Monday Musing- The fictional debate

This week my fellow authors (Christine , Kirsti, Tess ) and I are exploring the topic Literary vs. Genre Fiction. Genre can also be known as Popular fiction.

First impressions (free association really) when I started thinking about this topic:

Literary: (sometimes) boring, insightful, symbolic, school, themes, complex, deep, real life characters, awards, To Kill a Mockingbird, subtle, school, okay I'm repeating myself.

Genre fiction: paperback, straightforward, fast pace, cookie cutter, then I drew a blank because genre fiction is really quite open...

I don't care to promote one above the other since I think they each have their place. Personally it depends upon my mood and how much work I want to do as the reader. Do I want to be whirled away from the troubles of my life or do I want to dive into and examine the troubles of life?

I also have a looser definition of literary than I'm guessing most people do. Literary shouldn't mean critically acclaimed with awards. For me it means, did it make me think? Do I view the world slightly different because of it? Literary work is often subtle, and doesn't answer all your questions with a pretty pink bow. It asks "why" but doesn't offer an answer. It may leave many unanswered questions.

The timing of this topic is perfect since I just read The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, (who is by the way my new favorite author.) I harassed my husband enough into reading it because I wanted another person's opinion on it, especially the ending. He even pulled a late-nighter to finish the end despite it being a work night! Normally he reads a chapter before going to bed and I'm the one huddled under the blankets with the mini reading light until 3 am. The next day we held an impromptu book discussion in the kitchen.

I won't give anything away since I recommend it as a good read. It's not a very long book and it's a Dystopian novel, similar to 1984, in a sense. But after watching the movie together over the weekend, the literary pieces really stood out to me. Since the movie was made in 1990 and still heavily influenced by the 1980s, I did my best to ignore the awful hair, music etc.

We all know that books and their movies are rarely exact, and are often quite different. In this case, some key points were very different, and afterwards my husband put it pretty well: "If I hadn't read the book, I wouldn't have really known what it was about."

Of course you get that it's Dystopian, the handmaids wear red, they're supposed to bear children, and so on with the basics but many of the literary elements were ignored OR the movie took the liberty to answer some of the unanswered questions that the book poses (and not in a thoughtful way).

 Again, I don't want to give anything away, but the movie ramped up a few scenes, adding events that were not in the book, probably to add more drama and give the audience that feeling of connecting the dots. Oh, this happened, so that's why that happened. Oh, and just to make you feel better, we'll add this so you're content with the love, motherhood, and survival aspects of it.

As the credits were rolling, I told my husband I didn't like how they did it. I'd just eaten pink cotton candy when I was expecting Mackinaw Fudge.

The movie was genre fiction and the book was literary fiction- evoking two very different feelings and experiences.

I'm not saying that genre fiction is unable to be deep or complex. But I would argue that in order to be considered literary (even my broad definition of it), it needs to be more than cotton candy.

I'd been internally debating the subject for a few days so it was nice to unexpectedly experience the difference, rather than simply thinking and writing about it.

Feel free to share your own thoughts below on the subject or The Handmaid's Tale. Remember to check out Christine , Kirsti, and Tess 's blogs to get their thoughts on it!

Monday Musings

I'm excited to be in my first blog hop! We're all writers at various stages in our careers, and we've committed to writing about a shared topic every Monday. It's my least favorite day of the week so I like the idea of adding something fun and new on the dreaded day.  I'll provide the links so you can, well, hop, to the other writer's blogs to read their views.

Bloggers and authors often interview each other, but we're starting with a Self Interview. Be sure to get acquainted with Kirsti Jones, Chris Allen-Riley, and Tess Grant.

Self Interview

What’s your favorite word?

Namaste- partly for what it means and if you do any yoga, you'll know. I also love the way it rolls off my tongue.

What’s your least favorite word?

I'm cheating and picking a phrase: "Just sayin", it's overdone and half the time it's not used right. Pet peeve I guess.

What sound do you love?

