Why I hate writing, Part 10: writing, reading and ranting
If you’ve read this blog for very long, you know that I prefer Twitter to Facebook. Having said that, I will also say I’ve found some great links and conversations on Facebook which don’t lend themselves to the 140 character limitation on Twitter. Such was the case last Saturday when I found the following quote via Sarah Reck’s Facebook status update:
Found this quote online today. It’s attributed to Stephen King but I haven’t found a source.
“Harry Potter is about confronting fears, finding inner strength and doing what is right in the face of adversity. Twilight is about how important it is to have a boyfriend.”
Like Sarah, I was unable to find the original source of this quote, but I have found a couple of articles where King has been openly critical of Meyer’s Twilight series, including an interview published in USA Weekend in February, 2009:
“…when (Richard) Matheson started to write about ordinary people and stuff, that was something that I wanted to do. I said, ‘This is the way to do it. He’s showing the way.’ I think that I serve that purpose for some writers, and that’s a good thing. Both Rowling and Meyer, they’re speaking directly to young people. … The real difference is that Jo Rowling is a terrific writer and Stephenie Meyer can’t write worth a darn. She’s not very good.”
Mr. King’s criticism isn’t just directed at Meyer, however. He goes on to say:
“Somebody who’s a terrific writer who’s been very, very successful is Jodi Picoult. You’ve got Dean Koontz, who can write like hell. And then sometimes he’s just awful. It varies. James Patterson is a terrible writer but he’s very very successful. People are attracted by the stories, by the pace and in the case of Stephenie Meyer, it’s very clear that she’s writing to a whole generation of girls and opening up kind of a safe joining of love and sex in those books. It’s exciting and it’s thrilling and it’s not particularly threatening because they’re not overtly sexual. A lot of the physical side of it is conveyed in things like the vampire will touch her forearm or run a hand over skin, and she just flushes all hot and cold. And for girls, that’s a shorthand for all the feelings that they’re not ready to deal with yet.”
I’ll admit I was caught up in the Twilight series when it first came out. Meyer is certainly no Steinbeck, or Rowling for that matter, but I did get caught up in the story. About halfway through the second book however, the story wasn’t enough. I finished the second book and began reading the third but didn’t finish it. Life’s too short to read bad books. I realize what constitutes a good or bad book is subjective, and what compels one reader to keep reading is different from another. I tend to relate to characters in the stories. I found Bella so completely annoying and self-absorbed that I no longer cared what happened to her. I don’t necessarily have to like the main character, but indifference is a real buzz kill for me. I don’t begrudge the millions of readers who loved the Twilight series and cudos to Stephanie Meyer for the incredible success of those books. I’ll save my true book snobbery for autobiographies written by celebrities and quasi-celebrities writing about themselves via a large pool of ghost writers trying to make a living. And I certainly don’t begrudge ghost writers trying to make a living.
What I’m wondering is if you think Stephen King serves the writing community by being openly critical of other writers. King has been the recipient of some of the same kind scathing criticism of his own work, and while I think he’s an incredible writer–probably the best of his generation–he’s written a few dogs himself. My personal opinion is that King’s criticism is less about professional jealousy (as some have suggested) and more about his love of the craft. He takes bad writing personally because he’s done the work, bled on the page and sacrificed so much for the love of the story.
And hey, he’s Stephen King…
What do you think about writers being openly critical of other writers? (I know they’re privately critical of them, because I know how you are, writers.)
What writers have inspired you? (Besides me. Snort!)
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I love Jodi Picoult’s books and her writing. She’s one of my favourites.
Shelley´s last [type] ..More Awesomeness
I have to confess that I’ve never read any of the vampire books, neither has any of my daughters.
When someone who looks on the outside to be above the rest, you kind of expect them to be as big personally. I’m sure King is right, but he loses something himself by lowering himself into the world of public opinion.
You know you’ve inspired some of the posts I’ve done, thanks for your permission to use some of your work to do so. Many others, some as obscure as me, have captured words that God has used to capture my heart.
