Oooh, that weird, wavery world where you're unsure what's what, what's possible, what can only happen in imagination, and what the act of imagination might create! Perhaps a shadowy figure, like a Buddhist tulpa has coagulated from the focused attentions of a disciple. Perhaps even though you don't believe, it's still there....
Not completely about agreed-upon reality, not at the core of core Speculative, but exploring outside conventional boundaries. Weird Fiction, for example, was popular in pulp magazines before genres were solidified, so while it can sometimes fit within the overarching classification of Horror, it's more ambiguous. In it, strange creatures break through a fissure and frightens people who want life to make sense, like it used to.
Below, read about my classes and also multiple links to some of my Interstitial stories in online journals and see where others are available to purchase.
Not completely about agreed-upon reality, not at the core of core Speculative, but exploring outside conventional boundaries. Weird Fiction, for example, was popular in pulp magazines before genres were solidified, so while it can sometimes fit within the overarching classification of Horror, it's more ambiguous. In it, strange creatures break through a fissure and frightens people who want life to make sense, like it used to.
Below, read about my classes and also multiple links to some of my Interstitial stories in online journals and see where others are available to purchase.
I like to promote detailed awareness of Interstitial Fiction for authors, readers, reviewers, teachers, and publishers to encourage growth of these rich styles of writing that don't have their own shelves at book stores and libraries. Popular Literary Fiction currently is most often associated with complete Realism. Speculative has strong conventions that some literature doesn't fit into. In between those are a wide variety of less well understood genres.
One world relates to another in a distinctive way in each genre, each representing a fascinating world-view.
I recommend looking deeply into their histories, context, philosophies, politics, world-views, and techniques before using the terms or answering submission calls. Sometimes people publicly define a genre quickly with a simple sentence and then many writers think that's all there is to it, and start using the word more superficially than is appropriate. Genres will always change and expand from the beginning; informed dialogue in the literary world can help it stay true to the originators' most basic vision for the use of the name.
It's fine to write something doesn't fit the guidelines for a certain genre you enjoy. Maybe what you wrote has a different label that you can identify with even better. Maybe your work is entirely individualistic Interstitial between even the minor categories. Some publications are looking for exactly that. But if you want to write that particular style, full immersion into it can be rewarding and delving into it more fully at any stage of your career can deepen your narratives.
Upcoming class through Writers.com school: String of Hearts: Writing Fabulist Fiction
I currently offer classes about 5 Interstitial Fiction Genres: New Wave Fabulism, Magical Realism Slipstream, Surrealism, and Weird.
Interstitial Fiction Genres class contains: Taking it bundled, with Interaction contains:
200 pages of text, including copious links Everything in the other class
6 hours of my video instruction 6 months interaction with Instructor
50 question quiz 5 complete stories carefully critiqued
Discus Your published stories spotlighted
Newsletter
Guest videos scheduled
55.00 one time fee for lifetime access 350.00 includes 6 months interaction/edits
Want to know when my cross-genre novel, Unside: A Book of Closed Time-Like Curves is available? You can sign up for the mailing list.
Magical Realism
The Vines in Axolotl
The Terrace Steps in Cezanne's Carrot
III in Mad Hatters Review Annual
To Explain the Sasquatch Sitter in (Southern Hum) and Ten Thousand Monkeys
Among Stalagmites of Burnt Umber in Camroc Press Review
It's Time in New Dead Families
Donkey in Spilt Milk
Slipstream
Quantum Fool won Journey's Contest at Cezanne's Carrot also in Quantum Genre on the Planet of the Arts Anthology
Slice of Life Force won Oblongata Award at Medulla Review (magazine has morphed -- I was subsequently invited to Guest Edit an issue based on my style.)
