Liminal is defined as:
"Occupying a position at, or on both sides of, a boundary or threshold."
"Relating to a transitional or initial stage of a process."
Liminal is derived from Latin and means “threshold.”
Threshold has several definitions and in the context of this post, these two would be apt:
“The place or point of beginning; the outset”
“The point that must be exceeded to begin producing a given effect or result or to elicit a response.”
In this way, liminal could be further construed as an intermediate between two states, conditions, or regions; transitional or indeterminate.
Hence, a liminal story exists on the threshold between two worlds. It could also be a story about crossing a boundary, about stepping from one state into another. It could be going through a crisis of change. Or the transition from consciousness within a body to consciousness independent of one.
Within the works of contemporary fiction that I write (short stories and flash fiction), much of it could be categorized as liminal, including tales around the edges of life and death, or simply the experience of personal change.
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