Literary vs. Genre Fiction
I have a confession to make: My guilty pleasure in this world is reading genre fiction. Mystery? You bet. Science fiction? Absolutely! Thriller? Bring it on! The only genre I haven’t indulged in is romance (more out of lack of interest than having anything against the genre). I love getting lost in the plots of genre fiction and trying to guess how characters will get out of whatever trouble they find themselves in.
Likewise, during my college years, there was a period of time when all I read was either the classics, poetry, literary fiction, literary criticism, or any combination of those type of works. I loved it! I was having the time of my life. The literature I was working with challenged my thinking and sharpened my skills in critical reading and critical thinking.
My point is that both genre fiction and literary fiction have something different to offer readers, but it is possible to love them both. The differences are usually in the details. But what are those differences?
Literary fiction
In general, literary fiction is more character-centered and seeks to explore different narrative styles and the psychological universe that a character lives in. Because literary fiction relies heavily on character development, and plot often takes a backseat to this element, some readers find it extremely drab and boring. Yet some of the most interesting reading, I find, is all about the seemingly mundane lives of characters that dominate this world.
Genre fiction
This is the type of fiction that sells the most in bookstores and often tops the bestseller lists. Genre fiction is usually plot-based, with action and conflict driving the story forward. There are several sub-genres within this category (mystery, romance, thriller, etc). While characters should be well-developed, they are often stock characters and somewhat predictable. Obviously, there are many exceptions to this. Critics of genre fiction say it cheapens literature and is written only to sell books. I say it’s a great form of entertainment!
Keeping an open mind and enjoying both
One thing I constantly work at as a reader and a writer is to keep an open mind. Sometimes it is hard, as I easily can fall into the same line of thinking as people who are either hardcore genre fiction fans or hardcore literary fiction fans.
If you write fiction, reading both can be very beneficial. With literary fiction, you will learn more about character development than you ever wanted to. And in genre fiction you will pick up ways to keep the plot moving and what makes for a good story. I wrote more about this back in 2007 in this post.
Do you prefer genre or literary fiction? Which do you read/write more of? Why? Leave a comment below with your opinion. I look forward to hearing from you!
Related posts
- Plot Vs. Character based fiction
- Why is some fiction literary and why does it matter?
- Travel writing: A literary genre
- What genres do you read?
- Is your fiction technophobic?
I am an admitted hardcore genre fan. I’ve explored this question quite a bit. The polarizing of genre vs. mainstream comes largely from not realizing that both have their own aesthetic (or basis of judging quality). Modern mainstream fiction comes largely from Henry James while Genre is descended from the old Marchen or fairy tales of old. Mainstream is about character’s wants while genre is about character’s needs. Mainstream revolves on the interactions of characters (making it more character oriented). Genre revolves on story (something has to happen.) Mainstream readers want observations on the interactions of people while Genre fiction can tackle more abstract questions like Good Vs. Evil, What does it mean to be ‘human’? or What is the true nature of existance? (That sounds pretty philosophical but it’s there.) An excellent source on this subject is Professor Drout’s “Rings, Swords and Magic” lectures.
GW
[...] don’t define my love of genre fiction as a guilty pleasure. There’s nothing guilty about it. I read what I enjoy and I enjoy, for the most part, quite a [...]