Tuesday, February 03, 2009

The post that might cause Hubby to finally disown me...

I was going to keep my thoughts to myself. Really, I was. Obviously, I changed my mind.

According to a story I just read on Yahoo's OMG, Stephen King trashed Stephenie Meyer in a recent interview.
Both Rowling and Meyer, they're speaking directly to young people... The real difference is that Jo Rowling is a terrific writer and Stephenie Meyer can't write worth a darn. She's not very good.
First, I should preface my comments by admitting that I do not consider Stephenie Meyer to be a good writer in terms of style. Sorry, Twihards, but it's the truth. Her story is great, and she tells it in a captivating way; however, this does not necessarily mean she's going to win any literary awards. BUT that said...

1. J. K. Rowling a terrific writer? I would argue that she is no better writer than Stephenie Meyer. In a contest between the two in writing style, I would be hard pressed to name a winner. Again, we consider her to be good because she captures our attention with a great story.

2. And here is where Hubby might pack up his things and walk out the door... Stephen King shouldn't talk because he's not the best of writers either. Don't get me wrong; I can enjoy a Stephen King book with the best of them. He tells good stories. I would argue, though, that he doesn't always necessarily tell them well. Personally, I think Stephen King has chronic diarrhea of the pen.

There I said it.

Look, I admit that I am not an expert of literary genius, and I'm sure I can find examples of quality writing in the work of any and all of the aforementioned authors. Maybe the thing that irks me the most about Stephen King's comments is simply the fact that he trashed a fellow writer. His right to freedom of speech aside, in a profession that is so full of outside critics, is it really necessary to turn on one another?

5 comments:

monty42 said...

OK, Hubby here. Cher's wrong in thinking I would ever disown here, but if I were it would be for implying that I think Stephen King is a good writer. The last time I thought SK was a good writer was in eighth grade. And even then my support was wavering.

A couple other points: 1) Meyer is a better writer than Rowling, if for no other reason than she at least approaches originality. Potter fans? Go read LOTR for some real fantasy. 2) Meyer isn't that good, either (how many times did Bella say the same thing THE SAME WAY in Twilight?) But her story is compelling. 3) Meyer is writing Mormon allegory, esp. in Breaking Dawn. 4) It is so rich that a guy who called himself the "Big Mac of American literature" to be cracking on any other writer. Seacrest out.

Leigh said...

LOL! Why do authors feel the need to "weigh in" on stuff like this anyway? I'm pretty sure neither Meyer or Rowling wrote anything while sucking down NyQuil in the hopes of finding a buzz. Just sayin'.

Anonymous said...

Just wanted to say -- I don't like any of them! :) I have been more impressed with books like Tale of Despereaux (by Kate DiCamillo) or Poppy (by Avi) for children than anything by any of them. (But then again, what do I know? I only read with, on average, 50 kids a day for 10 years now...right?)

Bumbles and Fairy-Tales said...

No argument here - I totally agree with you ;) and I agree with Leigh, why does he think he can have a say? sheesh!

Becky said...

LOL! Seacrest out... I love that! If a writer can make me care about the people on the book in a compelling way, then they are a good writer in my eyes. You would be surprised with how many characters I could care less about.