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

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