Breaking the Seal Gone Lawn
Party Time in Innovative Fiction Magazine
Sounds in Quantum Fiction on the Planet of the Arts Antholog
Flat as above
Octopus as above
Shadows as above
Midnight at PunkPen won Challenge
Farthest Thing from Mind Ironic Fantastic 2 Anthology
Conversational English in Orion Headless
Among the Nalatari in Red Fez
Puppet on a Wire Ironic Fantastic 1 Anthology
Stop Before It's Too Late in The Fabulist
Accidental Voyeur in Mad Hatters Review column
Tales of the Natural The Fabulist
Ah Ha! in The New Absurdist
Thule Society Lady in Counterexample Poetics
The Incubation Mirror A-Minor
Blueless in Dante's Heart
Trovants of Costesti in EgoPhobia
Stalk at Dog Cast Central page for all podcasts I'm in
Passages at Dog Cast Central page for all
Ocularity at The Strange and the Curious -- could be called SFF or Weird
Mirror Tattoo at Farther Stars Than These -- could be called Fantasy
Printed People Eaters Redacted Story e-book could be called SF nominated Pushcart
New Wave Fabulism
The Boy Who's a Floating Flower won Editor's Prize in Cezanne's Carrot
A Circus of Puffins in Threadcount
Ascension of Larks in Threadcount
Word Box in Metazen
Anti at Metazen nominated for Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net
In The Hall of the Mountain Stunt Double in Cease, Cows
Late Rabbits in Literary Orphans Wigleaf's long list of best flash fiction of 2013
Alley Time in Stone Highway Review 2.3
Really in Egophobia translated into Romanian and in e-Buffet Magazine
Clock Armageddon Buffet
Going Home in Short, Fast, and Deadly
White Arms in Looking Back Anthology
4 Chapters in Camroc Press Review
Elephants in Anenome Sidecar
The Great Farm Painter at The Fabulist
Machine Gun Kelly at Dogcast Central page for all
The End Begins Now at Blue Fifth Review nominated for Pushcart Prize
Projection Theater Lorelei Signal could be called Fantasy
Origami Mafia Story Unfolds Subtopian News from the Future could be called SF
Dr. Gorgonzola and the Ripening Caves Rivet Journal
Surrealism
A Roadfull of Ducks The Fabulist
Birdie in Birkensnake
Mama in In Between Altered States and Looking Back Anthology
Frogs in Sein und Werden
Embed in A-Minor nominated for Pushcart Prize
The End Begins Now in Blue Five nominated for Pushcart Prize
After Half a Year He Mentions in Spittoon
Sled Fever in Spittoon
The Ball of the Premature with Mathew Dexter in Counterexample Poetics
Papa's Song Looking Back Anthology, Romania
Our Travels on Fire in Bewildering Stories collected in First Quarterly Review
Out from the Center in Cezanne's Carrot
Strange as it May Seem in Mad Hatters Review column
The Sound of Color Calls my Name Mad Hatters Review
The Prize in Unlikely Stories
Goat in Spilt Milk
I'm a body said my face in The New Absurdist and Calliope Nerve
I want you to sell your soul in Sein und Werden
Zoetic Press's Alice in Wonderland
Polycephalic Snake in Literary Orphans
Weird
Yard Man in The Cabinet of What You Don't See
Parch in Axolotl could be called Slipstream
Animals Under the Skin Bewildering Stories
Secret-Free in Weirdyear
Monastery Dolls in Weirdyear
Wood for the Fire in Egophobia translated into Romanian
Frequency Bed in Weirdyear
The Coveted General Anzel Smile in The Strange and the Curious: A Showcase of the Best Weird Fiction could also be called SF
Spring After Rain at Phantasmacore
Domestica in Ironic Fantatic 3
The Thalamus in Literary Orphans
Now We Are 10 at Sein und Werden
The Performance of King in Yellow at NonBinary Review/Alphanumeric
Neo-Noir
Two-Faced in Darkness Internal
Cat People at Literary Orphans
The Inhabitants of Mercy in Retort Magazine
Animals Under the Skin 1 in Bewildering Stories
part 2
part 3
Fiction International
Sleeping with the Clan of Saints in Unlikely Stories
Missing Persons File forthcoming J.J. Outre Review
and many more Neo-Noir
One world relates to another in a distinctive way in each genre, each representing a fascinating world-view.