Rain, thunderstorms, the woods, mourning dove- at our old house I used to wake every morning to this bird!

What sound do you hate?

Traffic, commercials

What’s your favorite curse word?

Sh*t usually sums things up quite well.

What profession other than yours would you like to attempt?

Writer of course, travelling writer would be nice. If I can dream big- probably an actress in a Jane Austen film. A bit specific I know, but I can dream..

What profession would you not like to do?

Anything with public speaking like politician, lawyer, CEO etc. These are about the polar opposite of my personality anyways!

What do you like best about writing?

For some reason this is really hard for me to answer. It's like asking me why do you have brown eyes? It just is. Pure and simple. It's my favorite form of expression and I love the process of creating. 

What do you like least?

It prompts such great self doubt and exposes my flaws (i.e. self confidence)

Do you have a day job aside from writing?

I'm a mental health therapist by day. (I typically refrain from saying psychologist because I get the most bizarre reactions from people)

What’s your favorite animal?

Dog

Favorite color?

Green- all shades

Coffee or tea?

Tea

City or country?

Country, although I just bought a house in the city...

Pirate or ninja?

Pirate, but with both eyes

If you were a book, which book would you be?

Pride and Prejudice- I adore historical fiction, especially if it's Jane Austen, Victorian, Tudor, Medieval, and/or takes place in England. Yes, I think I was born in the wrong century!

Feel free to comment below with an answer of your own from one of these questions!

New Year Priorities

When I hear writers say that they can't imagine NOT writing, and that it would be starvation, anguish, and cruelty if they couldn't write, I have no concept of what they mean. I'm really good at NOT writing, a master really. I could easily go 20 years without writing. It's so much easier.

I find writing painful. As I'm typing, there's a litany of negative thoughts. I notice everything that's wrong about it. At the end of every sentence I come up gasping for air. Can I go another lap? The muscle is sore, unpracticed, practically useless. It would be much easier to quit now. I wave my flag of defeat and think, maybe I'm not really a writer. Would a writer find it excruciating to actually write??

Come to think of it, it's similar to my experience of running. A couple of years ago, I made a goal of running a 5k, and I was not a runner. I ran sprints for track when I was in middle school, but that was over 15 years ago. A 5k was new territory and I was not a practiced runner. My husband is a runner, one of those cross country phenomenons that I can't wrap my head around. Running 15 miles is fun??

My husband was my unspoken coach. He'd run with me and cheer me on when I ran one minute straight, then five minutes straight. At the beginning, one minute was torture. Achy legs, I couldn't breathe, and my mind screamed, stop, stop, it hurts too much, I can't go another step!

I'd been with my husband (then boyfriend) for 7 years, but I still wanted to impress him. Wanted to make him proud I guess.  I always ran further when he was with me because I was too embarrassed to quit after one minute when he knew full well I could run for five. No matter how much of a temper tantrum my mind was throwing or how much my lungs were gasping, I was going to do it! When I ran alone, I didn't do as well, especially at first. It was just as much of a mental struggle as a physical struggle. I had to learn to master my mental hurdles and the physical all fell into place.

Which brings me back to writing. Writing is a solitary activity. Joining a writer's group and having an accountability partner shouldn't be discounted, but it's still a solitary activity. The mental barriers are also there and I find it so much easier to stop after this sentence. I feel sore and weak and burnt out of my creativity. I don't write as well when I'm out of practice, and that's the part I need to remember. Everything takes practice, whether it's running, writing, or whatever your "thing" is. And many of those require passion, perseverance, and mental barriers that you have to brace for.

As I enter the new year, I refuse to make a New Years resolution. Life is evolving and I need to allow for flexibility. My goals may change day by day and that's okay. I would, however, like to re-prioritize where and how I spend my time and energy. After family, work, and everyday mundane tasks, I have only so much time left for me. So writing is something I'm going to put at the top of my priorities, keeping in mind that I need practice and with that comes some crappy writing. But at least I'm writing. I did by the way, eventually run that 5k.