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Author Topic: Contradictions
Christine
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I think the hardest thing for me to accept as a writer is that not everyone will like my stories. I want many people to like them. There are certainly a few writers who have transcended boundaries and been well-liked by many, but a very, very few and even those are hatd by some.

I've known this for a while, but I recently had an epiphany. The things that some readers love will be the EXACT SAME THING that other readers hate!

As an example, I'm going to talk about mine and my husband's views on George R. R. Marting. I hat ehis stuff. My husband loves it. He loves the political intricasies, the multiple viewpoints, the global stage, and the author's willingness to kill off even the most important character. I hate it because I can't sympathize with any one character, there are too many characters to follow, every time I like someone he dies, and the political intricasies kind of bore me. The same thing -- he loves it and I hate it.

I have often been confused by contradictory feedback in writing, but this is what I finally realized about it. In the end, the same trick that some readers will love will be hated by others and what's more: there's nothing you can do about it.


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authorsjourney
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Yes. Write the story that speaks to you as well as you can and hope that there will be an audience for it. Then learn more and write the next story. That's about all you can ever do.
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thayerds
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I agree. My wife and I are completely different too. She hates Harlan Ellison, Norman Spinrad, and Phillip K. Dick. I hate Larry Niven, Stephen Barnes and Greg Baer. (Not personaly of course, that sounds terrible!) We have found middle ground on Ursula LeGuinn and OCS. However even with OCS, she is definately in the Alvin Maker camp while I stand by Ender and the Lost Boys. Go figure. I think Heart's Hope was the greatest fantasy I've ever read, while she is definately a follower of Steven R. Donaldson. Sorry LOTRs fans, but if you havn't read Heart's Hope, well, talk to the hand.

The bottom line is, I do not like everyting, absolutely everyting that any writer has published. Not even Harlan, or OCS. There are stories that just don't "do it" for me.

But, and I think this is what you were getting at, I do like everything that I write. Sorry to say, and I am just trying to be honest, but it's probably because I keep working on the story until it is something I like. Unfortunately my wife rarely likes anything I write. Mostly because she hates Harlan Ellison, Norman Spinrad, . . . well, you get the picture.


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hoptoad
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no rules, no fear... dude

[This message has been edited by hoptoad (edited August 08, 2006).]


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Leigh
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My mother loves romance novels, my dad loves his high-tech, war thrillers. My mother hates the high-tech war thrillers while my dad hates romance novels. I hate romance and the high-tech war thrillers. I'm not saying I hate the authors, but I don't like the genre they write in.

I love fantasy and read it mainly, and sometimes sci-fi. My brother does the same thing as me, then again he's a wannabe me anyway. My sister hates fantasy and science fiction and shes loves what my mother loves.

As writers we write what we love to write and we don't have to like everything. If we did like everything, then we'd be a jack of all trades and simply a worse writer for that reason. We focus on what we like and become good at that one genre, at least that's the way I feel.


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Shendülféa
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quote:
Sorry LOTRs fans, but if you havn't read Heart's Hope, well, talk to the hand.

Aww...now you've made me determined to hate that book if I ever pick it up. Anytime someone says this book or that book is better than LotR, I automatically think: "Is that so? We'll see about that." And then I look for any and every flaw that story might have. But if someone just recommends a book to me because they thought it was good and they didn't compare it to any other book, I'm more open to it and will generally like it for its own merits. I suppose I'm strange that way. *shrug*

On topic: One of my greatest fears as a writer is not pleasing everyone--or at least most people. I've always been more affected by a negative comment about my stories than a positive one. I could have only one reader out of a hundred that hated what I wrote and that carries more weight than all good reviews I get. I wish I could please everyone, but I know it's impossible because different people like different things. I write fantasy and not everyone likes fantasy. My mom, for instance. The only reason she reads anything I write is because I wrote it. Otherwise, she wouldn't touch it. Her favorite genre is the mystery/crime solving one. I can't stand reading stories in that genre (there may be a few exceptions, but not many). I suppose the most important thing I need to remember is to find a publisher that likes my stuff and hopefully a fan base as well and not worry about those people who don't like it.


