Definition and characteristics of Literary Fiction (Moved from SYW literary)

I just realized something. When I offered to peep the first few pages, I was under the impression that this was some form of Spec Fic, but it seems the genre has reverted back to literary. Out of curiosity, what makes you call this a literary? Literary =/= pretty sentences alone. I was told that when I first started out years ago, but, uh… no. No, pretty sentences=voice or style, not necessarily genre (though it can exclude novels from sub/genres). I learned that there are a few more requirements than voice to be literary (just like there are a few more requirements than boy meets girl, boy falls for girl, boy tries to get girl to date him to be Romance). And mine fit firmly as fantasy.

I don’t read literary or romance, which is why I’m reluctant to critique anything in those genres. I could very well give an opinion that contradicts the criteria of the genre. So I don’t know if this sort of verbiage is normal for literary. However, while literary novels tend to focus on prose more than plot, that doesn’t mean that everything is spelled out, filters are present, descriptions are tedious, etc. It’s okay to let your readers imagine most of the room for themselves, but it’s fine to focus on the characteristics (such as the crack in the piano).

I’m sure a lot of us who are contributing probably aren’t literary readers or writers, which is downright dangerous. My recommendation would be to find someone who reads literary with a passion, who knows the genre inside out, and see what they have to say. Thrillers—you can’t get away with flowery prose, it’s got to be fast paced and exciting. Thrillers can’t spend two pages describing a room. So thriller readers and writers would inappropriately critique your sample if they aren’t familiar with literary. Then again, verbiage alone doesn’t make a book literary, it just makes it verbose.

You’ve got to find someone who knows the genre inside and out, who specializes in it, and you’ve got to see whether you’ve got a whole lot of fat (not literary) or if you’ve got the right amount of fat, but the wrong kind of fat (literary, but focused on the wrong things). I can’t answer that for you, I wish I could. I’m so sorry.

The reason I say you need to find a literary reader is because I once saw someone tell a fantasy writer to eliminate the magic in the query and call the dragon an “animal.” Said person didn’t read fantasy. And I saw a (non-Romance) critiquer tell a romance writer to stop focusing on the relationship and stick to the-non romance conflict in their query. These are terrible TERRIBLE suggestions that never should have been uttered. Please, please do yourself a favor and find a literary reader. It’s such a small niche, but I don’t feel comfortable telling you what to do with the voice if that’s how a literary novel is supposed to look, and I don’t know enough about the genre to come to that conclusion.

As a spec fic, I stand by my critique. As a literary, I stand by most of it, but you may need to revisit the “fluff” I strikethroughed and said there were simpler ways of putting things. Focusing on pretty sentences=/=minutiae or confusion, BUT pretty prose=a colorful way of saying something, even if there is a simpler way of putting it.

Just—consult with someone who specializes in literary to see if this novel fits that genre. I can't move forward if there's a chance I'll give you inappropriate advice. But that's just me.

A.graye said:

I’m sure a lot of us who are contributing probably aren’t literary readers or writers, which is downright dangerous.

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I just want to clarify, I'm not negating anyone's critique or telling you not to listen (I echo a lot of what was said). This quote more so applies to the necessity of obtaining potentially genre-specific feedback from people who are more familiar.

Because you don't know how to categorize this piece, you're clearly unfamiliar with the genre. And if you're unfamiliar with the genre, you're playing with fire by putting yourself in a situation where you may be unintentionally misled. You've got to seek out those who are practically married to the genre for guidance.

I don't devalue the opinions you got here, and I hope you don't either. What a fine bunch of folks to take time out of their day in order to help a fellow writer. But I urge you to find a few people who can help you define "literary" more precisely, and show you how your sample fits in (and where it doesn't), because I am at the end of my expertise. And I don't want to unintentionally mislead you.

<3 Have a lovely evening.

That's excellent, and something good to know for the future.

Maybe you guys can please oh please explain to me what literary is, and what it *must* contain. I've got ideas, but no one I've met has a clear-cut definition, and none of theirs are the same.

From what I've gathered, it can be defined as serious fiction that's more of an essay in novel-form with pretty, and sometimes academic, prose which makes you feel like you've stepped into the 1800s. There's a plot, but more focus is on the writing, and it doesn't matter whether you fully understand the plot, so long as you're enjoying the sentences (I once read that some literary novels have no plot, or the plot is lost in the sentences).

I've read articles that claim literary is serious and is focused on current affairs or issues and, therefore, has no spec fic elements, and I've read articles that claim literary is genre fiction, but beautified (to which, I raise an eyebrow. Beauty=subjective).

I'm uncomfortable with commenting on pieces whose genre I'm unfamiliar with (aside from telling them my overall reaction), sooooo if you've got a second to shed some light, I'd appreciate it.

If not, that's cool, too.

But, I'm tired of reading articles written by people who've read an article written by someone who doesn't write literary.

Welp,

I know the next 6 books I'm going to be renting from the library...

Bram Stoker's Dracula. What would you classify that (if you read it)?

Thanks for your explanation. The examples with similar plots/themes help.

Well said, AP.

I read a post that said "Your CPs don't need to write or read the same genre you do," and I had a heart attack. At least one or two should.

And, I agree, people from different genres offer an array of different strengths.

And, as Marian concisely put it, it boils down to knowing your genre.

Thank you ladies for your input, and I'm... still not as clear with literary, but glad to know my hunch that it's more of a *feeling* than a clear-cut definition was right. (I think...?)

Sounds good