Hi There, Just Wondering If You Have Any Recommendations For Classic (?) Gothic Literature (stuff Like

I adore twin peaks because people talk about how opaque it is but like windom earle asked major briggs his greatest fear and the answer was "the possibility that love is not enough" and that's it that's the show. Love wasn't enough.

Not only that love wasn't enough, but that it was what fed the darkness in the woods.

Love is not enough, you have to break the cycle. Fix your hearts or die.

Twin Peaks is a show that tells you exactly what it's about like every three episodes but people don't see it because there's a horse in the living room.

Spain, 1492: We are banning all Jews from Castile and Aragon

Sultan Beyzid II: Let me get this straight, you're banning a large population of your empires financiers, lawyers, and doctors? You dumb motherfuckers give them to me. I'm sending the navy to pick them up.

UNCONVENTIONAL NOVELS

[last updated Jan. 21, 2022]

(a list I put together… of lists I did not put together)

For those interested in techniques and genres that are outside of the mainstream market in the West/Americas, here’s a post of resources you can refer to for inspiration, research, or quiet support.

I believe there is no One Right Way to write a novel, and no one right way to present it either. Niche genres do exist, after all, and writing is an art form. Remember that writing “rules” are not a one-size-fits-all deal.

DISCLAIMER !! : Note there will be some overlap and you don’t have to like or agree with anything here. Also, while you may come across books by diverse authors, a lot of the ones listed here are old and probably written by white people, but BIPOC can and should be allowed to experiment with these, too. If content doesn’t interest you then maybe structure will. Form your own opinions.

but first, some recommended reading

Meander, Spiral, Explode: Design and Pattern in Narrative  by Jane Alison - in this book, the author explores form and pattern through close readings of various (niche/unconventional) novels.

What is Postmodernism in Literature? - a brief Youtube video presented by Dr. Masood Raja (Postcolonialism channel); simple yet informative.

Wikipedia articles - antinovel | verse novel | defamiliarization | metafiction | digression (literary) | fragmentary novel | weird fiction | new weird | slipstream | experimental literature | postmodern literature | interactive novel | hypertext fiction | LitRPG | cybertext | New Sincerity |

I’ll continue to update this post over time or write up more.

anti-novels

No rules, no problems. Take all the tropes and conventions of the typical novel and bastardize them through chaos. Or throw them out and make your own.

Goodreads: list of 100+

Barnes & Noble: flex your reading muscles

Millions article: long live the anti-novel, built from scratch

a review of Subimal Misra’s work This Could Have Become Ramayan Chamar’s Tale: Two Anti-Novels

bizarre, weird fiction

If you ever wanted to read or write about cat men on Mars, or a bear who talks and plays the saxophone, or people with blue butts… Well, you can.

Book Riot: 100 strange and unusual novels

Bustle: 13 super strange books

Goodreads: Monster/Erotica books

Owlcation: 10 of the weirdest novels ever written

blog post by Z. Burns ft. 7 more weird books

experimental

Hard to define but generally more about form than content. Maybe you want half your story told in footnotes. Maybe your paragraphs are separated from the main body of text and dispersed all over the page. Maybe some of it is upside-down.

Goodreads list

Bustle: 10 experimental novels that aren’t hard to read

Standout Books: 5 experimental novels that will inspire any writer

(preview) Experimental Fiction: An Introduction for Readers and Writers Julie Armstrong

sparse plot / low conflict / books where “nothing happens”

Very basically, a plot is a sequence of events affected through cause-and-effect. In the West, audiences often expect there to be a linear series of conflicts that ultimately leads to a big “showdown”. This is not a universal narrative structure, and personally I would love to see more “cozy” fantasy novels that aren’t about saving the world or destroying an oppressive government.

Reddit recommendations - “a book where nothing happens”

Book Riot: in praise of plotless books

(blog) mundane and slice-of-life SFF recommendations

 sketch story (wikipedia) | literary sketch (britannica)

“I would like to read a novel that is composed of numerous very interesting facts, but which nonetheless fails to cohere for me as a book.”

● source: (blog): I would like to read a dull plotless novel…

List Challenges: novels with no plot whatsoever

Reddit thread on slice-of-life/mundane speculative fiction

recommended reading

the significance of plot without conflict - an excellent post on the kishotenketsu structure, which is influenced by East Asian values such as unity and harmony over conflict and resolution.

what is iyashikei and why should you care? - often found in anime and manga, the purpose of this genre is to provide healing

Keep reading

Endou Yuu versus the cosmic unknown 

I was getting pretty fed up with links and generators with very general and overused weapons and superpowers and what have you for characters so:

Here is a page for premodern weapons, broken down into a ton of subcategories, with the weapon’s region of origin. 

Here is a page of medieval weapons.

Here is a page of just about every conceived superpower.

Here is a page for legendary creatures and their regions of origin.

Here are some gemstones.

Here is a bunch of Greek legends, including monsters, gods, nymphs, heroes, and so on. 

Here is a website with a ton of (legally attained, don’t worry) information about the black market.

Here is a website with information about forensic science and cases of death. Discretion advised. 

Here is every religion in the world. 

Here is every language in the world.

Here are methods of torture. Discretion advised.

Here are descriptions of the various methods used for the death penalty. Discretion advised.

Here are poisonous plants.

Here are plants in general.

Feel free to add more to this!

a collection of motivational insights regarding content creation and creative hobbies

and of course the classic

Sorry if this is a stupid question but... What's LSUA? I see that you tag things with it but I can't figure out what it stands for. Maybe it's because it's 2am... These late-night browsing sessions do get a little out of hand.

A snicketophile reader, confused by mysterious initials? O, poetic justice.

LSUA stands for: “Lemony Snicket’s Unauthorized Autobiography”.

TBL stands for “The Beatrice Letters”.

FU:13SI stands for “Filer Under: 13 suspicious incidents”.

TBB:RE stands for “The Bad Beginning: Rare Edition”.

These are all the supplementary materials acknowledged as 100% canonical. The jury is still out on “The Dismal Dinner”, “A calendar of Unfortunate Events”, “The Puzzling Puzzles”… Because we don’t really know if these were actually written/approved by Daniel Handler. I sometimes refer to their contents in my theories but extreme caution is advised.

Types of people, which make the world a better place

Witty old ladies

The only guy, who gets your stupid joke

That funny uncle, you only see on family gatherings 

This person, who notices how you try not to stare at their chocolate bar and shares a piece with you

The passenger of undistinguishable age on the train or bus, who shares his wisdom (and you like it)

The people in public transport, who do faces for small kids

The teacher, who does not give you homework after quiz

The person, who moves aside on the bus\underground, so you and your friend could sit together

Feel free to add

On a scale...

from Saoirse Ronan

to Saoirse Ronan

How successful were you in drowning your sister?