Genre fiction by non genfic writers

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I have this theory that when litfic writers try their hand at science fiction, or horror, or maybe even detective fiction, it always turns out to be a bit rub. This is because the litfic writer is not truly part of the genre world, and ideas that seem incredibly exciting to them are in fact old hat unless done in a radically new way, which they will not be able to do.

what do you think?

― DV (dirtyvicar), Wednesday, 26 May 2004 18:33 (twenty-one years ago)

I have trouble differentiating so-called genre fiction from so-called literary fiction. Is anything that is not immediately pigeon-holeable by default literary fiction?

― SRH (Skrik), Thursday, 27 May 2004 06:21 (twenty-one years ago)

Are you thinking of anyone in particular, Vicar?

― accentmonkey (accentmonkey), Thursday, 27 May 2004 09:01 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm thinking of a book I've not read, which is actually a genfic writer writing in a different genre to usual... Walter Moseley's book in which a mysterious blue light gives people strange psychic powers. I hear it mings.

on the other hand, Margaret Attwood's foray into science fiction rocks hard.

― DV (dirtyvicar), Thursday, 27 May 2004 11:16 (twenty-one years ago)

You mean like God's Debris by Scott Adams?

― Fred (Fred), Thursday, 27 May 2004 12:33 (twenty-one years ago)

All fiction is genre, including 'literary'. Some authors are good at ranging across different genres, or combining them in interesting ways (with sexy results!) and such. These tend to be people who started off in a genre that's not too precious about where its ideas come from, which I think makes them more open-minded and goal-oriented with regard to storytelling.

― Liz :x (Liz :x), Thursday, 27 May 2004 14:35 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah, whatever your genre, you need to read a lot of what you're writing. See: Kingsley Amis's excellent sci-fi novel, the Alteration. He made no bones about being a lifelong fan of the genre, though he was mainly a comic writer/military/mystery/spy/ oh yes and there's that Bond novel... damn, the old bastard could do everything! Hm, should we give him his own thread, RIP?

― Ann Sterzinger (Ann Sterzinger), Thursday, 27 May 2004 22:43 (twenty-one years ago)

While we're talking Amis, how about Martin trying to write an American Crime novel in "Night Train" and making a mess of it?
I've always hated the way Atwood snobbishly tries to draw a distinction between what she writes :"speculative fiction" (apparently) and what oiks like Ray Bradbury & Philip K. Dick wrote: "Science fiction".

― David Nolan (David N.), Thursday, 27 May 2004 23:00 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah, right on about Atwood. Grrrrrrr. Evil, evil is the snobbish euphemism gene, you gots to root it out before it buries you...

― Ann Sterzinger (Ann Sterzinger), Thursday, 27 May 2004 23:47 (twenty-one years ago)

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Genre fiction by non genfic writers - S/D