Wait a minute! Didn't I say that just yesterday?

Yes, I did. And no sooner did I send out that message, than my in-box produced another opportunity for fiction writers. I am reproducing the entire email I received from the president of the Federation of BC Writers.

NOTE: YOU DO NO HAVE TO BELONG TO THE FEDERATION OF BC WRITERS TO PARTICIAPTE. In fact, you don't even have to live in BC. This being the internet, anyone can participate in this blog (web log). Writers will be talking to each other.

So send in a message or just "listen in" as other discuss ficiton genres.

Venture into uncharted waters with the Fed! Don't miss this week-long blog event . . . WHAT'S IN A GENRE?
at http://www.bcwriters.com
January 9 - 15

How you view "genres" in fiction may depend on whether you are a writer, a publisher, a bookseller, or a consumer. Or on whether you see yourself as a strictly "literary" writer. Or... join in the weblog discussion and tell us your views!

We are looking forward to some interesting debate, and will be publishing excerpts from the blog in the upcoming issue of WordWorks. Here are a few quotations the committee has come across, and questions we find interesting:

-- Is there a difference between genre writing and "literary" fiction? Are novels by Jane Austen and P.D. James "genre fiction" that is also literary - or literary fiction that shares characteristics with romance or mystery novels?

-- "There's a litmus test of determining if something is literature rather than just a read. That is: Would you read it more than once?"

-- "Literary fiction is about the art of prose; and it's about the interior life of the character - how and why it is changed, by what means, what happens inside. Genre characters by their nature are one-dimensional and can be characterized by one adjective (e.g., 'fearless')".

-- "Most of the 'important' literary authors of today will be totally forgotten in 25 years. Very few have staying power even within their productive lifetimes."

-- Who decides the worth of a piece of fiction? How much influence do critics and reviewers have, especially in establishing and maintaining "literary" reputations? What does it tell you that certain authors may be lauded by critics and showered with prizes, but John Grisham and Patricia Cornwell are best sellers?

-- Advice to a writer: "Do not mix genres lightly. From a marketing standpoint, this can be dangerous."
We'll be focusing on the following genres in fiction: - romance
- fantasy/ science fiction/ paranormal/ magic realism
- mystery/ thriller/ suspense/ horror
- historical fiction/ western

The Fed's "What's in a genre?" editorial committee - Laurel Hickey, Adele Shaak, Margaret Thompson, and Merrill Fearon - invite you to join us at the blog, any time between now and Thursday January 15 when the blog closes, at midnight.

We've spelled out instructions below, step by step, for beginners only. For those who are familiar with blogs (or web forums, or bulletin boards), you can likely just forge ahead, as most of the choices are obvious once you've used something similar. There is also a tutorial you can access through the link just below the "Login" link. The following instructions provide additional detail.

To Read Entries:

- Go to http://www.bcwriters.com and click on the book icon near the top of the homepage.

This will take you to the entrance to the "Genre Writing -- Open Forum" blog.

- Scroll down the page to read entries in reverse chronological order.

- Or, at the top right, under "Recent Entries", click on individual entries to read one at a time. Click on "Archives" to see all entries.