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What is it that makes bad writing bad? Well, that is a rather subjective judgement call. According to the writer of this WSJ article, “[i]t’s impossible to define bad writing because no one would agree on a definition.” This is true. Bad writing for me is likely to not be the same as bad writing for you.
To be completely honest, I am somewhat of a book snob. I have been known to turn up my nose, sniff and repeatedly utter “My word!” in a very Miss Marple-esque way when I encounter what I deem to be bad writing; such as stilted dialogue, descriptions that don’t quite flow, run-on sentences, overly flowery metaphors, or metaphors that are not quite believable. None of that is enough for me to I absolutely refuse to read a book, I usually continue reading if the story is good enough.
As far as I am concerned, a lack of understanding or experience in expertly wielding language as a tool (or a weapon) does not preclude being heard (or [ more ]
And just when we thought that eBooks were going to take over the world, the news of at least two authors who are sticking with the printed book. Richard Russo and Stephen King have both promised that their next novels are not going to be offered electronically. In King’s case, he adds “for the time being” which sort of implies that he hasn’t closed the door on the idea.
Russo says he wants to support the traditional bookstore model and the notion of local buying; so his next novel, a collaboration between himself and his daughter, is going to be published by a publishing house located in his hometown. Both Russo and King state that eBooks alone aren’t enough and King goes as far as to say that “readers don’t regard electronic books as real books”.
Now I don’t know about you, but for me, the reading is primarily about the words and secondarily about the medium those words are delivered to me. I am not sure I care whether the book is available in print or not, so long as [ more ]