Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Visionary Fiction by Free Association


Defining visionary fiction is tough, because the genre means different things to different writers.  So in coming up with my own definition, I used a technique often used in psychoanalysis called free association.

As a result, I came up with the following words and phrases:
  • open door
  • entry into the between
  • not a place, but an attitude
  • openness
  • curiosity, questions, seeking, longing
  • non-judgment
  • freedom
  • growth
  • uncomfortable, unstable
  • beyond rules, tradition, and authority

My next step was to cut and paste until I came up with an original, one-sentence definition.


Here it goes.


Visionary fiction opens the door to the space between, where questions serve as stepping-stones along winding paths that circle back to a starting point, leaving the reader changed.
by~MoniCarlo
Although I didn't incorporate all the words and phrases, I like the definition I came up with. 

At least for now.

The definition will likely change each time I try to peg down what visionary fiction is.

As always, thanks for stopping by.

Margaret