Is there really a difference between 'Genre Fiction' and 'Literature'?
Our post modern culture expects double coding from any creative artist, these days. It's no longer considered sufficient to create writing of literary value alone: it must also satisfy the popular demand for entertainment. As a creative writer, it's important to understand the nature of the times and the consumer expectations of the finished product. Or just write for the love of it, without expectations of either popular or critical acclaim!
I do make a distinction, though, between writing that is entertaining and writing that attempts to emulate audio-visual entertainment. It's a lamentable fact that TV/cinema is a more popular form of entertainment than reading at this point in western society, and the 'Show, Don't Tell' maxim is the most obvious manifestation in the literary sphere of the audio-visual sensory bias that has been promoted.
I like movies. And I like books. But I don't want or expect books to be more like movies, nor movies more like books. They're distinct media, with their own strengths and weaknesses for creative expression. We should let them both flower in their own ideal environments if we're to get the best from each. That means we have to tolerate the use of balanced exposition in literature (which I would define, in this case, as any and all written works, especially, but not only, those considered of superior or lasting artistic merit). By all means, 'Show' me. But feel free to 'Tell' me a bit, too. How far would Tolkien, with his love of exposition, get in today's publishing environment if he were an unknown novelist? Here's an interesting article on the subject:
http://www.lbgale.com/2012/04/29/five...
I also disagree with the automatic distinction some make between literature and genre fiction. The dictionary definition of 'literature' makes no such distinction, and it's a mistake to use it that way, albeit a popular mistake (as with the use of 'literally' when used figuratively). It would be of greater value in this post modern, double coding age to apply a grading or rating system to each work, providing a rough measure of popular appeal, combined with reviews by industry professionals and intellectual readers able to perceive and explain the distinction between a book's entertainment value and its artistic merit. This would help readers make their selection based on their preference of reading for entertainment or reading for artistic merit, or a balance of the two, as is most often the case. Funnily enough, this is almost what we get in the online marketplaces and consumer review sites. Almost....
I do make a distinction, though, between writing that is entertaining and writing that attempts to emulate audio-visual entertainment. It's a lamentable fact that TV/cinema is a more popular form of entertainment than reading at this point in western society, and the 'Show, Don't Tell' maxim is the most obvious manifestation in the literary sphere of the audio-visual sensory bias that has been promoted.
I like movies. And I like books. But I don't want or expect books to be more like movies, nor movies more like books. They're distinct media, with their own strengths and weaknesses for creative expression. We should let them both flower in their own ideal environments if we're to get the best from each. That means we have to tolerate the use of balanced exposition in literature (which I would define, in this case, as any and all written works, especially, but not only, those considered of superior or lasting artistic merit). By all means, 'Show' me. But feel free to 'Tell' me a bit, too. How far would Tolkien, with his love of exposition, get in today's publishing environment if he were an unknown novelist? Here's an interesting article on the subject:
http://www.lbgale.com/2012/04/29/five...
I also disagree with the automatic distinction some make between literature and genre fiction. The dictionary definition of 'literature' makes no such distinction, and it's a mistake to use it that way, albeit a popular mistake (as with the use of 'literally' when used figuratively). It would be of greater value in this post modern, double coding age to apply a grading or rating system to each work, providing a rough measure of popular appeal, combined with reviews by industry professionals and intellectual readers able to perceive and explain the distinction between a book's entertainment value and its artistic merit. This would help readers make their selection based on their preference of reading for entertainment or reading for artistic merit, or a balance of the two, as is most often the case. Funnily enough, this is almost what we get in the online marketplaces and consumer review sites. Almost....
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