I should have known Steinbeck’s, The Winter Of Our Discontent would have a sad ending. Thanks for the tip, just finished it this evening. Would I love to have a conversation about that book.
floyd´s last [type] ..THE DOG DAYS OF SUMMER
Floyd,
That book was chock full of themes, wasn’t it? Pretty gritty. What I find so fascinating about Steinbeck is that he was a communist sympathizer, and yet Winter of our Discontent seems to express his desire to go back to the innocence of pre-Vietnam era America. Lots of social and personal commentary in that book. And while the ending was sad, it also held a glimmer of hope that the main character that he would go on. Not for himself, but for those who loved him. I think a story like that stands in stark contrast to many books today. Just typing this comment makes me want to read it again.
Yeah, it was chocked full. I didn’t know he was a communist sympathizer… It seemed while he had his issues especially with his aunt about his Christian upbringing, he most certainly cherished it.
It seemed that he may have wanted to go on, in order to pass on the talisman to his daughter, but he was also pinned against the concrete wall in “the Place.”
That seemed pretty extreme just for having his son get caught cheating? Which would lead me to assume the tarot cards and Margie had the central effect.
I’ll be digesting it for awhile yet.
floyd´s last [type] ..THE DOG DAYS OF SUMMER
I found it to be a haunting commentary on today’s society. Winning at all costs, notoriety over integrity, the darkness in everyone. It reminded me to choose the light even when the darkness seems more attractive at times.
I agree, his wife, children, and everyone else in town had that attitude. They all wanted to be defined by what they had instead of who they were. I was more disturbed by his son’s attitude than I was his. I did have an issue with with turning in his boss and having him deported, although that probably was better than blackmail.
I thought he probably did the right thing with his best friend Danny’s estate, and it just so happened to put the banker who’s relatives burned down their ship, kinda in his place.
Of course in our flesh we all have darkness, it’s only God in us that has the power to overcome it. It sure would be nice to have a worldly popular book spin it like that in truth…
I have mostly read non fiction for the last decade, it was over ten years ago I read King’s The Green Mile. These last few Steinbeck books have rekindled a flame from my youth.
floyd´s last [type] ..THE DOG DAYS OF SUMMER
I think what I liked most about the book was that no one came out smelling like a rose. No one’s motives were above reproach including the main character. I found that to be refreshingly honest writing.
And personally, I often find deeper truths in fiction than in non-fiction. With fiction, the author can hide behind a storyline and characters, thereby feeling safe enough to expose their deepest thoughts and feelings.
I’m not sure he was as dark as the character he made out of Ethan, then again I’m not sure how he died.
One question and then I’ll quit bothering you. Were you rooting for the main character to return his family to their position of status?
floyd´s last [type] ..THE DOG DAYS OF SUMMER
That’s a difficult question. Right or wrong, I think most men measure themselves by what they do for a living; how successful they are. I think Ethan put some things in motion that he could not take back because his sense of entitlement for what he thought he deserved drove him to do so. If by the family’s position of status you mean the status of his ancestors, I suppose what I was really hoping was that after the failed bank job he would have an epiphany that being his own man was enough and that pride and a sense of entitlement (there’s that phrase again) had gotten him into the mess he was in in the first place.
And you’re not bothering me at all. I made a friend of mine read it after I finished so I could discuss it with someone. It’s just one of those kinds of books.
I’m not so sure if it was what he thought he was “entitled” to or what his family thought of him when he was just a clerk. His wife cut him to the soul when she basically accused him in emotion of being a chicken.
When his confidence was coming up and everyone was believing in him, it was like a snowball rolling down hill.
I do admit from the good side to the bad side my heart was being pulled at will.
I was hoping for him to revive what his dad had lost and go to being the man he talked about inside.
I found it very interesting that he started the book in a first person narrative, in the middle switched to a third person then finished it back in first person. I don’t think I’ve seen that before?
floyd´s last [type] ..THE DOG DAYS OF SUMMER
Yeah, I didn’t like his wife at all. And I could have easily blamed her for driving him to do some of the things he did. I believe when he wrote that book Steinbeck was married to his third wife. From what I read in the forward of the book I have, he considered her his soul mate, but his previous marriages were not good. I tend to think that Ethan’s wife was based on one or both of his previous wives. I think that was one of the saddest parts of the book for me. Ethan’s wife making him feel like he wasn’t enough. Probably because she felt like she wasn’t enough either.
