By Julie Daines
This is the question I've been asking myself lately: What makes for the best books--sublime writing or an amazing story?
If you hope to win a Newbery Honor, you might need to lean toward perfect writing. If you want to make it to the New York Times best-seller list, then a well crafted story could be enough.
I read a book a few months ago where the writing was so awful I wanted to throw the book at the wall. How could this much telling and repetitive language make it to the NYT best-sellers list? Didn't this author know anything about good writing? But the truth is, I couldn't put it down. I had to read all night to find out what happens. The intense, original story and great characters drew me.
Last week I read book with some fantastic writing--clever, moving, full of meaningful imagery, great dialogue. But I had to force myself to finish it. I didn't care about the main character, I didn't care about her friends. All that beautiful language was wasted on yet another story of a tortured teen who suddenly discovers she has super/paranormal powers and then finds herself in cliched situations. It was so predictable, I already knew the ending by reading the jacket cover.
Of course the best answer is C) All of the above. Writing and plot working together in perfect--and perfected--unison.
So, what do you think? Story versus Writing Throwdown--who wins?
3 comments:
It has to be a mix. Poor writing spoils a good story, and a weaker story becomes more tolerable if the writing is great. I probably lean toward the writing side, but I can forgive little flaws if the story keeps me interested. For me, it's really about the characters and what they are going through, which requires a good story, well written.
I'm more likely to stick with a weak story with beautiful writing than an interesting plot that is poorly written, but I'm not likely to love a book unless it has both.
difficult to say. There are certain plot elements that are so faulty, they can't be covered up no matter how sublime the writing is. I want to bond with characters and characters need faults. Maybe an author with a few faults makes me bond to him as well. ...but not too many.
great discussion!
The books that I love I think have both. Jane Eyre, Ender's Game, Pride & Prejudice I believe have both elements. Maybe the books we want to reread again and again have both.
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