Can someone please describe the definition of literary fiction. I'm in the process of figuring out what category my story goes into.
----------
Writing is a solitary occupation. Family, friends, and society are the natural enemies of the writer. He must be alone, uninterrupted, and slightly savage if he is to sustain and complete an undertaking.
~Jessamyn West~
Progress ideas:
Title: None
C
50,077 / 50,000
Apr 10, 2008 - 07 29
It may help to understand the simple difference between Fiction and Literary Fiction.
Fiction merely entertains; Literary Fiction has the power to remind us of our common humanity, and even change lives.
(The Writer magazine, March 2008. Writing secrets of the anccient Greeks.)
50,077 / 50,000
Apr 10, 2008 - 07 43
I'd like to say that the quote you use at the end of your messages is true, so true.
Writing is a solitary occupation. Family, friends, and society are the natural enemies of the writer. He must be alone, uninterrupted, and slightly savage if he is to sustain and complete an undertaking.
~Jessamyn West~
46,000 / 50,000
Apr 10, 2008 - 19 56
Thank you for the help!
0 / 50,000
Jun 6, 2008 - 10 34
A lot of people have a lot of high-falutin' ideas about what Literary Fiction is, but the authors I've studied with have all given more or less the same distinction between lit fic and genre fiction:
- In genre fiction the plot is primary, and the characters support it.
- In literary fiction the characters are primary, and the plot supports them.
You could have a murder in both, but the point of the genre-fiction story might be to find out whodunnit, and the point of the literary-fiction book is to see the characters' reactions to it.
0 / 50,000
Jul 19, 2008 - 21 11
Could an eco-thriller be called literary fiction? : S. My story is looking to be very character-based...
0 / 50,000
Jul 24, 2008 - 03 29
This might help you decide a little where your work fits:
Genre vs. Mainstream vs. Literary