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.
ReplyDeleteMichael, I've heard you--and others--talk about Espionage. I bet it had some good stories.
DeleteAs for revising without the knowledge of the author, that's happened to me too, and usually not (in my opinion) for the better. Whattayagonnado?
A 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)
ReplyDeleteAha! I remember "The Seven Day Itch," too! In fact I remember a lot of your AHMM stories, Eve. Good work (and great title, by the way . . .).
DeleteI've tried to be unconventional, but have come to see myself as a 'storyteller' in the old sense, that is, telling a story from start to finish as if reading aloud, in past tense. I've tried multiple viewpoints, and even sold a few, but I am much more committed to stories told from one viewpoint. Maybe, again, the storyteller in me?
ReplyDeleteInspired by Bob Dylan's "Ballad of a Thin Man," I wrote a story in second person present tense for a noir at the bar event. It was later picked up by Urban Pigs Press online.
ReplyDeleteTom, I only just now saw your comment. Thanks, and congrats on the sale of that story--my hat's off to you for writing a story in second-person POV. (I've tried it, and failed--I think it's tough to do well. Second-person present tense would be even harder, for me.)
DeleteI bet it went over well at Noir at the Bar!
I understand, Melodie. I agree with most of that. I even still consider present tense to be experimental, since I don't like it and I know I will never use it in a story. As for linear structure, etc., I like that too, but I do think it's interesting to play around with it sometimes--even though it'll never be the norm, for me. (I think a non-linear storyline is one of the many things that made Pulp Fiction a great movie)
ReplyDeleteAlso, I think these different approaches are good just because they're FUN to try. I also think that now and then, "different" is something these magazine and anthology editors look for, so to do something really unusual in a story can occasionally pay off. My opinion only!
Thank you as always!
I could never feel comfortable with present tense or second person POV. Most of my writing is pretty tradtional in style, though the story I''m finishing now is told from one POV at the start and another POV near the end. And I once wrote a story that was all dialogue (a police Q and A). Sadly, it never found a home.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, Bob, on both present tense and second-person POV. As for POV, I write a lot more stories using only a single character's POV (either first or third) but now and then I'll use multiple, usually on longer stories and/or if I need characters to be doing things unknown to the other characters. Occasionally I'll use what's been called a detached POV (no one knows anyone else's thoughts, sort of like a screenplay), but not often.
DeleteStories using nothing but dialogue are tough, but FUN. (I'm sure the police Q/A story was fun to write. Hope you can sell it soon to a good place.)
Thanks for the thoughts!
Fun article, John, thanks. I wrote a story, "Omega0," which I'll classify as modern epistolary, with two friends texting each other. As a counterweight to their technology-driven communication, the friends are reviewing newspaper classified ads published as early as the 1700s. From their texting emerges a puzzle, one with a scary conclusion... For me, the scary aspect was not knowing if anyone would publish such a story. (Two columns delineating the two characters' texts, with embedded images of classified ads? Good luck!) Fortunately, Sam Knight accepted it for Particular Passages 4 (South Wing). On the less encouraging side, I've yet to find anyone to take it as a reprint...
ReplyDeleteDan, that sounds like a great story. How long ago was this?--Is it still available? (I like the term "modern episolary.") As for your search for a reprint market, never say never. My latest story in Black Cat Weekly was first published in 2005. Keep me posted!
DeleteAmong my stories, the one that comes to mind is "Perfect," a 1,500-word short that appeared in Yellow Mama in 2023. It was one of those Rashomon stories, a weekend (in an English country house, no less) from three different POVs in third person past. Each character had a remarkably different notion of "perfect." It never occurred to me to think of it as "experimental."
ReplyDeleteHey Liz! Listen, it's probably NOT really experimental, it's just different--but that's what makes it fun, too. Your story sounds neat, to me.
DeleteWhoa, you and Yellow Mama--you must've published a hundred stories there by now. I gotta send something there one of these days.
