What is an edgy fiction writer? I hear that term used often. Some writers describe themselves as "edgy fiction writer".
Edgy fiction writer?
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Like who? I think 'edgy' qualifies another term. Like, it is a comedy, but edgy. So you know it is a little darker, weirder or more boundary pushing than is the norm for that genre. but edgy comedy and edgy horror are rather different beasts.... p.s. I think 'edgy' is 90's speak and now rather naff.
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Hey, me too. I hear edgy a lot, and I'm never sure what it means. How do you know if you're pushing the boundaries? Where are the boundaries? I'm confused! 
Few of the writers who describe themselves as such actually are.
What is "edgy" changes over time, and what is edgy today won't be next year. It usually means (regardless of genre) that the writer is doing something new, interesting, and more than likely a little controversial. If you're referring to a particular genre though, then the definition can change.
What Sevvy said. And I haven't heard that term much since the 90s, either.
Who *really* does push boundaries for all of you, tho? I thought this thread was about that, and that interests me--what folks think is boundary-pushing and why they think it.
EDIT: Because i wanted to give some examples--The whole genre-crossing was, for a while, edgy. Horror-sf, like Neil Gaimen's "A Study in Emerald," for one. It's not short fiction, but Blindsight by Peter Watts is the best example of hard sf/horror i've ever seen. And he gives it away for free online.
I think cross-genre stories, now, though, are commonplace and therefore not 'edgy' anymore per se. So what *are* writers on the edge doing to stay out there? Often, they invent a new subgenre. Often, they create a new style/mood/tone combination. It's sorta like Art--groups of folks seem to break into new patterns together, and it catches on with the readers (or doesn't.)
I'm not anywhere near the inside of groups of newly emerging-into-famous authors, so i have no idea what's on the cutting edge, anymore. I'd be interested in hearing from those who are.
Who *really* does push boundaries for all of you, tho? I thought this thread was about that, and that interests me--what folks think is boundary-pushing and why they think it.
EDIT: Because i wanted to give some examples--The whole genre-crossing was, for a while, edgy. Horror-sf, like Neil Gaimen's "A Study in Emerald," for one. It's not short fiction, but Blindsight by Peter Watts is the best example of hard sf/horror i've ever seen. And he gives it away for free online.
I think cross-genre stories, now, though, are commonplace and therefore not 'edgy' anymore per se. So what *are* writers on the edge doing to stay out there? Often, they invent a new subgenre. Often, they create a new style/mood/tone combination. It's sorta like Art--groups of folks seem to break into new patterns together, and it catches on with the readers (or doesn't.)
I'm not anywhere near the inside of groups of newly emerging-into-famous authors, so i have no idea what's on the cutting edge, anymore. I'd be interested in hearing from those who are.
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Likely true, but if you can get to that place (last year's edge) you're able, often, to extrapolate where the edge is *now.* Unless something brand new breaks out behind you....
Is that wave still riding high? I've been seeing that one for a long time, too--since Burroughs. Chuck Palahniuk's got that one sewed right up, imho. And the Peter Watts story uses transgressive techniques. Transgressive, tho, is still very edgy to me. Easy to overdo the squick factor, there. Easy to shock.
Is edgy all about shocking, then? I'd hope not.
cat
I think edgy means the writer needs to switch to decaf. Or did you mean 'writer of edgy fiction'?
Edgy, transgressive, whatever... For most examples of edginess I've come across it's nothing more radical than shock value in lieu of talent, covering flaws with a label that automatically channels and limits expectations and excuses minimal competence. It's pretending Roger Corman was Kurosawa on a budget, an attitude that serves both but poorly. The visceral quality that most edgy creators set out to mimic has to be an internal drive that informs the work almost without intent to shock; rather, it seeks to be honest in a way that forces the consumer of the art to confront dark corners of his own psyche, not produce a wank-fest of the artist's shameful secrets. True edginess ought to have an organic quality, arising naturally from the work, not forced upon it by an adopted convention, or unconventional conventionality.
That's how I see it, anyhow.
Edgy, transgressive, whatever... For most examples of edginess I've come across it's nothing more radical than shock value in lieu of talent, covering flaws with a label that automatically channels and limits expectations and excuses minimal competence. It's pretending Roger Corman was Kurosawa on a budget, an attitude that serves both but poorly. The visceral quality that most edgy creators set out to mimic has to be an internal drive that informs the work almost without intent to shock; rather, it seeks to be honest in a way that forces the consumer of the art to confront dark corners of his own psyche, not produce a wank-fest of the artist's shameful secrets. True edginess ought to have an organic quality, arising naturally from the work, not forced upon it by an adopted convention, or unconventional conventionality.
That's how I see it, anyhow.
I hear "edgy" a lot in reference to my work. I think it generally means different from a societal norm - sarcastic, dark, twisted, about people who are "outcasts" in some form or another, or "urban".
Sometimes you see "edgy" referring to writers (primarily men) who are deliberately trying to be shocking, garish, or hard-edged. Chuck Palahniuk (author of Fight Club) would be a prime example of that, as would Bret Easton Ellis (American Psycho), Andrew Vachss (dark dark DARK), etc. But I've also heard the word in relation to anyone writing sharp, stylish prose in sort of a noir style, about the grittier elements of society, or even just the dark lining of the glamorous life. If Raymond Chandler were writing today he'd probably be called edgy.
The term "transgressive", I hear more referring to people writing about criminal stuff... not necessarily just writing a dark or pessimistic view of the world. Though both mean pretty much the same thing to different audiences.
Sometimes you see "edgy" referring to writers (primarily men) who are deliberately trying to be shocking, garish, or hard-edged. Chuck Palahniuk (author of Fight Club) would be a prime example of that, as would Bret Easton Ellis (American Psycho), Andrew Vachss (dark dark DARK), etc. But I've also heard the word in relation to anyone writing sharp, stylish prose in sort of a noir style, about the grittier elements of society, or even just the dark lining of the glamorous life. If Raymond Chandler were writing today he'd probably be called edgy.
The term "transgressive", I hear more referring to people writing about criminal stuff... not necessarily just writing a dark or pessimistic view of the world. Though both mean pretty much the same thing to different audiences.
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