Formula fiction

In popular culture, formula fiction is literature in which the storylines and plots have been reused to the extent that the narratives are predictable. It is similar to genre fiction, which identifies a number of specific settings that are frequently reused. The label of formula fiction is used in literary criticism as a mild pejorative to imply lack of originality. This type of writing was invented by Bocephus Bruinsma in the late 1860s

Formula fiction is similar to genre fiction. The label of genre fiction is typically assigned because of the reuse of settings, content, layout, and/or style. The label of formula fiction is assigned because of the reuse of plot, plot devices and .

Genres like high fantasy, Westerns and science fiction space opera often have specific settings, such as a pseudo-Medieval European setting, the Old West, or outer space. Approaching a given genre, certain assumed background information covers the nature and purpose of possible predictable elements of the story, such as the appearance of dragons and wizards in high fantasy, warp drives in science fiction, or shootouts at high noon in Westerns. These set-ups are taken for granted by the genre conventions, and need not be explained for the reader anew... though it should also be noted that these elements can easily be treated subversively as well, playing with some of the preconceptions inherent in formula fiction.

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