And yes, I am the Big Giant Head :^P
The other day I read a blog post by the ever brilliant Chuck Wendig (an author and blogger triple dipped in volcanic awesomesauce!) who discussed the author of Fifty Shades of Grey, E.L. James writing a guide on writing. Okay, I know there has been an onslaught of remarks, insults, and copious amounts of laughter (that last one from me for sure), but to be fair, as poorly written as the book may be-or the series for that matter-the author has not only sold enough copies to supply public restrooms around the world (for reading material, what else? *Looks innocent*) but she has manage to get more people reading.
Personally, I don't know if the author is good or not based on writing a series that pleases the average person, she might very well be one of the best out there, but wrote "what would sell" over "good writing". Now when Harry Potter first came out, I didn't take it seriously, then I started to read a little and became hooked on J.K. Rowling. The woman can write. Stephanie Meyer who wrote Twilight, from what I understand when she penned the original manuscript, it was ten times better than what got published. Meyers seemed like an author who has the ability to write, and I did like the fact she added some nuance to the genre, but in the end with the exception of Rowling, these authors had to do whatever it took to get their work out there. Isn't that what a lot of us are doing?
Alright, anyone of you who know me, know I'm the last to back this kind of fiction. Me and mainstream very, very, very rarely agree on what's good writing. Mainly because so many of the audience for mainstream don't read, they watch movies and TV shows instead. Why read it when you can watch it? I have heard this TOO MANY TIMES!!!! In which I always reply, "Because the book is nine times out of ten… BETTTER!" But with the mainstream crowd getting into books now, the author about has to weaken their story if they want to break into that market. Madness? You betcha! And this isn't even Sparta.
To be fair, I, and many other authors out there do whatever our editors tell us to do. Of course the editors I work with are awesome and never mess up what I'm writing, and instead make it better, but still I do as I'm told. It's because this is how it's done, if I want to succeed, I need to play ball, and rightfully so. And it's not much of a secret that mainstream isn't for the most part high quality. I would love to have a best-selling book turned into a movie, and live happily ever after. But if I did, I would choose to be more like J.K. Rowling. The woman matured the characters so well from book to book, not only making you believe in them, but caring about their fate. Sadly, not every author can pull this off. Maddening.
So while I find it hilarious that E.L. James is writing this how to book, she did get into a market that made her who she is. She sold the books to prove it. Sure, it makes me worry about what will be expected by the next generations of readers, but hopefully there are enough J.K. Rowling fans that there is a chance for us. And who knows, maybe we can introduce them to some new ideas, and better written. Perhaps E.L. James and Stephanie Meyers can help us by being the innovation that brings on a new renaissance of intelligent books.
And before you shake your fist at me, just remember what manure does for a garden. We can wallow in it, or grow.
(As you can tell, I see both points of view on this)
