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Think of the book as a
meal with intricate scents, flavors and textures that you can’t quite recognize
unless you spend a little more time with it, and give it a little more of your
attention. Because, trust me, sitting down a little longer than usual, to enjoy
your meal, can be liberating.
Sensory information is,
more often than not, a huge focus in literary works. Literary fiction,
unfortunately, gets a bad rap for all the description it uses. This makes me
sad because I adore it. I never used
to. But then I realized I wasn’t reading it for the right reasons.
I’m convinced that
some people think it’s boring because their expectations are all wrong. Most
literary works are not heavy on plot. It exists, but it is not usually the main
focus. Primarily, the focus is on character and theme. So you cannot expect to
pick up a literary novel and become so caught up in the story that you can’t
bear to put it down. But so what? Each reading experience should be different,
and should inspire you in different ways. So, before you dismiss the idea of
reading another literary novel, because the last one you read was so boring you
couldn’t keep your eyes open, try taking a different approach.
Try to focus on the
small things, page by page, rather than the book as a whole. Allow yourself to
not finish the book “this week” because you’ve signed up to the Goodreads Book Challenge and need to
maintain your momentum. Life is not about numbers, folks. It’s about quality.
Give yourself that extra week to read a literary novel and you’ll discover the abundant
beauty and importance of unique phrasing, character development, theme and
symbolism, and how all these elements can effortlessly blend together to create
a masterpiece; to create an atmosphere rarely found in the commercial works
that can be gobbled up in one sitting. Focusing on these things is going to
make your writing better. And you can
learn to entwine, even if in the smallest of doses, a little more magic into
your prose. And you never know, by not focusing on the story line, you may find
you’ll actually enjoy reading something that lacks the pace you’re used to. If
you give your brain the opportunity to accept the difference, you give it room
to enjoy the difference.
Take this amazing line
from Marilynne Robinson’s, Housekeeping,
which is well-known among my peers, as my most favorite book of all time:
“It was the kind of loneliness that
made clocks seem slow and loud and made voices sound like voices across water.”
Isn’t this just so
beautiful?
Read it again. Slowly.
Out loud. Now, picture it. What other senses does this conjure? Can you hear
the loud and slow clock ticking? Its echo crossing a flat lake trying to reach
the disappearing voices of loved ones you wished existed? The still and
stifling warm air at dusk? Your heartbeat in your ears? The emptiness in your
chest? The melancholia you can’t seem to place? An amazing comparison to
loneliness, don’t you think?
You can do this in
your work. By reading a bit more literary fiction, you can discover small
beauties like this one. You can then practice taking someone’s breath away in
your own writing. Give your manuscript that extra touch of character, of magic,
of prose so well crafted that others will wish they could write like you. Now …
wouldn’t that just be an amazing accomplishment? To write a page turner that
makes a reader’s mouth water too?
Tell me, do you read literary fiction? Why/Why
not? If you’ve given up on literary fiction in the past, do you think you might
like to give it another go now?
Note: This article was first published in Writer's Digest, March, 2012.
Until I started trying to market my own books I never gave genre a second thought. There were well-written books and not so well-written books and that was about it. When I sat down to write I had in mind to write a something-that-wasn’t-poetry. The idea of sitting down with the intention of writing a literary novel sounds so pretentious. And yet when you look at what I had read up until that point almost all of it could be classified as literary fiction; I read Kafka and Camus and Beckett for pleasure. Now I’m spending a bit more time with authors online I see that one of the first questions they ask of each other is: What genre do you write? I still couldn’t give you a straight answer to that question. I don’t think it’s a particularly important question. I have read well-written science fiction and badly-written science fiction; I prefer the well-written stuff.
ReplyDeleteWriters are some of the most bigoted people out there. Those with agents and book contracts look down on the independently-published who manage somehow to simultaneously look down on the traditionally-published. Those who write genre fiction and churn out four books a year look down on those who write literary fiction and take four years to write a book who, in turn, look down on the jobbing authors and ghost writers conveniently ignoring the fact that literary fiction is still a genre. It’s tiresome.
I agree that some literary fiction is hard work. For me a lot of the commercial stuff is even more hard work and some of the books I’ve been asked to review have been a real chore to get through in fact many’s the time when I’ve been telling Carrie about the book I’ve been reading I say, “It’s just a story.” By that I mean that despite the intricacies of the plotting the book wasn’t written in an interesting way. It’s not enough to tell a story where everyone gets from A to B. I’m reading Journey to the End of the Night just now and really very little has happened in the last 200 pages but he describes doing nothing wonderfully. I haven’t encountered such a pass-remarkable narrator in years. He has some comment to make about everything. Wonderful stuff.
I think there is nothing more enjoyable than a character driven work of fiction. Yes there will be a plot kicking around—they’re really hard to avoid—but without a character for you to root for or hate I don’t much see the point. And the more three-dimension that character is the better.
