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Posted By: Seeria Jan 08, 2005 - 07:24 am

I was reading through some agent listings and came across the terms listed below. Could someone explain to me what each means specifically, please?

Mainstream fiction
Commercial fiction
Hard Science fiction
Magical Realism fiction
Exotic fiction

Posted By: Magus Jan 08, 2005 - 08:09 am

O.K. I don't know them all, but I know a few.

Hard Science fiction is sci-fi dealing more with the technological aspects then the character aspects. If it deals more with characters then technology and such then it would be soft science fiction.

I think exotic fiction might be the book version of porn, but I honestly am not sure.

Posted By: Bmat Jan 08, 2005 - 10:39 am

http://www.atfantasy.com/view/80

"As strange as it may sound, the writer of science-fiction and fantasy must be far more careful about maintaining the willing suspension of disbelief of his/her readers. Coincidence can be used by others under the guise of truth being stranger than fiction, and trying to mirror the truth, but with us, the strain on willing suspension is already such that we must avoid any further taxing of it."

http://home.austarnet.com.au/petersykes/topscifi/features_definitions.html

This article talks about definitions of science fiction.

I've seen mainstream fiction as fiction that is comfortable to read for the general readership, where genre fiction is directed at a certain audience.

I saw this definition of commerical fiction, but there are a number of definitions. (paraphrased) Commerical fiction focuses on telling a captivating story but is not focused on the "craft."

Magical realism fiction I haven't seen. Could it be fiction that is close to real life but has magic in the background?

Posted By: chowder Jan 08, 2005 - 10:58 am

Genres often overlap and definitions never seem to be straightforward. These definitions are my takes on the genres:

Magical Realism
Deals with realistic characters in a realistic world with magic/fantasy elements (as opposed to a fantastic world)

Commercial
Has a broad readership and includes all genres (think Grisham)

Mainstream
Usually depicts characters/settings that are real and (usually)current. Can include both commercial and literary fiction.

Posted By: Seeria Jan 09, 2005 - 03:58 am

Thanks for the responses and the links (very helpful).