What is fiction?
You probably didn’t visit this post for a lecture on what fiction is and the literary definitions, but I have a BA in English, and this is the stuff I studied, which was 99% of the English classes I took as an English major, while taking a couple tech writing classes, which are a completely different style of writing. I took most of my Creative Writing classes in high school, which were much more useful to me than the useless Creative Writing classes in college, which really kind of stifles creativity and imagination from my point of view.
I’m sure you’re wondering what prompted this little lecture that should normally be reserved for college English class? Simple. I was getting tired of reviews, mostly on Amazon, whining about how my novels aren’t realistic, they’re stupid, written like a 5th grader wrote it, and they’re amazed that I somehow managed to get an English degree. Since I’m not supposed to directly respond to those that continue to dump on my novels, I’ll do it here. But, if you want examples of what I’m talking about, feel free to visit the Amazon page for The Usurper or Shattered Earth.
Let me tell you a little secret: According to college English professors (the ones who teach in the classes higher than freshman & sophomore level, at least in the universities I went to), the average reader has a 5th grade reading level, so you must dumb down whatever you write to that level. Yes, you read that right. Upper Level College English professors think the average reader lacks the education to understand anything beyond a 5th grade level. Does that surprise you? Which is why I said that taking college Creative Writing stifles creativity and imagination.
Now if you’re still with me, please read the following terms:
According to Dictionary.com, fiction is:
Literature created from the imagination, not presented as fact, though it may be based on a true story or situation. Types of literature in the fiction genre include the novel, short story, and novella. The word is from the Latin fictio, “the act of making, fashioning, or molding.”
When used as a noun:
1. the class of literature comprising works of imaginative narration, especially in prose form.
2. works of this class, as novels or short stories: detective fiction.
3. something feigned, invented, or imagined; a made-up story.
4. the act of feigning, inventing, or imagining.
5. an imaginary thing or event, postulated for the purposes of argument or explanation.
When used as synonyms:
fable, fantasy. Fiction, fabrication, figment suggests a story that is without basis in reality. Fiction suggests a story invented and fashioned either to entertain or to deceive: clever fiction; pure fiction. Fabrication applies particularly to a false but carefully invented statement or series of statements, in which some truth is sometimes interwoven, the whole usually intended to deceive: fabrications to lure speculators. Figment applies to a tale, idea, or statement often made up to explain, justify, or glorify oneself: His rich uncle was a figment of his imagination.
Literary periods & definitions
Literary periods are periods such as Classical, Romantic, Victorian, Realism, Modern, Post-Modern, etc.
•Classical: Classical Literature refers to the great masterpieces of the Greek, Roman, and other ancient civilizations: Homer’s “Iliad,” Ovid’s “Metamorphoses,” Virgil’s “Aeneid,” “Oedipus the King” by Sophocles, along with works by other ancient writers in epic, lyric, tragedy, comedy, pastoral, and other forms.
•Romantic: The term refers to the artistic philosophy prevalent during the first third of the nineteenth century (about 1800-1830). The Romantic movement typically asserts the unique nature of the individual, the privileged status of imagination and fancy, the value of spontaneity over “artifice” and “convention,” the human need for emotional outlets, the rejection of civilized corruption, and a desire to return to natural primitivism and escape the spiritual destruction of urban life. Their writings often are set in rural, pastoral or Gothic settings and they show an obsessive concern with “innocent” characters–children, young lovers, and animals. The major Romantic poets included William Blake, William Wordsworth, John Keats, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Lord Gordon Byron.
•Realism: most often refers to the trend, beginning with certain works of nineteenth-century French literature and extending to late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century authors in various countries, towards depictions of contemporary life and society “as they were.” In the spirit of general “realism,” Realist authors opted for depictions of everyday and banal activities and experiences, instead of a romanticized or similarly stylized presentation. Writers include Mark Twain, Stephen Crane, Jack London, etc.
•Victorian: is the literature produced during the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901) (the Victorian era). It forms a link and transition between the writers of the romantic period and the very different literature of the 20th century. The 19th century saw the novel become the leading form of literature in English. The works by pre-Victorian writers such as Jane Austen and Walter Scott had perfected both closely observed social satire and adventure stories. Popular works opened a market for the novel amongst a reading public. The 19th century is often regarded as a high point in British literature as well as in other countries such as France, the United States and Russia. Books, and novels in particular, became ubiquitous, and the “Victorian novelist” created legacy works with continuing appeal. Writers include: Charles Dickens, The Bronte Sisters, Robert Louis Stevenson, the Brownings, etc.
•Modern: is sub-genre of Modernism, a predominantly European movement beginning in the early 20th century that was characterized by a self-conscious break with traditional aesthetic forms. Representing the radical shift in cultural sensibilities surrounding World War I, modernist literature struggled with the new realm of subject matter brought about by an increasingly industrialized and globalized world. In its earliest incarnations, modernism fostered a utopian spirit, stimulated by innovations happening in the fields of anthropology, psychology, philosophy, political theory, and psychoanalysis. Writers such as Ezra Pound and other poets of the Imagist movement characterized this exuberant spririt, rejecting the sentiment and discursiveness typical of Romanticism and Victorian literature for poetry that instead favored precision of imagery and clear, sharp language. This new idealism ended, however, with the outbreak of war, when writers began to generate more cynical postwar works that reflected a prevailing sense of disillusionment and fragmented thought. Many modernist writers shared a mistrust of institutions of power such as government and religion, and rejected the notion of absolute truths. Like T.S. Eliot’s masterpiece, The Waste Land, later modernist works were increasingly self-aware, introspective, and often embraced the unconscious fears of a darker humanity. Writers include: Steinbeck, Yeats, Faulkner, Fitzgerald, Conrad, Beckett, and Joyce.
•Post-Modern: is used to describe certain characteristics of post–World War II literature (relying heavily, for example, on fragmentation, paradox, questionable narrators, etc.) and a reaction against Enlightenment ideas implicit in Modernist literature. Postmodern literature, like postmodernism as a whole, is hard to define and there is little agreement on the exact characteristics, scope, and importance of postmodern literature. But as is often the case with artistic movements, postmodern literature is commonly defined in relation to its precursor. For example, instead of the modernist quest for meaning in a chaotic world, the postmodern author avoids, often playfully, the possibility of meaning, and the postmodern novel is often a parody of this quest. Postmodern authors also tend to celebrate chance over craft, and further employ metafiction to undermine the writer’s authority. Another characteristic of postmodern literature is the questioning of distinctions between high and low culture through the use of pastiche, the combination of subjects and genres not previously deemed fit for literature. Writers include: Vonnegut, Heller, Pynchon, Don DeLillo, David Foster Wallace, etc.
Thanks to Wikipedia for the definition.
As for me, fiction is supposed to be made-up from the author’s imagination, so what or who is to say that I have to stick to a formula? If we were to ridicule fiction books that aren’t realistic, then we need to also ridicule Moby Dick, Frankenstein, Dracula, Twilight, Winnie the Pooh, Eragon, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Alice in Wonderland, Star Trek, Star Wars, and anything by Asimov, Bradbury, HG Wells, Jules Verne, any number of graphic novels, and anyone else I missed.
To sum it up: the lack of imagination by some readers astounds me. If people want total realism, go read a non-fiction book or read Dickens, Austen, etc.