"I think there is nothing more enjoyable than a character driven work of fiction." I couldn't agree more with you, Jim.
DeleteI think you've really hit the nail on the head here. I like literary fiction, but can only read it when I have time to sit and savor. I do most of my reading when I commute and that only gives the book maybe 50% of my attention--those have to be quick, suck you in plot heavy books.
ReplyDeleteKinda sad that life gets so busy we can't sit down to enjoy a book properly isn't it? I sometimes find myself purposely reading faster so I can get to the next book. It shouldn't be like that. It's a shame it IS like that. But in this day and age I think it's unavoidable. But we can take a break sometimes and PURPOSELY slow down.
DeleteI've been learning a lot about the history of creating genre distinctions in the first place--basically when marketing entered the literary sphere in the early 20th century. Some of the "greats" we all read in school really shot themselves in the foot by making rather grandiose claims, trying to be a coterie, and saying that a work's popularity meant it wasn't truly art. Small wonder these biases persist. Making literary fiction popular means undoing a hundred plus years of history.
ReplyDeleteI've actually never thought of it that way, Laurel, but wow you are so right!
DeleteI don't mind a focus on character, but I do have a hard time getting into literary fiction. Certain authors, like Dickens, I can read though.
ReplyDeleteLove Dickens too :-)
DeleteI love the hell out of literary fiction. I loved it first. I'll love it always. I don't write it because I'm not that good and I know it. ;)
ReplyDeleteI will not, however, read any literary fiction that is unremittingly bleak, filled with despair, or just plain gross and weird. I'm just too old for that stuff. I mostly read those rambling 19th century novels that a lot of people hate. When you get used to the pace and you can begin to appreciate the writer's style and sensibility, it'll be the best thing in your brain.
Absolutely. But sometimes you have to give it a chance. You can't just expect to be swept of your feet. That's what some readers just don't understand. But in the long run it's totally worth it.
DeleteYes, I love a good literary novel! I can read anything (except horror; I'm a scaredy-cat!). A great way for people to get a taste for literary fiction is to start with short stories; that way, you get the enjoyment of description and character in a shorter piece and feel like you've accomplished something. Two of my favorite lit fic short story collections are "Island" by Alastair MacLeod and "Olive Kitteridge" by Elizabeth Strout.
ReplyDeleteI've never read those, Laura. Thanks for the recs!
DeleteOf course I do. It takes longer, is more of a task, but I'm always better for it. And so is my writing.
ReplyDeleteThat's the spirit :)
DeleteTell me a story...a good story...and I don't care what genre it is or style. I'll read it. Sometimes, cover art helps to make literary novels not so boring looking for me to at least pick the book up and explore.
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree. Cover art makes a difference to me too. So many people say it shouldn't make a difference, but for me, they always set the mood of a book. And then I can match that with the mood I'm in too.
DeleteWe live in the Twitter era. Concentration is hard. In fact, I think one of the hardest things for anyone to do in this age, is concentrate. Hell, most of us skip to the next mp3 a minute into a song now.
ReplyDeleteIf you're going to read -- you need to find that space. For me, it comes early in the morning. I ban myself from checking the phone or the internet for two hours. My brain accepts the command, and focuses on reading. And it's magical.
But it takes that much dedication, and it isn't easy. And sometimes the writing doesn't live up to your expectations.
But when it does: it's worth it.
That's really fabulous that you do that. I spend the first couple hours of my morning writing, and then dedicate the very last couple hours of my day, while in bed, to reading. Works well for me :)
DeleteI like literary novels. I've tried my hand at writing them, and thats really hard.
ReplyDelete.......dhole
Sometimes a novel is literary simply by the mood and essence, not by difficult prose. You never know. Maybe you're already doing it!
DeleteGreat points.
ReplyDeleteAs a reader, I think part of my challenge in appreciating the subtlety and color in a piece of fiction is owing to... well, movies.
How many of us run a feature film of what we're reading through our heads while read fiction fiction? If we're in a hurry to see what happens next in the plot, we're not going to catch the details.
It's taken me years to cure myself of that. Writing isn't flat on a screen.
I was sort of raised on literary fiction. I took AP classes in HS, which meant while all my other classmates were reading standards, we were reading Toni Morrison and Kurt Vonnegut and Barbara Kingsolver and Marge Atwood... Then I was an English major (more LF). I still love it so much for all the reasons you state. I think I'm kind of having a reading holiday right now, though--LOL! But LF has a special place in my heart~ :o) <3
ReplyDeleteGreat posts and I agree with you. I think the most important thing you said in this is that their expectations are all wrong.
ReplyDeleteNice post, Jessica - and I don't believe necessarily that non-literary fiction has to be 'ugly' in its writing style. I think that you can write general fiction, i.e. fiction with a strong and definite plot, in a beautiful, poetic way. Or maybe that's just me. ;)
ReplyDeleteJust found this post via Writer Unboxed. Well said, Jessica. And, Trisha, I agree completely.
ReplyDelete