The art of the critique is quite established here in the 21st century. Yet, with the advent of blogging, the art has become diminished somewhat, if only by the sheer volume of the critiques.
In answer to your question, what writer’s have inspired me:
Two come to mind immediately. Patrick Morley and John Eldredge.
But as I sit with a cup of hot coffee on a steamy July morning, other names peculate up to the surface of my memory:
Robert A. Heinlein
David Brin
Dan Brown
Len Sweet
They either craft a good story or present truth in such a way as to make me want to strive to write and be (a better man, a better husband, a better father). They keep me company when the rest of the house is quiet and the family is asleep. They help me share the Truth in terms that more easily relate to other people. They even help me fall asleep when I need it most.
Of your list, I’ve only read Eldredge. I love his writing because he goes straight to the heart. He is able to express feelings and desires within us that most can only grasp at. Lots of “ah-ha” moments when reading him.
katdish´s last [type] ..Why I hate writing, Part 10: writing, reading and ranting
I recommend you pick up Len Sweet’s “Aqua Church” – the updated edition.
Thanks, Ed. I’ll check that out.
I agree that King is saying these things as someone who loves good writing and hates bad writing. But if I criticize another writer, I feel like a schmuck.
By the way, I thought the Twilight books were fine & fun, but Harry rules. J.K. Rowling crafted something that leaves me speechless.
Sincerely, a fellow Twitter-lover
Megan Willome´s last [type] ..Church?
I think a mark of a great story is that when you know it’s coming to a close, you want to savor it. You don’t want it to end even though you know it must draw to its conclusion. That’s what Rowling did with the Harry Potter series. It’s true that Rowling’s target audience was a young one, but the themes in those books transcend age, another mark of a great story.
The Harry Potter quote is so dead on, i wish teenagers would get it too…now and not when they are older
ella´s last [type] ..Team Building Activities for the Workplace
Is it professional to criticize the work of someone else in one’s profession? That depends. As a teacher, I would seldom criticize a teacher for her method unless she was unkind or unprofessional. (That isn’t to say that I might not have offered an alternative approach.) I don’t think it is okay to criticize someone for having a different teaching style, and I believe the same goes for writing. But some issues are so grieving that something must be said.
I don’t read the vampire books, but I do read James Patterson. I do not agree. The Women’s Murder Club series is awesome! (I don’t read much romance or fantasy, since I experience enough of both, but murder is definitely out of the ordinary for me!)
The books that I have found the most inspiring are “Horton Hears a Who” by Dr. Seuss, and “Bunnicula” by James and Deborah Howe. (“The Giving Tree” by Shel Silverstein inspires me to vomit, but I don’t believe that is the kind of inspiration you are inquiring about.)
Helen´s last [type] ..The Packing is Over….
Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams, Orson Scott Card, Dave Barry, Patrick F. McManus, and O. Henry.
Ricky Anderson´s last [type] ..The Pinball Game That Is My Mind When It Doesn’t Have Any Sleep I’m Tired Mary Had A Lotta Lambs
Love me some Dave Barry. Did you read his novel?
He has a couple, but the one I read was Big Trouble.
The movie was actually pretty funny as well, but it involved a bomb on a plane…and released the week of 9/11. They quietly pulled the plug on that one!
I also saw Dave Barry at the university theater in town. Had he not started writing, he would have made it in standup comedy. He’s hilarious in any medium.
Ricky Anderson´s last [type] ..Who’s On First?
I read Peter and the Star Catchers by Dave Barry and some other writer. An update on the Peter Pan legend.
After I read it, it was a “night time” story I read to my sons about seven years ago.
Confession time: I love the Harry Potter story. Rowling really can tell a story. Second confession: I read the first Twilight book when I was part of a book club. I hadn’t heard of it or anything. I yelled every time we met. Enough said on that one. Regardless, I think it’s good to criticize if it’s done correctly. I think it’s important to let the world know what should be appreciated and what shouldn’t, especially if there are humans out there taking advantage of puberty-induced emotions and desires. It’s almost like preachers talking about the things other preachers teach… (Avoid listening to so-and-so… not because he’s a bad guy but because if you listen to him, you may wake up in hell).
jake´s last [type] ..Swinger
Oh, to be a fly on the wall at THAT book club gathering! Snort!