239. Do You Prefer ‘Literary’ or ‘Genre’ Fantastical Fiction?

0 plays · Nov 19, 2024

We love stories with fine writing.[1. Photo by Jonathan Francisca on Unsplash.] As the Scripture says, “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.” But sometimes readers just want basic style, quick tools for the simple job of getting you in and out of a fantastical work of fiction. Which kind of stories do you prefer and why?

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1. What I mean by ‘literary’ fiction vs. ‘genre’ fiction

Literary fiction

Tends to focus on poetical language, deeper themes, character journeys.
Sentences and paragraphs can be much longer and more complex.
Books often use words as ornate instruments, not as simple tools.
Less emphasis on reaching more readers and more emphasis on the Art.
Tends to have limited readership and become educational, not just fun.

Genre fiction

Tends to focus on basic plot, tropes, clear and simpler ideas/characters.
Sentences are more basic—subject, verb, object—and much shorter.
Books use words mainly as tools for the job, not ornate instruments.
Less emphasis on the Art and more emphasis on reaching more readers.
Tends to have broader readership and become fun, not just educational.

2. Why I get vexed by some ‘literary’ associations

Notice I didn’t say “literary fiction” but associations—ideas around it.
I feel vexed when literature teachers get preoccupied with Symbolism.
This confuses the means of symbols for the ends of their meanings.
See, for example, the false teachers who reduce the Bible to symbols.
Some teachers really do seem to be imposing their views on the book.
I recall several such examples from my old American Literature classes.
Simple words, like “nightcap,” got misinterpreted with sexual meanings.
Also, thanks to my upcoming novel, I’ve stumbled into a niche subgenre.
Turns out that “missionaries in space” has a few very literary attempts.
Of two top examples (I won’t name them), I’ve tried to read one so far.
Frankly, the novel was dull. Very little sci-fi. Aliens way in the distance.
The novel followed mostly very wealthy, remote, and unlikeable persons.
And that’s another stigma with “literary” schools—the aloof elitism.
Meanwhile, many literary sorts get preoccupied with politics and culture.
They seem to think that real life also functions by “literary fiction” rules.
And of course, the dullest teachers can turn great books into chores.
One sci-fi writer, Bruce McAllister, tried a famous experiment in 1963.
As a presumptuous student age 16, he wrote to 150 top literary figures.
He asked: Did they really consciously put all these s