I saw this being discussed in another topic and thought it would make for an interesting topic by itself.
I’ve noticed that a lot of writers will write almost exclusively slice of life style stories while some will shy away from it completely in favor of higher concept stuff. Writers who go both ways (and do it well) actually seem pretty rare.
Do you have a preference to read or write? And is there anyone who likes to write but not read stories in this style, or vice versa?
I like stories that are attention grabbing (keep my interest) and well told with interesting characters, regardless of the genre. And how complex the premise is.
If I like an idea, I generally will read the story and it’s a bonus for me if it’s pulled off well. Sometimes even genres I’m not a massive fan of will shock me at times.
I’m not a big YA fan but I found Adam Silvera’s They Both Die At The End to have an interesting concept and not be too shabby written. I quite enjoyed it.
Convenience Store Woman is a kinda slice of life, kinda romance by Sayaka Murata and I also enjoyed that. I liked the writing style and I found the main character, Keiko interesting in her own way.
Personally I can appreciate both, and don’t mind writing both too. I do have a knee jerk reaction to feel aversion to YA romance in particular though, simply because I’ve seen it done so much lately and it’s lost all originality for me. Plus, a lot of it hasn’t really been done well. However, some have been enjoyable to me, so I can’t judge an entire genre based on the majority. I suppose in the end, it really just depends on the story and how well it’s written.
I can’t write slice of life because I can’t NOT turn something into a fantasy with some kind of traveling and adventure and epic boss battle 
Believe me, I’ve tried. A trip turns into a secret super spy meeting with magical fairy lineage, but the fairies are fighting against each other. Never continued that story, but it gives you the idea.
If I was able to ever write a story without something epic happening, I never continued it beyond the first introduction-to-the-character-and-their-life part. I can’t come up with anything interesting enough unless the MC is secretly a magical fox who has to go search for her true powers, secretly destined to find a magical jewel on an invisible island, actually a feline that is the rarest race in all her world, or about to step into a portal for an epic adventure never mind the teenage drama she was facing in her own world, etc.
I do like to read slice of life though. And watch it. I love watching movies where it’s just human drama. Every time I read or watch slice of life, it makes me want to write it, but then I have absolutely no ideas unless it involves some epic fantasy adventure with a villain or two or three. So, it’s not that I don’t like writing it. I want to. I can’t XD
I’ll read these stores every now and then, but I’m sucky at writing them. I just get bored and give up on writing them 
. I went through a small stint when I tried writing stories and genres I either shied away from or disliked to see if I could write them, and that time period just solidified that those weren’t for me.
The only slice of life that I enjoy is slice-of-life anime and that is not all the time.
Slice of life novels aren’t really my thing.
I am okay with drama, so slice of life that has that is fun. Also, if it has beginning, middle and end. If it’s just a bunch of characters hanging out, nope.
My husband has called a few things I’ve done slice of life? Mini Moo, for example. That’s 2 weeks out of 2 kids life, a “coming of age” style “romance”? I don’t ever really know where to place things. That’s the label that’s dumped on you when you don’t have clear acts, right?
I don’t care, as long as it’s readable.
I like slice-of-life. Being an avid fan of How I Met Your Mother (excluding the devastating ending) I love reading and watching about people experience a bunch of things. But I can’t write slice-of-life. It is such a hard genre to pull off because most conflicts are centered around emotional or relationshippy things. And that requires either an expert to be able to write it naturally or someone who’s experienced a little of something, if not everything.
And I’m the Ted Mosby of that; if Ted decided to chase after experiences and adventures than Robin Scherbatsky.
Basically Ted if he was Bilbo Baggins.
I love it, but it’s terribly hard to write well. Most readers probably don’t like reading the mundane details of someone’s life, so it takes a lot of talent to make it gripping. I’m trying to write a book like that right now, but it’s the sort of thing only I’d want to read. ¯\_(ﭢ)_/¯
Same, kinda with Max. I am trying to make him being a stripper sound interesting 
and his complicated relations with Teo and Alicia as well as his gang. (Not coming out for a while though).
The best slice of life stories for me are either moe or stuff like the Simpsons that goes on bizarre tangents.
I usually only write things that I’m interested in, and I find it very hard to really care about content in slice of life. Like, I love reading it and I applaud authors who can write it, but for me it’s boring and not stimulating enough. Not like intense worldbuilding and fantasy in general is. I need to be able to make my own species, add fantastical twists, and make everything just as exciting for me as it would the reader, I suppose. I find it harder to do with SOL since the genre just seems really laid back and (obviously) based on real, everyday things.
Occasionally I’ll be in a mood where I’ll want to write something lowkey, that I don’t have to put much energy into, so I have a few slice of life ideas that I’ll work on when I do. But that’s very occasionally and I never end up working on it long.
I might try slice-of-life later on in my career.
I write exclusively high concept stuff so far, but I do have a friend who writes slice of life, and she does it beautifully. I do like reading it, but I don’t exclusively go looking for it.
I’m surprised the consensus is that it’s harder to write about everyday stuff. With sci-fi and fantasy, there’s only so much spaghetti a reader will stomach. Built worlds are fun to write, but isn’t it a harder sell to get the reader to care about something they have no experience with? On the other hand, everyone has experience with emotion and inner conflict.
I guess for me it’s just the easiest way to minimize the setting and focus more directly on the thoughts and feelings of the characters in the story. Maybe they’re just sitting around at home, and that doesn’t seem that exciting, but the real stories take place within.
Slice-of-Life is a low lower stakes and requires a lot more heavy lifting from your characters and keeping everything realistic and grounded. Unless we’re putting in Soap Opera drama, then all bets are off.
I like slide-of-life, but like, not in this world.
Exactly as I thought, more people want escapsim even in their slice-of-life.
Enh, that slides more into writing a ballad as a novel, and can get a tad episodic.