LE3 .A278 2022

2022

Campbell, Wanda

Acadia University

Bachelor of Arts

Honours

English

English & Theatre Studies

This creative writing thesis is a collection of six short stories entitled Kaleidoscope, a title chosen to reflect the multiplicity and fractal nature of the collection and the genres represented therein; each story is both a whole and a fragment, reflecting and refracting off one another. Each of the six stories explores a different kind of contemporary genre-fiction as popularly conceived, namely comedy, romance, horror, mystery, fantasy, and sci-fi. These six were selected because of their continued prevalence in genre-fiction over the past century, as well as the overlapping differences and similarities which become apparent when offset against one another. Though “genre” as a concept is both complex and expansive, this thesis attempts to reveal how and why the formulas of popular genre-fiction endure, despite being perceived as lesser than “literary fiction.” The distinction between high and low art is being blurred with the progress of cultural and literary studies and the hierarchy of genres has been overturned. The formulas of conventional genre-fiction have been and continue to be endlessly repeated and endlessly appealing with patterns that stand the test of time. The aim of this collection is not to define genre, or to define the genres of each story, as the concept of genre is so nebulous and contested that this task would be near impossible; rather the aim is to imitate, vary, and innovate upon the starting point of familiar tropes and conventions of each genre to create six unique and compelling stories. Each story stands on its own as an imitation of a well-loved example of genre-fiction, creating variations upon these established traditions, and providing innovative elements to bolster the enjoyment and satisfaction of the reader, thereby creating a dream from which no reader would wish to wake.

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https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:3770