Thanks as always for chiming in, here. Stay warm!
There were quite a few times I experimented in my writing. While enjoyable to write, sometimes you go back and with the answer "What was I thinking?" and the belief others fed me that such approaches don't sell. But that's not to say I haven't experimented. I adapted my life ordeals into a few screenplays by turning them into novellas. Combined them with a short story I wrote for a contest and keep experimenting and expanding with almost a dozen installments I have written, revised, edited. Even doing so with different genres. And I keep doing so.
ReplyDeleteGood. Keep at it! Yes, it's hard to know, sometimes, whether these experiments will pay off--but, as has been mentioned, "different" can be a good thing. Live and learn, right?
DeleteGood luck with ALL your literary efforts!
I'm still tinkering with telling a story in reverse chronological order, that takes place over a period of years. It begins with a funeral (shades of Faulkner!) but the death it's concerned with, is a murder that happened many years ago. Also I wrote a story, 26 sentences long, each sentence beginning with the next letter of the alphabet. It actually wasn't terrible, but I wrote it that way because I misunderstood the directions, so couldn't enter it in the contest! 🙃
ReplyDeleteElizabeth, the few times I've written those "backward in time," reverse-order stories, I've enjoyed the process. It definitely makes you think in a different way, about the plot. Consider the movie Memento, from a few years ago, with Guy Pearce.
DeleteAnd, if it's a contest, sometimes the crazier the guidelines are, to these stories, the more fun it is. (Glad to hear I'm not the only one who tries this stuff now and then.)
Thanks for stopping in!
Two somewhat-experimental stories I wrote were “Dear Emily Etiquette,“ an epistolary story that I had a lot of fun with, and “Real Courage,“ which was told in four linear points of view, showing the long-term effects of a minor incident. I have other ideas for experimental stories. I just need the time. Sigh. Good column, John.
ReplyDeleteI remember "Emily," Barb. I loved that story, and a lot of others did too--If I recall, it won lots of awards! And yes, all of us--especially you--need more time!! You're a busy lady.
DeleteJohn, you definitely are Da Man! I love to experiment with short stories, but can't hold a match, let alone a candle, to these. I did a second person present tense once that worked. That's my most out-there short story, I think. But, after writing mostly mysteries with just a smidge of horror, I did a psychological suspense novel that's coming out in April. That was fun!
ReplyDeleteAnd you are De Lady! Seriously, your 2nd--person present tense story is way more adventurous than anything I've tried. BraVO. I agree that psychological suspense is fun to write, and probably at least as popular with editors/publishers as traditional mysteries are.
DeleteKeep on keepin' on!
Oddly enough (or totally predictable, depending on your PoV) I had 'experimental' pieces in the likes of Caprice, Nexus, Bentwood Review (etc) some decades ago. Opal L. Nations and Crad Kilodney - both Canadian Absurdists - and Steve Aylett here in the UK - were influences. Eraserhead (a film that was initially distributed via DIY videotape - 'send 75 cents and a blank tape to...') and the start of Bizarro as a movement/concept. The only piece I self-published was Detritus (2016 40,000 word novella) via Createspace. It was absolute fun to write, and I may even do the sequel/2nd in the series - but it's not a commercial product in the regular sense.
ReplyDeleteJohn Connor
Quill Sharpener and Octopus Wrangler
Weirdness Ink Press
Hey John! I suspect your pieces of experimental writing fit the definition more than most of my stories do--and congrats on your success there. As for self-publishing some of those, I've never self-pubbed anything, probably because I'm too lazy, but your novella sounds good also. Bet that WAS fun to write.
DeleteGood luck with the . . . octopuses? Octopi?
I wrote a story where the murderer tells the reader why the man charged with the dirty deed should go to prison. She's even a witness for his defense. Definitely not the 'who dun it' format. Unconventional, not necessarily experimental. Ah wait...that's why it's always rejected! I'll stick with the 3rd person routine...
ReplyDelete