Are commercial bestsellers poorly written? John Grisham, Steven King, Elmore Leonard, Ruth Rendell, John Le Carre, Scott Turow–these folks can write like angels when they want to. But the way the average “franchise” bestseller is usually ground out…well, you have to think the author’s awareness of (or concern for) principles of good basic style is minimal or non-existent.
Read this email from a fiction writer and former workshop student of mine, Terri Arnold:
“We go to seminars, classes and critique groups and are told over and over how to write a good novel. We are told that editors and agents will toss a book the minute they see certain no-nos and you can only break those taboos if you’re really good or if used sparingly. Why then do I see countless books on the shelves – heavily promoted – that are filled with clichés, predictable (or unbelievable) characters and plots, inane dialog, repetition of plot points, “telling, not showing,” clumsy description?<
“I could go on, but you get the point. Why am I assured that these unprofessional tricks will only earn me rejection slips, when I see them flourishing in bookstores everywhere? I mean, even a crappy novel has to pass a certain level of skill, no? Or do these lousy successful writers have blackmail tapes hidden in their bottom drawers? Makes me wonder why I waste my sanity trying to do it right? Thanks for your insight.”<
Does this touch a nerve with you as a reader? Have you ever wished an author you wanted to like just WROTE BETTER? What about your own writing? Is it hard for you to apply the time and dedication to getting it just right when some of the biggest successes in your genre don’t seem to share that value–yet still hit the jackpot time after time?
I confess that sometimes I feel uncomfortable insisting on the highest writing standards, warning students that their work will live or die by how well they’ve learned to create unique, compelling images, demolish cliches, avoid grammar traps, shun adverbs, specify specify specify, and the thousand other things coaches shout from the bench.
I have a few thoughts I’ll share with you tomorrow. But today, I want to hear from you. Does this paradox bother you as much as it does Terri? If so, sound off. As a writer, as a reader…what do you think?
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