You Know You're Writing Lit Fic When...

When someone asks what your novel is about, and your answer is a ten minute, babbling explanation woven with sentences like, "but not really like that" and "it's a lot more exiting than it sounds" and "I can't really describe it". And in the end, the person just kind of nods and slowly walks away, eying you warily.

Ahem. May I edit that sentence slightly:

"You know you're writing _bad_ litfic when a waterproof plot is your last priority."

There's never an excuse for a sloppy plot. Not in litfic or any other category. Hell, even Douglas Adams's "Hitchhiker's Guide" books had plots that, within the book's own constraints, made sense. And if he bothered to do it, you have no excuse.

Just saying...

Lapochka (YA emotional journey / travel adventure):
A young woman searches for her missing father through clues hidden in Soviet-era Russian comic books.

Also check out my writing blog at: http://www.plottopunctuation.com/blog/

You know you're writing litfic when you tell people about what you're going to write and they step back, blinking and go "that's... interesting". Then don't talk to you for a while. (just me?)

Yeah, pretty much.

I get so shy when people ask because I know they're going to cock their head to the side and say..."Um...okay."

Metaphors be with you.

Yeah, this. Alternatively, someone asks you what it's about, you give a long, detailed explanation about the political atmosphere, history, and geography, your characters' histories, and the motivation of a somewhat minor character. And then they interrupt you to say "yes, but what's your plot?" and you just go "O_O?" .

I always get that or "you sound screwed up." I don't think my novel sounds that weird. Haha.

I get the "what is your book about" and I have to explain the underlined themes of sexuality, music, love, global warming, poetry and why greed is wrong etc and as I babble I may mention that the story has people in it or that something happens, but the stuff that happens isn't as important as the other stuff.

You don't know where your characters are going, but you sure as hell know how they got there. Like, really, really know how they got there, even though about 10% of the details you know about said character are going to make it into the novel at the end.

2007 - Head Case - Winner! 75,004 words
2008 - Drifting - Winner! 100,248 words
2009 - My Last Night On Earth -

When you've learned that no one will listen to you when you use the words "rape, alcoholism, tragic youth, discontent, drug addicts, homelessness, death, or mental disorders" in conjunction with your plot, and all you have left is "It's about this girl who um does stuff."

Writing is not necessarily something to be ashamed of, but do it in private and wash your hands afterwards.
-Robert A. Heinlein

You know you're writing litfic when you know the name of your MC's second cousin thrice removed but haven't the foggiest idea of how to end your novel.

*laughs* I think I'm in the right forum. :)

...you don't really know how to define your genre, but you get awfully annoyed when somebody else defines it badly.
...regardless of the fact that you *have* quite a detailed plot worked out, you're hesitant to mention any of the details of what happens in it to anybody, because they have little to nothing to do with what you're really writing *about*.
...you can't quite distinguish actual plot-holes from telltale signs of an unreliable narrator...but you will use the latter as your excuse whenever anybody points out the former.

Good thing I'm writing for me instead the masses, then. :)

Plots don't have to be waterproof to not be sloppy. I take it you're not fond of the extreme character-driven stories where they basically sit around and talk and feel, or the "plot" is a character's internal development rather than the outside world.

Bottom line is, it's all opinion and this is supposed to be a fun thread. SO.

...you get more excited about hashing out the resolution to a character's internal conflict than about an epic battle scene.

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What am I doing still awake?

...Oh wait.

What am I doing still awake?

...Oh wait.

You know your writing Lit Fic when...

Your pre-NaNo "Outline" is the title of your novle scrawled across a napkin from a local bar.

Also may I add....plot sucks. Plot is a crutch. If you have dynamic characters in an interesting situation, then THEY (the characters) will play out the plot for you. I feel like too much focus on "plot" makes a novel feel wooden and cold.

"I don't think it's good for your head.You spend a lot of time thinking about how to write a book, you probably shouldn't be talking about it. You probably should be doing it."
-Cormac McCarthy

... when you don't even know what you're writing about anymore -- but you like it all the same.

Click above for an incredibly fun and welcoming role playing forum!

...you know the characters are going somewhere, you're just not sure where yet.

JulNo 09- Super Beings- Win!
Nano 09- Elliot Spencer- ??

I can definitely identify with this. Except, I never knew what I was writing about in the first place. And I think the story is developing, but I can't really tell because it's just one amorphous blob at this point.

You know you're writing Lit Fic when, after explaining your plot to somebody, they respond with "You know, you'd make a really good stoner." But they mean it in a good way.

... when you recognize a plot hole and change the plot -- rather than plugging the hole.

... when you correct other people who are summarizing your story "incorrectly" -- even if their summary of your plot is spot-on, and you just don't like the words they're using.

"This is going to be the worst day of your life. I'm bringing nunchuks." H. Freeman

you know you're writing Lit Fic when...

every character has father and commitment issues.

I was also in a novel writing class, and the instructor looked at my outline and asked if I was writing a psychological dissertation. that's also a good sign.

"I may not know where I am going, but at least, I am going."

... when the simple question "What's you're novel about?" results in a 30-minute tirade about the inapplicability of the genre caste discrimination system, followed by awkward silence and the muttered words "Jesus! I'm sorry I asked."

____
Sasquatch hunting should never be undertaken professionally.

(Or mommy issues.)

Yeah. I wonder why that is? You know, besides a really awesome toy in the playground of lit fic.

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What am I doing still awake?

...Oh wait.

What am I doing still awake?

...Oh wait.

*laughs* I had my poetry instructor admit that he'd be worried about me if I weren't so cheerful. My favorite poem of the semester was "Rehinged", which involved people trying to take a knife from the narrator for fear that she'd kill herself, when the knife was actually bloody because her mother just had.

Question: Can paranormal fiction be literary? Because I meet all the following criteria:

.... you throw random words into a paragraph in order to portray the common emotion, such as "Cold." "White against black." "A solid wall."

....When someone asks you what your story is about, you start telling them about a dream that you wove into your story, and expect them to pick out the objects in your dream and understand them for the deeper truths that you think are all too clearly portrayed.

.... The vase of roses in the corner of your character's room is an allegorical portrayal of an underlying theme in your story.

You know you're writing litfic when...

...more than three of your characters have cancer and it's not just because you have no idea how to get rid of them.
...several parts of your novel outline consist of the phrase "Something happens that makes [character] think of [x]" and you have no intention of going back and filling in the "something".
...you respond to the question "What's your novel about?" with "You really don't want me to answer that question."
...the only characters who live to the end of the book are the ones who don't want to.

"It's a bird…it's a plane…no, it's SUPERHOE! Indiscriminate screwer of humanity!" ~Lyet
"If Darth Vader appears in your dream, pay attention. He may be a bad omen. And Batman may or may not be a punkass b!tch." ~Sara

This definitely comes close to how I feel about lit fic. You know your writing it when all of your characters should be in a mental health institution, or rehab, or both.

Sure. Just like sci fi can also be romance and westerns can also be chick lit.

What am I doing still awake?

...Oh wait.

Also, when you have spent fifteen minutes staring at the screen because "walked" is neither expressive nor original
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2003 Vindicta, 2004 Clown Down, 2005 Lavender Latté, 2006 Ulysses not found, 2007 The Spike Garden, 2009 Atrocious Eulogies

LOL! My novel is definitely going to be litfic.

NaNo 09: Between the Walls

... it's all about Subtext.

... there are Random words that are Capitalized for no apparent Reason other than the Deeper Meaning.

Meals are books for the body.

"Lies are attempts to hide the truth by willfully denying facts. Fiction, on the other hand, is an attempt to reveal the truth by ignoring facts." -John Green