I recommend looking deeply into their histories, context, philosophies, politics, world-views, and techniques before using the terms or answering submission calls. Sometimes people publicly define a genre quickly with a simple sentence and then many writers think that's all there is to it, and start using the word more superficially than is appropriate. Genres will always change and expand from the beginning; informed dialogue in the literary world can help it stay true to the originators' most basic vision for the use of the name.
It's fine to write something doesn't fit the guidelines for a certain genre you enjoy. Maybe what you wrote has a different label that you can identify with even better. Maybe your work is entirely individualistic Interstitial between even the minor categories. Some publications are looking for exactly that. But if you want to write that particular style, full immersion into it can be rewarding and delving into it more fully at any stage of your career can deepen your narratives.
Upcoming class through Writers.com school: String of Hearts: Writing Fabulist Fiction
I currently offer classes about 5 Interstitial Fiction Genres: New Wave Fabulism, Magical Realism Slipstream, Surrealism, and Weird.
Interstitial Fiction Genres class contains: Taking it bundled, with Interaction contains:
200 pages of text, including copious links Everything in the other class
6 hours of my video instruction 6 months interaction with Instructor
50 question quiz 5 complete stories carefully critiqued
Discus Your published stories spotlighted
Newsletter
Guest videos scheduled
55.00 one time fee for lifetime access 350.00 includes 6 months interaction/edits
Want to know when my cross-genre novel, Unside: A Book of Closed Time-Like Curves is available? You can sign up for the mailing list.
Magical Realism
The Vines in Axolotl
The Terrace Steps in Cezanne's Carrot
III in Mad Hatters Review Annual
To Explain the Sasquatch Sitter in (Southern Hum) and Ten Thousand Monkeys
Among Stalagmites of Burnt Umber in Camroc Press Review
It's Time in New Dead Families
Donkey in Spilt Milk
Slipstream
Quantum Fool won Journey's Contest at Cezanne's Carrot also in Quantum Genre on the Planet of the Arts Anthology
Slice of Life Force won Oblongata Award at Medulla Review (magazine has morphed -- I was subsequently invited to Guest Edit an issue based on my style.)
Breaking the Seal Gone Lawn
Party Time in Innovative Fiction Magazine
Sounds in Quantum Fiction on the Planet of the Arts Antholog
Flat as above
Octopus as above
Shadows as above
Midnight at PunkPen won Challenge
Farthest Thing from Mind Ironic Fantastic 2 Anthology
Conversational English in Orion Headless
Among the Nalatari in Red Fez
Puppet on a Wire Ironic Fantastic 1 Anthology
Stop Before It's Too Late in The Fabulist
Accidental Voyeur in Mad Hatters Review column
Tales of the Natural The Fabulist
Ah Ha! in The New Absurdist
Thule Society Lady in Counterexample Poetics
The Incubation Mirror A-Minor
Blueless in Dante's Heart
Trovants of Costesti in EgoPhobia
Stalk at Dog Cast Central page for all podcasts I'm in
Passages at Dog Cast Central page for all
Ocularity at The Strange and the Curious -- could be called SFF or Weird
Mirror Tattoo at Farther Stars Than These -- could be called Fantasy
Printed People Eaters Redacted Story e-book could be called SF nominated Pushcart
New Wave Fabulism
The Boy Who's a Floating Flower won Editor's Prize in Cezanne's Carrot
A Circus of Puffins in Threadcount
Ascension of Larks in Threadcount
Word Box in Metazen
Anti at Metazen nominated for Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net
In The Hall of the Mountain Stunt Double in Cease, Cows
Late Rabbits in Literary Orphans Wigleaf's long list of best flash fiction of 2013
Alley Time in Stone Highway Review 2.3
Really in Egophobia translated into Romanian and in e-Buffet Magazine
