I want to be a literary writer, but...

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ExiledStar

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I've come to realize that I don't have the kind of brilliant insights you need to be the kind of writer other people quote. I could be a genre writer, but I lack the kind of intelligence necessary to be literary. Which makes me feel pretty crappy, especially because I love to read literature rather than genre novels. And I'm trying to write a memoir, but it looks like it's not going to be a "literary" one.

Anybody else struggle with this kind of self-doubt?
 

Taylor Harbin

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I don't fully understand your question or concerns. I'll try to answer as best I can.

1. Writing because you want to be quoted isn't the best approach. Write because you love the art. I noticed your paintings. Do you paint when no one's looking? Does it give you happiness? People quote certain lines because they identify with them.

2. Literary fiction doesn't have to be Book of Revelations/Ultimate Enlightenment kind of material. Hemingway, Steinbeck, Faulkner, etc all wrote about things they saw/knew intimately. WWI, the Great Depression, the human heart. In some cases, they happened to be the first person to write a good story on that particular subject, but a lot of factors contributed to their success. I saw a few posts on your blog about feminism, female beauty, and modern culture. Great! Write about that. Beauty is a timeless paradox. We spend so much time trying to stay young, fit, and sexually desirable but it will all fade at some point. What are some personal experiences you've had that could be used to show your feelings on the subject? What does our standard of beauty say about us as a society?

3. You said you love reading literary fiction. Go back and study your favorite novels, taking notes on why you liked THAT book more than others.

4. Intelligence is not necessary to write a thought-provoking story that people will relate to. Life is your education, and every one of your readers has had at least a few semesters.

5. Keep writing!
 

Lillith1991

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Also, I'm sorry, but you "guess you could write genre instead?"

As someone who reads both genre and lit and also writes both, I've got to say I'm not overly fond of that attitude. There's nothing inferior about genre, absolutely nothing. Some of the great classics would be called genre works today or are the very foundation of what genre is. Frankenstein was the first true Horror novel in the Western canon, and also the first true Science Fiction story. And Mary Shelley wrote something that speaks to the nature of life, death, and what it means to be human.

Then you have genre works that are also literary in nature like Lord of The Rings, which speaks about the nature of good and evil and how, if man so wishes it, he can change the fate of the world.
 

lacygnette

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I'd say don't worry about genre/literary. Just write where your heart is. That's when you'll do your best work. BTW, I agree with Lillith. Station Eleven - literary or dystopian? Who cares. It was a great read.
 

ElaineA

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I'm sure you didn't mean that the way it sounds (I had the same sort of initial reaction toward the words as Lilith) and I'm pretty sure it is a function of self-doubt. When I came out of college I thought I was going to write what I'd been reading in school. Besides the classics and uber-literary fiction, the only genre fiction I actually read was horror, and I knew I couldn't write it. I never considered writing any genre fiction. Until I expanded my reading horizons and fell in love with other genres like Historical fiction, and yes, romance.

The thing is, I am not sure whether you really mean intellectual, or profound. Because many-many-many genre writers are hyper-intelligent, so the distinction there is pretty meaningless. If you're looking to be profound and you don't think you are, well, I guess that might make you feel doubt-ish. But honestly, what will you gain by being profound? Even if people quote you. OTOH, you might be capable of writing a really fun memoir that sticks with people. If you are using the idea of literary writing as a mirror for your self-image, I fear you might be seeing an unfair reflection.

Profundity (and intellectualism for intellectualism's sake) can be life-changing, or it can be pedantic. But it's a pretty capricious horse to which to hitch your wagon.

/metaphor abuse

Take heart and write with confidence, give yourself permission to write what comes out of your heart and fingertips. Only writing (and reading) will make you a better writer, maybe even a literary one at some point. :)
 

ExiledStar

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I didn't mean to imply that genre isn't intelligent. Only that literary fiction is supposed contain Great Truths About the Human Condition whereas genre fiction is prinicipally meant to entertain. I'm fresh out of Great Truths.
 

lizmonster

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You know, I'd be willing to bet that most people who write Great Truths in their fiction aren't aware at the time that they're writing a Gret Truth. They're writing a story that they need to get out, and talent, skill, persistence and practice allow them to get it on paper skillfully.

Write your story, whatever it is. You may be surprised at the Great Truths that come out. But whatever you do - don't talk yourself out of it before you even try.

ETA: Great Truths notwithstanding, lit fic better entertain as well or nobody's going to care what it has to say about the human condition. These genre boundaries are fuzzier than you think.
 
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Helix

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I didn't mean to imply that genre isn't intelligent. Only that literary fiction is supposed contain Great Truths About the Human Condition whereas genre fiction is prinicipally meant to entertain. I'm fresh out of Great Truths.

Plenty of genre fiction contains Great Truths. Quite a lot of literary fiction is full of mundanity.

But Great Truths are often things that the readers find, not things that the author inserts into the text like an alien probe.
 

C.bronco

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Genre doesn't mean you aren't smart enough to write literary, it just means your interests are in other places. I watched an episode of Criminal Minds that quoted King. It made my day.
 

lizmonster

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I'm fresh out of Great Truths.

But you're not. It sounds like you're feeling discouraged about what you're producing, maybe even blocked. But Helix has it right: readers are the ones who bring Great Truths to literature. Write a genuine story that people can identify with, and you'll be surprised by what people find in what you've written.
 

morngnstar

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I don't quite get this. I want to be the best kind of writer I can be. Maybe that's an amateur, maybe that's a genre writer, maybe that's a bestseller, maybe that's a literary writer, maybe that's a writer of a classic that will be remembered for 200 years. I doubt that most literary writers set out to be literary writers. They just set out to be writers, and turned out to be really good at it.
 

Fruitbat

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My job is to tell my story. It's for others to decide if it's got a deeper message or not. So, in a way, it's not really my problem. :)
 
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gettingby

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How much contemporary literary fiction are you reading? It is not all poetic language and deep thought. I don't think genre is a step down from literary. I think what makes something genre is more the subject matter than anything else. How much genre fiction are you reading? One is not easier than the other. My guess is that if you read more of both, you will understand this.
 
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