Local color or regional literature focuses on character fiction and poetry, dialects, customs, terrain and other characteristics specific to a specific region. Through the Southwest-East Humor, the Civil War and the end of the 19th century, this writing mode became the dominant one in American literature. According to the Oxford Guide to American Literature, "A discovery of the dual effects of Romanticism and Realism in vernacular literature, the author often seems to be far away from the land of everyday life, strange customs, or strange scenes, but retains the fidelity and accuracy of descriptions through a sense of detail" (439). Its weaknesses may include nostalgia and sadness. Its usual form is sketch or short stories, although Hamlingalan advocates local color fiction.