When Does Story Become Literature?

Listen: I won’t finally answer a question that the entirety of academia is still somehow trying to figure out, or at least actively discussing. But, I think that this question needs to be addressed before I feel comfortable dishing out my own little nuggets of wisdom to you. If you want to actually write literature, you’ll need to know what it is. At least in parts.

Agents, publishers and the industry in general seems to make a very clear distinction between commercial and literary fiction. I personally don’t like distinction because it implies the following: 1) What appeals to the masses isn’t literature. And 2) Literature cannot be commercially successful. And we all know this isn’t true.

Others distinguish between plot-driven and character-driven fiction, meaning that literature is more about exploring its protagonists than about the plot. But I don’t think that holds true either. If you have read my last entry in this series, you’ll know that (in my opinion) plot ceases to exist without characters. And, on the other side of the equation, characters cannot be defined without their (plot) actions. Often, when I stumble upon these words, I find that it’s less about plot or character, and more about the general pacing and “loudness” of a novel.

So, I’ve decided to put on my thinking cap and come up with the things that I think make literature “special”. Here’s the results:

Who Gets to Decide?

Let’s say, there are three different parties involved in assessing a story: the author, the audience (a.k.a. the readers) and the text itself. And let’s also say that I can evaluate story (just like everything else) by what happens on the inside and what happens on the outside. – I think it’s fair of me to assume that both these statements are true.

Well, if we juxtapose them, we’ll get a somehow clearer image which elements might be present in so-called literature, but aren’t in other types of fiction. Here are the things I came up with:

Influence and Objective

A story could be very much literature before the author even sets out to write it. Either they have decided on writing literature which means that we have to immediately discuss it as such (more on that later), because they are influenced by literary works before them, or because they might even belong to a literary circle and are pretty much literary authors by association.

Let’s take Mary Shelley, for example. She was the daughter of feminist Mary Wollstonecraft and philosopher William Godwin, as well as lover and later wife of Percy Shelley and close acquaintance of Lord Byron. Even if Frankenstein weren’t the masterpiece that I think it is, we would have to read her literaryly by association alone.

In other words, stories become literature when their authors want them to fit into that category, or they are historically connected to other literary stories.

Presentation and Precedents

By the way an author and/or publisher decide to present their story to the market can classify as literature as well. The choice of cover art, publishing house, intended readership and entry to certain contests might tell readers: This is literature and wants to be read as such.

Also, if an author is known for their literary stories, their newest project will very likely be grouped with them. There is a reason, certain “high-brow” writers like to use a pen name when dipping their toes in more commercial waters.

Personal Evaluation

This one is quite simple. If readers read a story and decide for themselves that “This is literature!” – it probably is. As soon as we look at something as if it were literary it becomes exactly that. (I promise, I’ll explain in a moment.)

Critical Evaluation, Longevity and Influence

On a similar note, a book might be judged by critics or any other authorities as literary. If they say so, once again, they are automatically right. Classifying something as literature is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

But there’s another aspect to audience reaction that might help something become literature. And that’s the longevity of the reaction: How long after its publication do people still talk about it and how does it influence other writers? Or, in other words, does it become a classic?

The best example for this is Bram Stoker’s Dracula: What is essentially a novelised version of the modern-day cheep horror movie, written by an otherwise incompetent author, has become literature, because it survived so long. People loved it and still love it, and its depiction of the vampire has become one of the most iconic stock character for all types of stories.

It wouldn’t surprise me at all if in a hundred years people took Shrek as seriously as they do Dracula. Because no matter the narrative problems it might have – its cultural impact and influence on the new generation of writers cannot be denied.

Socio-Political & Cultural Themes

As soon as we look on the inside of a text or, as I have called it before, content, there seems to be a certain trend that goes for a lot of literature: It is interested in culture, society and politics – basically in the shared human experience.

Don’t get me wrong: Non-Literary stories can have these themes as well. But in literature, they seem to be kind of pushed to the foreground. The difference between 1984 and The Hunger Games might just be that Orwell wants you to know that he’s critiquing the establishment, whereas Collins just uses the critique as the backdrop of her stories.

