Okay, starting today, Wednesday is my new Midweek Madness day. The rest of the week I try to stay to writing related topics but a girl can only be so good....From now on, Wednesdays are a free for all - I can post anything I want. (Bawahhhaaa - I love power!) So, to kick it off, I'm starting with a writing related post. Go figure.
I don't know why this caught me as so funny, but given the controversy that seems to swirl around Stephenie Meyer's TWILIGHT series from the writing community's perspective, (in that, some like her writing and some don't) I thought this was hilarious that in offering up his opinion, Stephen King just let's it rip. I hereby predict that he will be eating some of those words....
Here's how it went down: "In what should have been a controversy-free interview with USA Weekend to promote his latest book, the horror master has slammed Twilight creator Stephenie Meyer's writing prowess....by flat out saying she has none."
The article goes on to say: "What started as an innocent question on the juggernaut success of fellow mainstream writers Meyer and JK Rowling quickly devolved into a full-scale denouncement of the former's skills. "The real difference is that Jo Rowling is a terrific writer and Stephenie Meyer can't write worth a darn," he said. "She's not very good."
Ouch. C'mon Stephen, don't hold back, tell us what you really think.
Now, of course, you all know that Stephen King is not only respected for his writing but also for his book on writing called appropriately enough, Stephen King On Writing. So, the guy has the chops to state his opinion. But you gotta wonder what the hell he was thinking to completely slam a bestselling author. Whatever happened to the brotherhood of writers? Er...or maybe I just made that up.....
The weird thing is I had a conversation with an agent (who shall remain nameless) at a SCBWI conference last spring who was sneering at Meyer's work. To me, it really begs the question of defining what parameters measure a novel's success? Is it based on prescribed measures of writing style that have been defined by those in the publishing world? Or is it measured by those who read and love the story? (and ultimately cough up the dough and BUY the book).
So, I'll leave that question for you to answer as I'm not getting in the middle of this one. BUT, for the record, I read TWILIGHT over a year ago and LOVED it. I read TWILIGHT, NEW MOON and ECLIPSE all in the same weekend. In retrospect, I much prefered the first book, but regardless, they captured my interest enough to read them all in a short period of time which is saying something. And I have to say that I feel sorry for Stephenie Meyer. I've never heard her tout her books as though she thinks she's the world's greatest writer. Instead, the public has done it for her. And that should tell us all something.
What do you think?
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