What is experimental fiction?
I've been touting the Driver series as experimental fiction for some time now, though only officially as of this year. I'm always hesitant to label my fiction as one specific genre since I'm not the least interested in writing genre fiction per se. And experimental fiction may not really be a true genre by itself. I see it as more of a technique than anything.
So is the Driver series in fact a good example of experimental fiction? It's not as if I'm trying to write an entire book without the use of the letter "e" or tell a story from the perspective of monosyllabic ants. I value character development and plot, but not one at the expense of the other. Conflict is still important. The story should not be sacrificed at the altar of technique or medium; however, the story in no way needs to be, or necessarily should be, formulaic.
I set out to write The Camaro Murders with the intent to ask something of the reader. I wanted him or her to invest themselves in the story and think through it, to come to his or her own conclusions. As such, the first person narratives in this book are somewhat stark monologues, and they are told in a non-chronological order. Coupled with the subject matter, the reader is left with a very literary murder mystery with a large supernatural aspect. I love the contrast with this--the fantastic elements juxtaposed against the basic, concrete thoughts of the characters.
Lady in Flames, the second book in the series, continues the first person points of view. I enjoyed being inside the characters' heads in The Camaro Murders, but I wanted the narrative to exhibit more of a story-telling style with richer detail. It needed to be more evocative. The result is not my favorite Driver story plot-wise, but maybe my favorite Driver story writing-wise.
The latest Driver installment is Beacon Road Bedlam. Seeing as the first two books were first person and that the new story would explore the supernatural side of things in more detail, I decided to write from the third person point of view. Readers gets a different perspective I think, one that perhaps grounds them more in the mechanics of the world I created. There was also a noirish-pulpy vibe that kept coming to me with the flashbacks to the part of the story that takes place in the 1950's, hence the stylized cover art.
Future books in the Driver series will continue to be flexible and adaptive with regard to format and technique, but there will always be a good yarn, that I promise.
Pick up the entire series today for only .99 cents!
https://books.pronoun.com/the-camaro-...
https://books.pronoun.com/lady-in-fla...
https://books.pronoun.com/beacon-road...
So is the Driver series in fact a good example of experimental fiction? It's not as if I'm trying to write an entire book without the use of the letter "e" or tell a story from the perspective of monosyllabic ants. I value character development and plot, but not one at the expense of the other. Conflict is still important. The story should not be sacrificed at the altar of technique or medium; however, the story in no way needs to be, or necessarily should be, formulaic.
I set out to write The Camaro Murders with the intent to ask something of the reader. I wanted him or her to invest themselves in the story and think through it, to come to his or her own conclusions. As such, the first person narratives in this book are somewhat stark monologues, and they are told in a non-chronological order. Coupled with the subject matter, the reader is left with a very literary murder mystery with a large supernatural aspect. I love the contrast with this--the fantastic elements juxtaposed against the basic, concrete thoughts of the characters.
Lady in Flames, the second book in the series, continues the first person points of view. I enjoyed being inside the characters' heads in The Camaro Murders, but I wanted the narrative to exhibit more of a story-telling style with richer detail. It needed to be more evocative. The result is not my favorite Driver story plot-wise, but maybe my favorite Driver story writing-wise.
The latest Driver installment is Beacon Road Bedlam. Seeing as the first two books were first person and that the new story would explore the supernatural side of things in more detail, I decided to write from the third person point of view. Readers gets a different perspective I think, one that perhaps grounds them more in the mechanics of the world I created. There was also a noirish-pulpy vibe that kept coming to me with the flashbacks to the part of the story that takes place in the 1950's, hence the stylized cover art.
Future books in the Driver series will continue to be flexible and adaptive with regard to format and technique, but there will always be a good yarn, that I promise.
Pick up the entire series today for only .99 cents!
https://books.pronoun.com/the-camaro-...
https://books.pronoun.com/lady-in-fla...
https://books.pronoun.com/beacon-road...
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