Where The Mild Things Are

April writing goals.

Changing tenses in commercial fiction

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Paul Whybrow

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Jun 20, 2015
Cornwall, UK
In my reading choices, for fiction at least, I rather avoid best-selling titles that are creating a lot of fuss in the media and appearing on shortlists for literary prizes. I prefer to read them some time later.

Occasionally, I'll get my hands on a trendy novel shortly after it's published. This happened with George Saunders' Lincoln In The Bardo, Francis Spufford's Golden Hill and Sebastian Barry's Days Without End. Between them, they won at least six literary awards, and they deserved them; I particularly enjoyed Golden Hill, which is ripe for a sequel.

Not all well-reviewed and highly-publicised novels are worthy of the attention they receive. I wondered if I was being churlish in dismissing authors who've been published, while I'm still querying like a beggar at the tradesman's entrance, but I recently came across a quote from novelist Rose Tremain: “I hardly finish any books. Our so-called literary world is now choked with the mediocre and the banal, piles of which arrive through my letter box, soliciting endorsements, every week.”

Last year, Arts Council England published a report lamenting the decline in sales of literary fiction. One of the reasons for the slump, is that a lot of highfalutin writing is all pretension and low in quality. To my mind, a good example of this is The Essex Serpent, which gained author Sarah Perry so much attention that I thought she'd used pixie dust to charm the critics. I found it to be plodding, lifeless and unconvincing with weak characterisation. I didn't care what happened to any of the protagonists, and was glad to finish it. It made me think of the old adage about not judging a book by its cover, for this one had been, as the design of The Essex Serpent's book jacket is exquisite, so much so that it won the Books are My Bag Beautiful Book Award for artist Peter Dyer.

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The Essex Serpent had fantastic sales, partly because it looked nice....It also rode the wave of favourable newspaper reviews and word of mouth, with readers buying it because they were meant to like it.

A lot of fiction feels formulaic these days, with crime novels and thrillers in particular becoming as predictable as action movies—many of which follow a template, that determines there should be a chase scene every 20 minutes, a fight scene at 12 minute intervals and how often sex should be mentioned or happen.

In writing a series of crime novels myself, I'm wary of falling into bland repetition. Certainly, there's a comfort in having a pattern that regular readers enjoy, with the ups and downs of the plot guiding them through the story, but it's good to throw in unexpected surprises. I recently gave up on reading a suspense novel, written by veteran author Mary Higgins Clark, who is hugely experienced and successful, not because it was badly written, but more because it was slickly written. It felt like she was going through the motions of something she once enjoyed doing thirty books ago. Her style reminded me of a sales catalogue for luxury goods. It was all surface, with no depth.

But what do I know? She's found a successful formula, with legions of fans, and has sold millions of books. (But, it's still fun to be a bit bitchy sometimes....;))

With increased attention paid to cultural appropriation and the #MeToo Movement, there are sure to be more balanced treatments of contentious issues, but, there might be a diluting effect—with authors afraid to speak out in a way that contradicts what is held to be politically correct. Meek and mild writing isn't stimulating.

Are there any authors whose success mystifies you?

literature-novel-novelists-writers-journalist-trashy_novels-hsc2008_low.jpg
 
I can always count on you to give me something to do. I've developed a technique for reading your posts. It goes like this: scan... [he's talking about books he's read and how he doesn't give in to all that highbrow award nonsense....but sure...it'd be cool to get an award....let's be honest....] ....scan scan scan... [ah... Mary Higgins Clark.... why...well...doesn't she write romantic suspense... I think with strong women ...well that's kind of awesome ...although not actually my favorite genre]....scan ...scan scan.... and there it is... the point.

With increased attention paid to cultural appropriation and the #MeToo Movement, there are sure to be more balanced treatments of contentious issues, but, there might be a diluting effect—with authors afraid to speak out in a way that contradicts what is held to be politically correct. Meek and mild writing isn't stimulating.

I think I'm going to go appropriate me a culture. Except I'm too lazy to do the necessary research.

First: Authors are not afraid. Even bad writers aren't ones to cower and take on subjects they think everyone else will like. Writers are sometimes obnoxiously loyal to their subject matter, often refusing to relinquish it even after they're told innumerable times that no one wants to read about a romance between Hitler and his art teacher, a tumultuous relationship that quite possibly set the young aspiring artist/mass murdering tyrant on his destructive path.

