AGENT ROUNDUP
HYDE: No matter what I’m reading, I want it to be some-
thing that I haven’t quite seen before, a unique way of
telling a story that only that writer can tell. I’m not inter-
ested in deconstruction or challenges to expectations if
they’re for the sake of shock or a formal exercise. It has
to be of service to the story and the book as a whole and
add to the narrative. I like genre work that plays with the
formula, and I like a literary novel with compelling char-
acters and a satisfying plot.JOHNSON: I love books that incorporate a hybrid of poetry
or images or broken structures or surprise leaps to other
characters’ points of view. (Max Porter’s Grief Is the Th ing
With Feathers is a good example of this for me.) But the
rule-breaking only works, in my opinion, when the author
has been intentional and disciplined, following her or his
own logic (or the characters’/narrator’s logic) rather than
being zany for the sake of zaniness.WARNOCK: I think literary fi ction is just more overt with
its rule breaking. Genre fi ction has rules, but authors
are constantly subverting them, not just coloring out-
side of the lines but moving the lines, which takes real
talent. With literary fi ction, it’s expected that rules will
be broken, which gives authors license to go off. How
the rules are broken varies and has to fi t the book. I like
to point to Th e Night Child by Anna Quinn. Both the
beginning and ending are unconventional, jarring in a
way that wouldn’t work for a lot of novels, and certain
scenes within ask the reader to participate in ways that
may turn some off. But in this case, it’s a perfect match, a
book that should not be written any other way.HOW IMPORTANT IS CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT
COMPARED TO PLOT WHEN CONSIDERING
LITERARY FICTION?
CAPRON: Character development tends to drive the entire
story in most literary fi ction, so it is crucial.HWANG: Character development is vital in literary fi c-
tion, but oft en it’s the plot that creates the tension which
enables that very development. Th e evolution we see in
literary fi ction is oft entimes more internal than external
compared to that of genre fi ction.HYDE: I always want both. I love plot. I love complex char-
acters. I love snappy dialogue and stunning descriptions.
I believe you can have both in whatever form of writing
you’re doing. Literary writers neglect plot at their peril,as genre writers neglect character development at theirs.
Who wants to read a book without either? I don’t care how
beautiful the prose is if nothing happens. I don’t care how
fast-paced it is if I don’t care about the characters.JOHNSON: Connecting with a character makes us care
about the story—without that, the reader isn’t invested—
and character development is integral to the plot, as
events unfold diff erently depending on who’s experienc-
ing and reacting to them. (Although plot is more the focus
of genre fi ction, I’d argue that the best genre fi ction also
relies on a cast of compelling, fully formed characters.)WARNOCK: Character is king in literary. I still want a
compelling plot, but fi rst I need to care about whom I’m
being asked to connect with, and then I want them to
be layered and confl icted enough to sustain that interest
throughout the book.BEAUTIFUL PROSE IS CONSIDERED A HALLMARK
OF LITERARY FICTION. WHAT IS IT ABOUT
CERTAIN PARAGRAPHS THAT MAKE YOU PAUSE
WITH INTENSE SATISFACTION?
CAPRON: A striking, unusual description that makes me
linger in the moment and understand very clearly, a pro-
tagonist’s worldview. As an agent, I’m reading lots of dif-
ferent work all the time, and I’m oft en reading it quickly.
So, when a scene or great line can force me to pause and
really focus on it and absorb it, then I appreciate that
quality of writing quite a lot.HWANG: For me, the voice on the page is everything
and there are usually two levels of appreciation when it
comes to what I consider to be “beautiful prose.” On one
level is an appreciation for the (seemingly) eff ortless skill
and technique of the prose on a syntactical level—the
way in which the words are arranged on a page just so to
evoke a very precise understanding/feeling/emotion in
the reader. On another level is the articulation itself—of
having a thought or feeling that has never quite crystal-
lized in my mind suddenly manifest itself so clearly on
the page in such an exact way. It’s pure magic.HYDE: Some of my favorite sentences are in genre works.
A writer who can articulate a thought I’ve had but have
never been able to quite express is wonderful. A writer
who is playful with language, who knows you’re playing
along as you’re reading, can be a delight. And a line that
pulls together emotional connections between characters34 I WRITER’S DIGEST I October 2019