I think Dave makes an important, and revealing, point in today's post: a lot of what fueled ES, for better or worse, is the "kind" of writer he is.
For Dave, and perhaps for J Mark, the bigger "what if" questions are more important--the metastory, the "What's is all about, Alfie" issues.
This, invariably, leads to a different kind of book than a plot-driven schlockmeister such as myself would write. When I write, I'm always pretty big on "And then this happens, and this happens, and this happens." After I get a first draft in the can, I step back and look at it to see if I've answered some of those bigger metastory questions Dave started with.
It strikes me that one side of this coin owes more to the literary tradition, and the other side owes more to the genre tradition. I think you can probably figure out which is which.
Does success on a literary level mean some shortcomings at the plot level, and vice versa? Perhaps. Do you feel your "kind" of writing predisposes you to certain weaknesses in your stories? If so, how do you overcome them?
For Dave, and perhaps for J Mark, the bigger "what if" questions are more important--the metastory, the "What's is all about, Alfie" issues.
This, invariably, leads to a different kind of book than a plot-driven schlockmeister such as myself would write. When I write, I'm always pretty big on "And then this happens, and this happens, and this happens." After I get a first draft in the can, I step back and look at it to see if I've answered some of those bigger metastory questions Dave started with.
It strikes me that one side of this coin owes more to the literary tradition, and the other side owes more to the genre tradition. I think you can probably figure out which is which.
Does success on a literary level mean some shortcomings at the plot level, and vice versa? Perhaps. Do you feel your "kind" of writing predisposes you to certain weaknesses in your stories? If so, how do you overcome them?
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My novels have southern romantic qualities, yet lacking the proper amount of setting to be a traditional southern novelist. Regardless of the genre I write in a way that pushes for character's with huge voices inside, who are screaming to be let out of the prison's they have allowed their condemnation to put them in. How it comes across? Is still evolving for me the more I write. So ask me again in five years.
