Janice Harayda is the moderator of the One Minute Book Revies blog and is running a contest for the worst writing of the past year. Excellent blog.She posts on average one book review each day. I'm not sure where she finds the time to read all these books. She's doing a Delete Key Award for worst writing because these writers should have hit the delete key more often. I think bad writing can be helpful to beginning writers. By example, they can help us avoid certain pitfalls. It looks like she'll have 10 finalists, and will declare the winner on the Ides of March. Will worth a look.
Posted by InarticulateBabbler (Member # 4849) on :
I think that's a mighty rude way of going about it. That's like starting a "Hall of Shame". And, who's to say that you will agree with her opinion?
Posted by Ray (Member # 2415) on :
She spends more time explaining why she didn't like the books rather than why the quality of writing is awful. Nothing wrong with that, it is her blog. But I've seen much worse in terms of writing mechanics than the examples she's given so far.
Posted by MommaMuse (Member # 3622) on :
What kind of arrogant person would hold such a hurtful and humiliating contest? What gives anyone the right to pass judgement on someone eles's work? If you don't like someone's writing, then just don't read it! DUH.
Now I am going to follow my own advice and have noting further to do with this particular topic! lol
Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :
Well, the Bulwer-Lytton contest consists of deliberately awful writing. I don't know that someone sets out to sell something that's deliberately awful...accidentally awful can happen to anyone. I've seen bad stuff put out even by the "greats" of various fields. (If you can find a copy, check out the early stories in The Early Asimov.)
Posted by RMatthewWare (Member # 4831) on :
What gives her the right to pass judgment on someone else's work? Well, the Constitution, for one. The same freedom of speech/freedom of press that gives us the right to write gives her the right to criticize what we write.
And it's no different than the razzies. That's the award that is given at the same time as the oscars for worst actor, worst movie, etc.
I think such things are harmless. If you want to be in the writing business you had better get used to criticism. And not good, constructive criticism like we get here. I'm talking mean, rude, Simon Cowell, go cry to your momma criticism, because people in this world are mean and not afraid to hold back.
Personally, if I ever make it big, I'm going to collect the bad reviews of my work. Maybe I'll publish it some day. I already have a rejection file in my filing cabinet. It contains the only rejection I've received, of course, it's for the only story I've submitted thus far.
Matt
[This message has been edited by RMatthewWare (edited March 01, 2007).]
Posted by Kolona (Member # 1438) on :
Actually, if you scroll down the homepage, Harayda asks for readers to nominate books for the dubious award, so the results aren't just her opinions.