Naplóregényszeren

Naplóregényszeren is a neologistic term used in Hungarian literary discourse to describe a narrative practice in which diary-like material serves as the seed or framework of a novel. In this approach, diary entries are not merely supplementary documents but the structural backbone that guides the development of fictional elements, sometimes expanding the diary material into extended fiction or blending diary fragments with conventional storytelling.

Characteristics commonly associated with naplóregényszeren include a strongly diaristic voice, typically first-person and intimate, and an emphasis on time, memory, and subjectivity. The structure may be strictly chronological or deliberately fragmented, and there is often an interplay between claims of truth and literary fabrication. Meta-narrative techniques, self-commentary, and questions of authorship and reliability frequently appear, inviting readers to interrogate the boundary between factual record and imaginative reconstruction.

Context and use of the term tend to be found in contemporary Hungarian criticism and experimental writing. It overlaps with related modes such as autofiction, epistolary fiction, and documentary or diary-based storytelling. The label can describe works where an author publishes a diary that is subsequently reworked into fictional form, or where a fictional diary evolves into a broader novelistic project, sometimes through multiple manuscript layers or editorial interventions.

Naplóregényszeren as a concept highlights how diaries can function as both personal document and literary construction. It raises questions about memory, authenticity, and the ethics of representation, and it draws attention to pacing, plausibility, and reader engagement in diary-derived fiction.