Twilight - Page 2 - Writers Forum

Malone · 09-19-2008, 11:39 PM

Quote:

It hasn't destroyed any minds or prevented the writing or reading of great literature.

How could you possibly know that?

JosephB · 09-19-2008, 11:48 PM

My guess is/in all likelihood/it probably hasn't/common sense tell me...

Some of these little debate wankers are getting to you.

DrabblesAreMeh · 09-19-2008, 11:51 PM

I don't know. I think I'm going to have to agree with A-L and say that it's good they're reading at all. I'm a teen too and I had to literally drag my friends to the library, then this series comes out and bam! They're all in the library talking to the librarian who is (subtly, mind you) telling them about other books closely related to the genre that they might enjoy. It's gotten several of my friends to read a little more and not all of it is junk.
I've read all of them; it's a book and has a decent plot (until about the third when it all just starts to get old) and her writing isn't fantastic but it's not the end of the world. But yes. The movie is horrible looking and it is going to make millions.

Malone · 09-20-2008, 12:01 AM

I was just joking. I considered anyreusm jokes from reading bad books, but just went with the petty argument.

JosephB · 09-20-2008, 12:03 AM

Quote:

I was just joking.

That's a relief. I should have known better.

SevenWritez · 09-20-2008, 12:15 PM

The Great Gatsby has a similar plot. Have'em read that.

SevenWritez · 09-20-2008, 12:17 PM

And to anyone who, like me, adored The Great Gatsby, pick up Fire in the Blood. It's short, compact, and brilliant, much like Fitzgerald's little narrative. The author behind it has an interesting story as well.

EDIT: Taken from Amazon:

As the Nazis advanced on France, celebrated writer Irène Némirovsky composed two final masterworks: Suite Française and Fire in the Blood. The first, smuggled out in a suitcase by her escaping daughters when Némirovsky was taken to her death at Auschwitz in 1942, surfaced more than 60 years later and restored her bestselling status. The other, two pages of which slipped out in that same suitcase, was thought lost--until biographers discovered the rest of the manuscript in papers given to Némirovsky's editor for safekeeping. A worthy companion to Suite Française, it follows three interwoven stories across two decades, when the hot-blooded affairs of youth threaten the cool calm of middle age. Once it has all unraveled, the last line lodges in your heart like a sliver. If only there could have been more.

Ilasir Maroa · 09-20-2008, 01:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JosephB

I think it's silly to have this kind of high-brow, condescending attitude about light fiction aimed at young people. This has gone on since the dime novels of the 1800's. It hasn't destroyed any minds or prevented the writing or reading of great literature.

Yeah, yeah. It may be crap. But I would contend that reading bad writing is better than watching nearly anything on TV, and may actually spark an interest in reading.

But my, aren't we good judges of writing? We can identify that teen books are poorly written!

It is condescending. I meant it to be. There's nothing particularly wrong with aiming for an audience, though whether it's pathetic to write sub-par and know it is debatable. But I have the right not to respect someone who does that if I don't want to. I read some pathetic books when I was in grade school, but I read some really heavy(relatively

) stuff, too. And I thought it was much better. Because it was.

JosephB · 09-20-2008, 02:06 PM

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But I have the right not to respect someone who does that if I don't want to.

Of course you have the right to your opinion. I read an excerpt or two, and it is awful writing. I can safely say I wouldn't have read it when I was a teenager.

It's not a matter of whether or not I respect the writing or the author -- I don't. I just don't feel a need to criticize. It is what it is, and I don't think it's harmful. Reading something is better than reading nothing.

I read the Hinton books when I was a teenager, but otherwise nothing directed at teens. I have my mom to thank. She read us books like David Copperfield and Dog of Flanders even at the age where she would have to explain things to us. By the time I was a teenager I was only reading adult books, usually what my folks had lying around. I plan on reading like this to my kids too.

mi is happy · 09-20-2008, 03:11 PM

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I abhor these books. They are poorly written and cliche. They have snared the minds of children who should be reading Ender's Game. The same goes for those Gossip Girl books.

You know Ender's Game isn't a kids book....... Just telling you....

Ilasir Maroa · 09-20-2008, 09:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JosephB

Of course you have the right to your opinion. I read an excerpt or two, and it is awful writing. I can safely say I wouldn't have read it when I was a teenager.

It's not a matter of whether or not I respect the writing or the author -- I don't. I just don't feel a need to criticize. It is what it is, and I don't think it's harmful. Reading something is better than reading nothing.

I read the Hinton books when I was a teenager, but otherwise nothing directed at teens. I have my mom to thank. She read us books like David Copperfield and Dog of Flanders even at the age where she would have to explain things to us. By the time I was a teenager I was only reading adult books, usually what my folks had lying around. I plan on reading like this to my kids too.

A good point, Joseph. Sometimes I come across as overly critical. I shall revise my opinion to say: I don't recommend that anyone read the Twilight books.

JosephB · 09-20-2008, 10:03 PM

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I don't recommend that anyone read the Twilight books.

From what I've read, I must agree. The writing is bad. It's amazing what catches on.

Ilasir Maroa · 09-20-2008, 11:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JosephB

From what I've read, I must agree. The writing is bad. It's amazing what catches on.

Really? Considering that so many people said: "As long as they read something."

Malone · 09-20-2008, 11:35 PM

I don't get the "so long are they're reading" argument. Who cares? I'm assuming people say that in hopes that the people reading worthless tripe will eventually find their way to your work?

Ilasir Maroa · 09-20-2008, 11:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Malone

I don't get the "so long are they're reading" argument. Who cares? I'm assuming people say that in hopes that the people reading worthless tripe will eventually find their way to your work?

I don't quite get it either, though I've always assumed the point they were going for was: "If they start reading tripe, they'll eventually get into the good stuff. But if they never read anything, that chance can't come." Absolute silliness.