Clock Armageddon Buffet
Going Home in Short, Fast, and Deadly
White Arms in Looking Back Anthology
4 Chapters in Camroc Press Review
Elephants in Anenome Sidecar
The Great Farm Painter at The Fabulist
Machine Gun Kelly at Dogcast Central page for all
The End Begins Now at Blue Fifth Review nominated for Pushcart Prize
Projection Theater Lorelei Signal could be called Fantasy
Origami Mafia Story Unfolds Subtopian News from the Future could be called SF
Dr. Gorgonzola and the Ripening Caves Rivet Journal
Surrealism
A Roadfull of Ducks The Fabulist
Birdie in Birkensnake
Mama in In Between Altered States and Looking Back Anthology
Frogs in Sein und Werden
Embed in A-Minor nominated for Pushcart Prize
The End Begins Now in Blue Five nominated for Pushcart Prize
After Half a Year He Mentions in Spittoon
Sled Fever in Spittoon
The Ball of the Premature with Mathew Dexter in Counterexample Poetics
Papa's Song Looking Back Anthology, Romania
Our Travels on Fire in Bewildering Stories collected in First Quarterly Review
Out from the Center in Cezanne's Carrot
Strange as it May Seem in Mad Hatters Review column
The Sound of Color Calls my Name Mad Hatters Review
The Prize in Unlikely Stories
Goat in Spilt Milk
I'm a body said my face in The New Absurdist and Calliope Nerve
I want you to sell your soul in Sein und Werden
Zoetic Press's Alice in Wonderland
Polycephalic Snake in Literary Orphans
Weird
Yard Man in The Cabinet of What You Don't See
Parch in Axolotl could be called Slipstream
Animals Under the Skin Bewildering Stories
Secret-Free in Weirdyear
Monastery Dolls in Weirdyear
Wood for the Fire in Egophobia translated into Romanian
Frequency Bed in Weirdyear
The Coveted General Anzel Smile in The Strange and the Curious: A Showcase of the Best Weird Fiction could also be called SF
Spring After Rain at Phantasmacore
Domestica in Ironic Fantatic 3
The Thalamus in Literary Orphans
Now We Are 10 at Sein und Werden
The Performance of King in Yellow at NonBinary Review/Alphanumeric
Neo-Noir
Two-Faced in Darkness Internal
Cat People at Literary Orphans
The Inhabitants of Mercy in Retort Magazine
Animals Under the Skin 1 in Bewildering Stories
part 2
part 3
Fiction International
Sleeping with the Clan of Saints in Unlikely Stories
Missing Persons File forthcoming J.J. Outre Review
and many more Neo-Noir
Want to be reminded when the Neo-Noir Slipstream novella comes out from ELJ in December? How about the cross-genre novel, Unside?
Interstitial Genres In Print
Many of my Interstitial stories out now are in print journals and anthologies, such as:
No Site for the Saved Anthology,
Parsec Ink Triangulation Anthology
The Fabulist,
Women Writing the Weird,
Women Writing the Weird II: Dreadful Daughters
Surreal South,
Not Somewhere Else But Here,
Writing Disorder Anthology II,
Subterranea,
Naked,
Saturday Night Special,
Why There Are Words,
Up, Do,
Looking Back,
Alchemy Review,
And/Or
Fiction International,
The Journal of Experimental Fiction,
Zymbol,
Holdfast,
Latchkey,
Axolotyl
Medusa's Laugh Cadavre Exquis Anthology
Print collections: Lucid Membrane (Night Publishing), Collapsible Horizon, The Cabinet of What You Don't See (ISMs Press), Watching the Windows Sleep (Naissance Press), the tiny Swinging on the Edge of Day (Naissance Press).
Many of my other stories are Realism, and other genres not associated with the Interstitial, or have gone offline. Others are definitely Interstitial, but don’t fit into any of the Interstitial Genres at all. I lump those into Experimental.
Interstitial Genre Book Expected in Print
collection Yard Man, from Make-Do Publishing
A large number are only available in my collections. Kindly consider buying Collapsible Horizon and Lucid Membrane directly to read them.
Sign up to keep track of the Interstitial Fiction Genres classes. Also join the main mailing list, for Online Writing Academy, which is where most of the action happens.