My topic today is something I don't often talk about, or even think much about: experimental fiction.
You know what I mean. Stories or novels that are unusual in some way, most often in format, technique, or structure.
When I think experimental, I'm reminded of Faulkner writing a short story in first-person plural POV ("A Rose for Emily"), or Cormac McCarthy leaving quotation marks out of his novels, or Ernest Vincent Wright writing an entire novel (Gadsby) without using the letter e. Truth be told, I'm not fond of that kind of thing.
But . . . what if it's not something too weird or too difficult? What if it's just writing a story in a new and different way, maybe venturing beyond your comfort zone, just to see if you can do it? (And maybe to keep from getting bored.) I doubt any of my stories will ever be written without paragraphs or quotation marks or upper-case letters--but there are some kinds of literary experimentation that are almost too tempting not to try.
So, here are a few of those. This is a list of my own attempts at experimental fiction, none of them too drastic and each one followed by an example:
- An entire story told backward, scene by scene, with the ending first and the beginning at the end. "The Midnight Child," Denim, Diamonds, and Death (Bouchercon 2019 anthology).
- A story that takes place within the span of one hour, using three different points of view: the first third is seen through the eyes of the antagonist, the second third the protagonist, the last third an onlooker. "An Hour at Finley's," Amazon Shorts.
- A story with three completely different cases and solutions within the same story. "The POD Squad" and "Scavenger Hunt," both at AHMM.
- A story written with no dialogue at all. "Bennigan's Key," Strand Magazine.
- A story written using nothing but dialog--not even an attribute, like he said or she asked. "George on My Mind," completed (last week) but not yet submitted.
- A story with three equal parts, each from a different POV, each part beginning and ending with the same sentence. "Life Is Good," Passport to Murder (Bouchercon 2017 anthology).
- A story set entirely in one small, cramped location. "The Donovan Gang," AHMM (stagecoach), "The Red-Eye to Boston," Horror Library Vol. 6 (airplane), "The Winslow Tunnel" Amazon Shorts (passenger train), "Teamwork," AHMM (car), "Silent Partner," Crimestalker Casebook (rowboat), "Christmas Gifts," Reader's Break (elevator), "Merrill's Run," Mystery Weekly (car trunk).
- A long, rhyming poem (256 lines) in story form. "Over the Mountains," Dreamland collection.
- A story whose title is the same as its length. "A Thousand Words," Pleiades.
- A story in letter form (epistolary). "The Home Front," Pebbles.
- A story told entirely in flashback: "Cargo," Black Cat Weekly.
- A story featuring only one character. "Windows," Land of 1000 Thrills (Bouchercon 2022 anthology).
- A story about a countdown, using a time (8:10, 8:14, 8:26, 8:27, etc.) as a title for every scene. "Twenty Minutes in Riverdale," Pulp Modern.
Have you tried any so-called experimental writing? Anything more challenging than my stellar efforts? (I would hope so.) How often have you done something like this? Did you find those stories/novels fun, or at least interesting, to write? Were any of them published? What are some types of experimental fiction that you've enjoyed reading?
And that's that. I'll be back in two weeks. Meanwhile, experimental or not--keep writing!
Holy mackerel, John. I get dizzy just reading your list. Great achievements.
ReplyDeleteI wrote a story told entirely in voice mail messages left on the victim ‘s phone. (So Long, in Heartbreaks & Half-truths, Superior Shores Press, 2020)
You’ve got me thinking. Hmm. Maybe I could— Who knows?
Edward Lodi
I remember "So Long," Edward--I was in that anthology with you. Great story! And I bet it was fun to write. (So you just answered your own question. Yes, you could!)
DeleteI once wrote a story in reverse—last scene first, first scene last—that was published in Espionage. The editor revised it without my knowledge and the "experiment" did not survive the editor's revision.
ReplyDeleteA story written in scenes, with each scene having its own POV and taking the last line of the previous one and using it to spark another direction. "The Seven Day Itch", AHMM, Sept./Oct. 2019. (It was set on a cruise ship)
ReplyDelete