Also, it can’t be forgotten that any deviation from “traditional plot” as I wrote about in my earlier post makes stories feel more literary than others. But you already knew that; I’m sure.

Narrative Techniques and Contextual Markers

Any kind of narration that doesn’t run parallel to the plot but rather toys with it has the inherent potential to become literary. By using certain techniques, most of all those that distance the reader from the plot rather than draw them in, a text can call attention to its “otherness” and thereby request the literature-treatment.

The same goes for texts that emulate narrative techniques that we might already know and don’t find as alienating as others, but that are borrowed from other works of literature. Think of allusions to other works, direct quotes, e.g. as mottos at the beginning of chapters, etc. — These things create an air of literary-ness, if well done.

Literature Defines Itself

Finally, we’ve come to the part I talked about so much: Why do I say that everything that is said to be literature becomes literature? Well, let me quote something that I’ve read thousands of times because it was written on an enormous poster in the meeting room of my writing group:

And art exists that one may recover the sensation of life; it exists to make one feel things, to make the stone stony. The purpose of art is to impart the sensation of things as they are perceived and not as they are known.

The technique of art is to make objects “unfamiliar,” to make forms difficult, to increase the difficulty and length of perception because the process of perception is an aesthetic end in itself and must be prolonged. Art is a way of experiencing the artfulness of an object: the object is not important…

Victor Shklovsky

Well, what goes for art goes for literature: Literature wants us to not only digest its plot but also to give our attention to its narration – more than “commercial” fiction might do. Now comes the funny part: As soon as something is called literature, we suddenly have to give attention to the narration because we are told that it is in fact literature. In doing so, its definition is fulfilled and it becomes what it said it was.

So let me put it this way: A literary text is what presents itself as such. Through this self-styling, it draws attention to its form, thereby slowing down its perception until it surpasses mere recognition. Neither alienation nor complication is necessary marks of the literary text (or art in general); it marks itself.

Crazy, right? Let’s move on.

Is Literature Inherently Better than Non-Literature?

Literature comes from and still remains a realm of privilege. It started out as such, as only the elite had the ability to read and write and the time to do so. It still remains that way because the access to classical education is hard for people that aren’t connected to this field.

Especially wealth is still a huge gatekeeper for anyone trying to dabble in literary fiction. Why? – Well, because it doesn’t necessarily sell as well as YA fantasy. If you want to keep writing it, at least full-time, you’ll need to have other sources of income.

Also, our idea of literature is heavily influenced by Western culture. There’s nothing inherently wrong about that since the Western World is where our literature began. But maybe we should open up a bit more to stories outside of the Anglo-American publishing world. That’s not to say we must stop writing these stories, but we must allow others to co-exist with them without discrimination.

And here we come to commercial fiction: There is a very real elitism when it comes to literary fiction. Most people just assume that it is better and worth more because the access to it (both to read and write it, that is) is so much harder. But I disagree.

The worth of a story is entirely dependent on what you take from it and how you like it. You don’t need to have read Finnegan’s Wake to be considered intelligent or be allowed to write, just as much as you don’t have to read Twilight if it’s not your cup of tea.

Commercial and literary fiction cater to certain groups, that are neither worse nor better than each other. And maybe that’s why I don’t like that distinction. It creates a divide where there shouldn’t be one. Everyone should feel free to read any book they like. No matter what label society puts on those stories.

What Can We Learn From This?

I really thought, I could be short and sweet in this post, but alas! Anyway, here’s the things you’d might like to take away.

1. Anything you want can become literature. So don’t stress about writing the next literary masterpiece. Just find your own voice. If you let your plot and narrator dictate your story, everything will be fine.
2. Sometimes, labels are put on stories, even your own. If that happens, roll with it. Let your text speak for itself.
3. Writing “commercially” is just as valid as “literary” endeavours. Don’t believe people who tell you otherwise.
4. Be aware of what context you write and publish your story is. You might set up expectations that you don’t mean to.
5. Just have fun with your story. Everything else will happen naturally.

Happy writing,
F.G.

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