My Name is Kristin, and I Write Genre Fiction

"The notion that popular fiction is easy fiction is a self-congratulatory myth perpetuated by elites...But when a writer is spinning a yarn of a particular type, a genre tale, then even more special knowledge is required to win over an audience, not less." Michael A. Arnzen, Many Genres, One Craft

I just have to post about this because I'm getting pretty sick of taking shit for wanting to write the kinds of books I'd want to read. 

   I appreciate Dr. Arnzen's defense of genre fiction. He does it all the time--in writing, in class, in the hallway outside of the cafeteria. It's like he can't help himself. Or like he's been called a hack one time too many, and he's had it. Sometimes in the course of doing what I do and meeting the people I meet, I forget this is an artistic endeavor I'm pursuing. To create is to be creative--and it's hard, hard work. I should hold my head up and be proud of what I do, even when surrounded by the literati.

Still, there's that literary vs. genre thing, and I'm not entirely certain I can identify literary fiction when I see it. I've heard it defies categorization in a single genre. By that definition, all hybrid novels would be literature. From what I can tell--and this is my prejudice talking--I recognize literary fiction when the author uses poetic language and complexity to make a piece sound more beautiful and artistic. The writer sounds smart, but doesn't consider the reader. It's pedantic.

   To me it comes off as self-indulgent on the part of the writer to wander through flowery language and leave it to the reader to search for the meaning. Or in some cases it's not language but avoidance of structure--there again the reader is left to sort through superfluous information while he or she searches for the story. 

I'm not suggesting that writers pander to the reader and write only on demand, though I don't blame those who do--real people have real mortgages that have to be paid with real money. I might suggest, instead, that the writer keep readers in mind so the work communicates clearly, and the meaning isn't lost in translation.