This study explores the hierarchy of symbolic value between literary and genre fiction through a discourse analysis of book reviews of chick lit and critically acclaimed books published between 1998-2008 in leading review publications such as The New York Times, Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, and Booklist. Genre fiction is typically accorded less symbolic value than literary fiction, and, at times, distaste for genre fiction has lead to distaste for its audience. Evidence for these assertions can be found in the type of language employed in book reviews of chick lit and critically acclaimed novels, especially in the use of adjectives, opinion words, as well as terms used to describe writing techniques, characters, authors, and reading publics.

This study explores the hierarchy of symbolic value between literary and genre fiction through a discourse analysis of book reviews of chick lit and critically acclaimed books published between 1998-2008 in leading review publications such as The New York Times, Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, and Booklist. Genre fiction is typically accorded less symbolic value than literary fiction, and, at times, distaste for genre fiction has lead to distaste for its audience. Evidence for these assertions can be found in the type of language employed in book reviews of chick lit and critically acclaimed novels, especially in the use of adjectives, opinion words, as well as terms used to describe writing techniques, characters, authors, and reading publics.

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This study approaches ‘discovery writing’ in relation to genre, investigating whether different genres of writing might be associated with different kinds of writing processes. Discovery writing can be thought of as writing to find out what you think, and represents a reversal of the more usual sense that ideas precede writing, or that planning should precede writing. Discovery writing has previously been approached in terms of writers’ orientations, such as whether writers are Planners or Discoverers. This study engages with these previous theories, but places an emphasis on genres of writing, and on textual features, such as how writers write fictional characters, or how writers generate arguments when writing essays. The two main types of writing investigated are fiction writing and academic writing. Particular genres include short stories, crime novels, academic articles, and student essays. 11 writers were interviewed, ranging from professional fiction authors to undergraduate students. Interviews were based on a recent piece of a writer’s own writing. Most of the writers came from a literary background, being either fiction writers or Literature students. Interviews were based on set questions, but also allowed writers to describe their writing largely in their own terms and to describe aspects of their writing that interested them. A key aspect of this approach was that of engaging writers in their own interests, from where interview questions could provide a basis for discussion. Fiction writing seemed characterized by emergent processes, where writers experienced real life events and channelled their experiences and feelings into stories. The writing of characters was often associated with discovery. A key finding for fiction writing was that even writers who planned heavily and identified themselves somewhat as Planners, also tended to discover more about their characters when writing. Academic writing was characterized by difficulty, where discovery was often described in relation to struggling to summarize arguments or with finding key words. A key conclusion from this study is that writers may be Planners or Discoverers by orientation, as previous theory has recognised. However, the things that writers plan and discover, such as plots and characters, also play an important role in their writing processes.

The past decade has been an exciting time for American fiction in general and Southern Appalachian fiction in particular. Rock Big and Sing Loud by Tamara Baxter is a significant addition to this surge of new writing. Writing truly about the world of eastern Tennessee Baxter also writes about the world at large, about humanity. Her narratives can make you laugh or break your heart, and sometimes they do both at once. She has given us the stories of some of the most afflicted and addicted, the most failed and failing, individuals on the planet, and also some of the strongest and most enduring people we are ever likely to meet. These stories take us to places we did not expect to go, and just when we think we have seen what is strangest, most absurd, most alien and outrageous, we recognize something of ourselves. - Robert Morgan, author of Gap Creek and Brave Enemies / https://dc.etsu.edu/alumni_books/1021/thumbnail.jpg

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Willing to overstep literary conventions in order to ensure that meaning and purpose reign over structure, cross-genre writing works to push boundaries of genre and tear down the walls of limitation. This cross-genre thesis aims to test literary restrictions of structure and style and, as literary endeavors often do, to rattle our existence. In this thesis, nonfiction and fiction work together to drive meaning to the surface of the page, meaning that is universal in the individual stories as well as in the human experience. Although some characters are fictional and some real, they often intersect, their journeys and discoveries merging into one. The many voices of this thesis, while diverse, speak to similar themes and meaning. The main character of "Silhouettes," a homosexual male who yearns to find his identity away from the place he once called home, experiences feelings of abandonment and loss. The narrator of "A Crimson Trail" longs to uncovers truths about her uncle's suicide and endures similar feelings of loss. "Abandoned Laurels" explores a complex mother-daughter relationship and wades through themes of mourning, regret, and shame. The remaining stories explore similar themes, including those of longing, death, and familial relationships. Shorter pieces are scattered amongst longer works and supplement themes developed in the thesis. Each section contributes to the characters' longing for identity, recovery, and understanding of the past. These related characters and their stories--both real and fictional--merge in a collective endeavor to sift through loss, explore the past, and, most importantly, find identity and hope in the future amidst the rubble of the present.

Oftentimes, the children of immigrants find themselves straddling two worlds. As Americanized minorities, we navigate torn psychological landscapes in which uneasy dichotomies are formed: living up to our parents' expectations, or fulfilling our own; embracing tradition, or birthing a new culture; admiring the lives of our family, but wanting different for ourselves. These tough decisions are further compounded by identifiers such as age, race, and gender. My creative thesis, a collection of fiction and nonfiction, examines these issues through three central characters. In fiction, they are the Latina sisters Mel and Nena; in nonfiction, it is myself. Through these stories, these young women struggle to feel a sense of belonging where they are, be it at home, work, or school; among friends or on their own; in places they choose, or in places where they are put. Each of these characters is forced to consider whether they will ever find a place to call home. They wonder whether that is a place to be found at all.

Writing has long been seen as a solitary affair, but this was not always the case. Before widespread literacy, stories were told and retold through the power of speech. Whole communities came together to weave tales and myths. Recently that tradition has been making a return to mainstream media with the renaissance of tabletop role-playing games, which serve as a standard vehicle for group collaboration. A Tale of the Terminally Fey is an attempt to reconcile the collaborative, off-the-cuff nature of oral storytelling with traditional narratives. The author has adapted the transcripts of live sessions into the first chapter of a novel that would follow the characters through one of these storytelling campaigns.