out experiments with my short story, trying something new to me to stretch my writing muscles. Probably the biggest experiment I undertook was to write a story with an unreliable narrator - a pathological liar with dissociative identity disorder. That one really stretched me, quite a challenge. But when I was done, I felt quite proud of myself that I had undertaken the challenge. I posted the story to the Workshop last winter: https://www.writingforums.org/threads/pseudologia-fantastica.174208/
I like experimental work because a lot of what’s mainstream has become formulaic. I experiment with new things (new for me, anyway) all the time. It’s how I branch out and develop my skills. I never know in advance if it’s going to work. Sometimes it’s a complete flop (there are a few that only my biggest fans enjoyed), but writing by the seat of my pants with constraints I’ve already decided on forces me to get creative. But sometimes I’ll do something I’ve never heard of anyone else doing, or something I know of one poet having done but few others know (whether it’s subject, form, speaker, or something else). Some of these end up being my best work. Whether it’s been done by others or not, if it’s new to me, it’s a big challenge.
Well, anything I haven't yet tried is experimental to myself. If it's something generally non-standard, however, the format or template has still probably been defined by a prior trailblazer. So, then how experimental really is it? It's more like a peer review experiment at that point. I'll raise my eyebrow reading it and say, "Yes, definitely non regular, but it's regularly irregular." See: Various forms of non-linear storytelling. Deceptive or self-deceived POV (I love the latter, personally). Second person POV, or POV from something normally lacking human intellect and senses (that Christmas tree story comes to mind. Don't think anyone will know what I'm talking about though). Themes taking on direct, poetic, or divine real manifestation in the story. Placing mundane themes in a sexual, even pornographic context. Good shock and contrast. Liminal or cosmic space stuff (more so when it affects narrative: House of Leaves). Some anti-tropes, at least the ones that aren't so established.
I think you're right that it's a bigger commitment and gamble to go non-standard on a novel. I'm past the 90% mark on a ~155K one that I've taken a lot of risks with. I hope it pays off. I think it will, but I also sometimes worry I may have lost my damned mind. There are a ton of characters, and almost every scene has a different POV from the last. The closest thing I could compare the structure to is maybe soap operas? We jump around town, checking in on characters and groups who all have their own little threads going. My alpha reader is obsessed with it, so I'm very hopeful. Still, part of me is terrified to find out it's too hard to keep track of. If someone only picks the thing up for fifteen minutes a few times a month, I don't think they'd be able to keep certain characters straight. This experiment will either pay off big time or crash and burn, and I'm committed up to my eyeballs. There's no restructuring this thing if people don't like it. It will just be a year worth of writing down the drain, so... fingers crossed, lol.
I don't think experimenting with form is ever a wasted effort. Even the things that don't work often lead us to things that do work. But I am wishing you a lot of luck, @Rzero. I'm just wondering how you came to decide on this structure of your story. Something must be working for you to continue on with your form here. That's probably a good sign.
