Day in the life (or a day in the life, or day in the life of) is a
genre
Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...
of
storytelling in which the events occurring in the life of the subject or subjects are those occurring in single day of their life.
Such storytelling is sometimes used as a form of
journalism
Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the " news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (pro ...
, where "
day-in-the-life story records the activities of someone through a period of time—such as the length of a day. The videojournalist shoots everything in hopes of capturing revealing details".
[Kenneth Kobre, ''Videojournalism: Multimedia Storytelling'' (2013), p. 16.] The genre can be used to give the reader or viewer the sense of a typical day in the life of the subject without actually taking a day to present this material:
Although a day in the life story may present a distinct crisis arising and being dealt with, "some of the writers of these stories feel they are an exploration into the human condition and relationships, that a day in the life of a character, without a Climax and Resolution, is just as valid a storytelling model".
[Victoria Lynn Schmidt, ''Story Structure Architect'' (2005), p. 94.] A "day in the life" story could therefore also be a
slice of life
Slice of life is a depiction of mundane experiences in art and entertainment. In theater, slice of life refers to naturalism, while in literary parlance it is a narrative technique in which a seemingly arbitrary sequence of events in a characte ...
story, depicting the routine events of the life of the subject, although a slice of life story is not necessarily restricted to events occurring in the course of a single day.
See also
*
List of media set within one day
*
:Novels set in one day
*
Slice of life
Slice of life is a depiction of mundane experiences in art and entertainment. In theater, slice of life refers to naturalism, while in literary parlance it is a narrative technique in which a seemingly arbitrary sequence of events in a characte ...
References
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Genres