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Jammrock
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quote:
Sorry LOTRs fans, but if you haven't read Heart's Hope, well, talk to the hand.

I have read both, and while I think Hart's Hope is an excellent fantasy book, it's no LotR. But then again, I see them on two different planes of existence. LotR is a high fantasy epic adventure. It's detailed and intricate, vast and yet personal all at the same time. The writing is beautiful prose written by a man who truly knows language, poetry and the ancient art of storytelling. But I will be the first to admit it's not everyone's cup of tea.

Hart's Hope is a fantastic tale, but it doesn't have the same epic vastness that LotR has. And it's not high fantasy. So you're comparing Macintosh apples to delicious red apples. Both are apples, but they have a distinctly different taste.

As for the original topic ... critiques are just someone's opinion about your work. If you read the comment and you think, "my god, that makes sense," (or something along those lines) then by all means you should follow up. But if you're hesitant I usually pour over the options and pick the best solution to the problem in my mind. In the end it's up to you to decide what's right and wrong for your story.

And even the best authors are not liked by all. Danielle Steele is one of the best selling, if not the best selling, authors of the past several decades, yet I wouldn't pick up one of her books if all other literature in the world was burned but hers. I know people who thought Lord of the Rings was boring drivel, and it's sold over 300 million copies internationally. So it just goes to show, you're not out to please everyone, just enough people that you can sell your story and people will buy it.

Jammrock

PS - GRRM rules!

[This message has been edited by Jammrock (edited August 08, 2006).]


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Robert Nowall
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Well, in my immediate familial and social circles, I am the only Big Reader around, so the issue does not arise in my personal life.

I can't think of any writer (or singer, or actor, or director, or creator, or series, or TV show, or whatever) whose work I've universally liked. With a lot, I like a vast majority of their work, but nothing has one hundred percent---except the ones who've done just one.

Take (since his name came up in this conversation) Card. I read his early stuff---I went through a period where I tried to dig out every magazine or anthology story he had then published just to reread them---but then I dropped the ball somewhere in the mid eighties. I didn't like the original "Ender's Game," but I took to a lot of the others. Then, since coming here, I picked up copies of the Alvin Maker books and enjoyed that immensely.

Have I missed something in the Ender set? The descriptions I've read make it seem "not my cup of tea," but that proves nothing. Certainly a lot of people whose opinions I place some value in seem to like it. Should I pick it up again?

(Should I sample "Hart's Hope?" Or was it "Heart's Hope?" Careless of me not to know this. I think I read a slice of it once in a magazine or anthology, but I can't remember details.)


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trousercuit
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I hate Robert Heinlein and Larry Niven. If I ever had one of them in my home, I would demonstrate to him exactly how creative I can get with a garlic press and a bag of frozen chicken.

Oh, wait. We're talking about books?


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Robert Nowall
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I have reservations about many writers---as people. Over politics, over personal lives, over things they've said about other people...I could say a few things about Heinlein and Niven, too, but there are libel laws...
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Elan
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I loved Heinlein when I was a kid in middle school and high school. Heinlein's "Farnum's Freehold" was my introduction to adult science fiction. I read his stuff voraciously for several years. The last time I tried to pick up Stranger In A Strange Land to re-read it, I couldn't gag it down. But that doesn't take away from the fact that, at one time, I got a lot of enjoyment out of his work.
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wbriggs
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I found _Startide Rising_ to be a page-turner, one I hated to stop reading because so much was happening. I've heard it described as extremely tedious. That's enough to make me think taste isn't worth trying to predict!
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sojoyful
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trousercuit and Robert Nowell: You probably already know about this, but if not, you can read first (and sometimes more) chapters of Card's books over here. It was helpful for me when trying to decide to get books of his.

PS - It's Hart's Hope.

[This message has been edited by sojoyful (edited August 10, 2006).]


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Sara Genge
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Yep. I recently had a story up in hatrack from the POV of two nutcases. My mom loved the obsessive compulsive guy and thought the psycho needed work, and my boyfriend thought the OCD guy was lame and not-believable and love the cold psycho.
So I'm working on the grammar and leaving the rest as it is.

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