Second: I find the number of posts expressing distress over the #MeToo Movement and other social issues distressing all by themselves when normally I'd walk on by. Pat yourself on the back for doing your part for the cause. Be ye not afraid, let ye olde movement run it's course. It canst make of thee a milksop writer, if ye not already be one.

Third: These movements are so non-threatening and non-accusatory it's ridiculous. Their only purpose is awareness. It's so easy to participate in them that there is more a possibility of nothing happening than something happening, lip service given and no change occurring. In many ways they are jokes because it's hard not to laugh at all the posturing and the lapel pinning and the ice bucket dumping. How boring and banal, how teeth shattering dull, to complain about them. Ever. I'm constantly disappointed by how supposedly rational people raise themselves to the level of disdain and sneer at these sort of movements. It's a sort of reverse liberalism to declare yourself above it all. They're not lemmings, they say, following every accusation, but discerning people. They then provide level headed caution against the possible negative consequences of what exactly? Let's be very clear, the #MeToo Movement is about sexual harassment and the objectification and sexualization of women in the workplace. There's nothing unique or particularly thoughtful about litigating the possibility that we've accused too many men or that we're seeing bad intent where none was meant. It's the argument that is always used.

Fourth: You seem to be making an argument for being politically incorrect. The phrase politically correct surely has a bad reputation. It assumes we're going to sanitize our language. But while we often make fools of ourselves euphemisizing things, what we euphemismize always changes, and we never euphemismize every hot button or provocative issue, situation, or circumstance.

These things tend to go in cycles, where we are hyper conscious, we forget to be conscious, then we lapse back into old habits, and then we become hyper conscious...and the pattern repeats itself. But I highly doubt we're about to become a society or a world so peaceful that there is nothing stimulating to think about or talk about.
 
I've always understood political correctness to mean: don't be offensive through ignorance; if you mean to offend, do it with open eyes.

Are there any authors whose success mystifies you?
None spring to mind. But if I ever do raise an eyebrow at the success of something I don't like, I'm always interested in what it is I'm missing.
 
I've always understood political correctness to mean: don't be offensive through ignorance; if you mean to offend, do it with open eyes.


None spring to mind. But if I ever do raise an eyebrow at the success of something I don't like, I'm always interested in what it is I'm missing.

Whoops. I totally forgot the question. Yes, Danielle Steele and E.L. James. I'm not sure mystify is the right word though. I just don't like them.
 
I never believe hype. I look inside, first page and last page before I buy. @AgentPete scolded me once about looking at the last page, said this was cheating, but I do. Oh yes. Because I don't care about surprises. The how, the so what and the incidental is what interests me. And I don't want to feel cheated by a hi cal snack when it's nourishment I'm looking for.

I might read a 'hyped' book to see what's going on with it. Then I won't mind if I didn't enjoy it, that was not my purpose in reading.

Writers don't belong in stables. What I am suspicious of, in the interests of original writing, is writers churned out of stables where they've paid to stay in livery, and there seems some of that happening eg, chez CB.

Authenticity, originality; you know it when you read it.

I haven't read The Essex Serpent. I've read it in part, wanted to like it, good on her for the subject matter, but it didn't quite grab me. Original? Unfair to say if I didn't read it all the way through. The intro smacks ever so slightly of pastiche, while the reviews suggest an intellectual agenda, there's a sense of this book very much approved by some kind of academic establishment, and that's my family background to a degree, but I increasingly mistrust its judgements. But is it bland and mild? The writing is mannered, stylised, but maybe for some readers that's a refreshing change. And it is indeed a beautiful cover design.
 
I rarely read speculative fiction and certainly not dystopias - real life is fraught enough for me. That said, one of my daughters-in-law suggested American War, a near future dystopia, and gave me a copy. I started it only because I respect her opinion re books. I couldn't stop reading. Now, I can't stop thinking about it. It is, IMO, well written, and one of the angriest books I've read, although the author never says he is angry... I doubt he spent any time worrying about political correctness, and many people could be offended, insulted, whatever. Unfortunately, those people will probably not read it.
 
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April writing goals.

Changing tenses in commercial fiction

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