Vicki wrote:
"However, in my experience, the top literary books are really
well-written, whereas best-sellers tend to go the other way,
because the general reading public reads for plot and idea
and doesn't recognize good writing from bad."
I read very few bestsellers myself, but I'm a little
uncomfortable with the tautological nature of this
definition. Of course, if you define bad writing as any
plot-driven writing, most bestsellers are badly written.
However, isn't there actually good and bad plot driven
writing? For instance, don't know if it was a bestseller, but
Douglas Winter's Run is a runaway train in the plot
department, and it is at the expense of characterization, but
I thought it was well written within the bounds of its
genre.
This remnds me of teasing an old girlfriend. She watched soap
operas, but was quick to place them in the realm of guilty
pleasure, saying in particular that the acting was poor. I
saw just enough of them to notice that the traits she labeled
as "poor" were pretty consistent among the actors -- if
everyone is overemoting, is it bad craft or a style
choice?
To put it another way, I don't like chick flicks, but even
I've got to admit some are very well made movies (and as
loath as I am to admit it, I've even liked a few that I've
been dragged to).
Mark
ps -- did Douglas Winter ever write another book?
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