Personally, I think the dog yawning in the background doesn't bode well. Just sayin'!
Back to my questions. Ask almost any writer what they thought of Fifty Shades of Grey and let the games begin. The best analogy I can think of: dropping chum in the water for a bunch of sharks.
Regardless of what any writer thinks of E.L. James, I can honestly say that I enjoyed her books and would gladly take her $95 million paycheck (or Stephanie Meyer’s, or Dan Brown’s, etc.) in a heartbeat. Granted, my lens was not as finely-tuned when I read FSoG as it is now. What do those three authors all have in common, beside their hefty paychecks and #1 NYT Best-Selling status? Writers who are detractors. Not to say there aren't readers who are also detractors, but it's the writer forums that I haunt.
Like all writers, I’m dedicated to improving my craft. I spent about five months over 2 years writing my first novel, and I’m in the process of wrapping up eighteen solid months of editing and revising it after working with multiple paid editors. I have a critique partner, I'm part of a critique group, and I've had both readers and other writers ‘beta’ my work during that time. All of my betas are great and offer a slightly different perspective, which is invaluable during the process. In addition, I'm an active member in a writer's community, actively follow several industry writing blogs, as well as individual writer's blogs.
That said, I've had the following epiphany: by definition, once you become a writer, you’re no longer a just a reader—ever again.
What I can say, unequivocally, is… I love readers. Why? Because they don’t care about the rules, they just want a good story. They are also who drive a book to go viral and make it a bestseller. When looking for critique, I'm a big believer in having a mix of both readers and writers to give me a balanced perspective.
Sometimes, as writers, I think we get caught up in what we think agents, editors, and publishers are looking for, and we start feeding each other too much of our own Kool-Aid.
There are two points that I will get to in this post. The first is this:
Are the “rules” the only acceptable rules, and must they be applied to every book?
Let me list them:
• No backstory
• No telling
• Every chapter must end with something to keep the reader turning the page
• Action-infused chapters
• Minimize world-building
• No flashbacks
• Yada Yada Yada…
I can’t tell you how many books I’ve read lately, whether Dan Brown or the next hot New Adult author, where the books are following the ‘rules’ and leaving me wanting. They are suffering from the same thing Hollywood movies are right now. They are all trying to follow the ‘Save the Cat' formula, leaving everyone saying: “Didn't I just see this?” Am I turning the page at the end of the chapter? Yes. Am I happy about it? No.
Why? Because at some point, I just want the damn book to slow down and show me characters I want to hang out with… I don’t mind some back story, some banter between characters, some world-building, some freaking moments where people aren’t covered in blood, running for their lives, or having needlessly tense conversations because the author’s been told there isn’t enough ‘tension’ in the scene. Current releases of books by new authors (read: traditionally published, just to eliminate self-published bias for a moment) are coming across as formulaic and leaving me feeling cheated. Of course this isn't true of every new book I've read lately, but enough that I've taken notice. I wonder if Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series would've even had a chance of being published today. Just sayin'.
Whatever happened to the leisurely beach read?
My second point?
As a writer, at some point when you’re revising your manuscript, you need to determine when another writer’s critique is a matter of style vs. craft. You should be able to tell the difference, but once you’re fairly certain you’ve nailed the craft piece, you have to decide when done is done. Sift through the feedback for pearls of wisdom, but at some point, step away from the keyboard.
Write On!
What are your thoughts on the matter? As writers, are we tainted as readers?
Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamelah/3365906930/ via http://photopin.com href=http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/