A matter of a fragile ego or conflicting genre expectations?
Recently, I've been struggling with a horrific case of the over-exuberant inner critic and big dollops of self doubt as to whether I can write. No, this isn't a blog about that (already had one of those!), but rather a comment on some of the things I have found whilst going through this patch.
Since the self doubt fairy has decided to inflict an extended stay chez Ely, I have taken to lurking, reading people's writing and observing what is being said about it. I've been a bit naughty: I haven't left much in the way of comments myself, but that is simply because I don't feel qualified right now to be criticising anything, but reading other people's critiques has been a very interesting pass time.
I write fantasy, horror and sci-fi, so that is what I have focused my energies upon. We have a large contingency of very talented writers who specialise in these genres, and so I've been a bit spoilt when it comes for things to read. What has interested me immensely is how many of them have recieved very similar critiques as me in terms of overwriting, telling rather than showing, dumping info, use of adverbs etc... mainly by people who don't write nor read fantasy.
This is not a criticism of those who write other genres. It's certainly not a criticism of anyone giving critique. Basic rules and guidelines are just that - basic rules and guidelines that should apply to all, regardless of genre (like spelling, sentence structure, basic grammar etc). But should people bear in mind the target audience and genre when they approach their critiquing, rather than just approaching all pieces with the same mindset?
I only ask this because I have seen a lot of fantasy pieces critiqued to the point of austerity, which whilst not a bad thing in general, does mean that the piece can end up lacking a lot of the things that people expect to read when choosing a fantasy story. There have been a few cases when the fantasy writer has felt they have to defend their stance, and a few more are now reluctant to post pieces for critique because they know straight away that those who do not read the genre they are writing for will slash through their piece in a moment and declare it overwritten. Of course, this very well may be the case, and it can be a helpful (if painful!) thing, but there are other times when I feel that the suggested cut reads more like a list of things done and loses all of its genre 'flavouring'.
I suppose this blog has arisen because I am writing a Cthulhu Mythos short story right now, and in keeping with the Mythos conventions, it is quite baroque and, for lack of a better term, 'very wordy'. If I do put it up for people to read, there are going to be a lot of people unfamiliar with the Mythos and its conventions who are going to declare it overwritten tripe and then give me suggestions to pare it back to its skeleton. The problem with this is, if I ever approach a Mythos publisher with it, they are going to expect a Mythos story in its full baroque glory... not a modern tale told with a modern taste for literary austerity, and therefore the critique may not actually do me any favours in the long run (whereas someone who does know the genre would be able to see past the stylistic conventions and critique the actual tale as opposed to being horrified by the seeming overuse of the word 'indescribable' when describing Cthulhu!) .
And I fear that if I point this out, I will be accused of that terrible sin: being defensive.
So - to put this rambling load of nonsense to bed: where do you stand? Should genre be considered when critiquing? Or should we all abide by the same rules and be critiqued equally, regardless of genre? Should 'genre expectations' ever be a defense for a stylistic choice in prose? Or is it all just defending bad writing?
21 Comments
It's funny, because a couple of years ago, I read a book our HoD was proposing to teach. She told us of all the awards it had won, and sent us all off to read it. I managed 3/4 of it - my exact comment was "if this is what passes for children's fiction nowadays, no wonder kids don't read'. To me, it was boring, unimaginative, far too 'worthy' for its own good. According to the awards it garnered, it was beautiful and compelling. My conclusion? It just wasn't for me. (And, after asking some kids in the library one day if they'd read it, it wasn't for them, either...). Does that make it a badly written book? Nope - in fact, it followed every single literary rule to a tee (it was probably an editors wet dream, to be honest). Does that mean everyone is going to like it? Absolutely not!
Luckily, we all chose to teach Coraline by Neil Gaiman instead. A far classier read in my opinion! ^_^
As for the book you mention, the kids probably found it too perfect maybe, bit like I find with polished bands, rather than raw, warts and all, go for it type stuff...
I have posted stuff here in the past and have had very useful critique, especially on basic structural stuff (keeping things active, not using 'ing' words at the beginning of paragraphs etc), but at the same time, have had bits slashed out of pieces that I felt were important to the overall feel of the story. That's when, I think, my inner judgement has to come in... but that's something I just lack. Quite where it has gone, I don't know!
I have no idea who Lovecraft is though =/ sounds like a pinker version of that addictive computer game.
They - http://www.dagonbytes.com/thelibrary/lovecraft/index.html Go read! (Basically, if you have anything to do with horror, to not have read at least one Lovecraft story is a bit of a cardinal sin... everyone should havea bit of Cthulhu in their lives ;)).
This sounds to me like what I call the Ugly Duckling stage, when you've learned new stuff about technique, you kind-of see the point of it, but it hasn't yet merged properly with your natural writerly tendencies. It's like the stage - seven or eight years old? - when you can EITHER write a lovely story OR get all the spelling right, but trying to get the spelling right means your creative brain loses its bearings. Doesn't mean that either neither matters, and you do get there eventually.
And yes, I think there are things which people who don't read your genre may not judge well: you don't have to listen to someone who never reads chick lit, if they say they don't get the thing with the brand names, ditto boysie thrillers and endless technical gun names. Having said that, there's good and bad prose and ideas in every genre, so I think the key is to learn to discriminate between them in your own reading, and that should help train you for your own writing. Lavish writing may be natural to horror, but it can still be good-lavish or dire-lavish.
(By the way, I can remember all this because a few years ago I wrote an article, 'Kyria Pelagia's Waistcoat', for the English Review and sent a copy to Louis de Bernieres. He wrote back to say it was spot on and hoped it got published. The English Review thought otherwise and didn't publish. [Standard hard-luck story!])
I didn't know that writing was supposed to be so rigid and formulaic until I came on this website and I find it quite depressing sometimes. All these rules about; words you shouldn't use, don't have a prologue, don't have any back story, showing not telling - I think if I read that phrase one more time I'm going to be violently sick lol, all with the unspoken threat that YOU WON'T GET AN AGENT if you don't follow them.
I think you should be more concerned with the flow of your story. If people are saying it grabs their attention and made them want to read more than surely that's a sign that you are on the right track.
Do you let your friends and family read your stuff? I know that's another thing you're not supposed to do because they will be biased in your favour, blah, blah, blah but I got some useful feedback from people that test read my ms. My mum and best friend have read 1000's of books between them, they know the difference between a good story and a dud and so I find the idea that just because they know and love me I should ignore their opinions quite patronising.
You just need to remember that although some of the advice you get on here can be really useful, you don't have to take it all as gospel! At the end of the day it's your book and your choice.
Although I would love to have my book published more than anything, I'd love to walk into a book shop and see it on a shelf, or be on a train and see the person opposite me reading a copy, I'm not going to change it out of all recognition for that to happen..........then again maybe that's just beginner's arrogance and after tons of rejection letters i'll change my mind :-)
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