My husband and I like to cruise the bargain book tables and we've found some wonderful books that way. And some less than desirable ones. I'm reading one of those right now. I won't say the name of it, not at this point, because I haven't finished it--maybe it will get better.
Some people are surprised I would even consider finishing a badly written book. "There are so many great books to choose from." I know that. I've read many. But it has gotten me to thinking about the question: Why read a bad book?
You know those "What's wrong with this picture?" exercises you come across in magazines for children? You have to look closely to find all the errors and sometimes you find that you're actually questioning whether something in particular belongs or not. Some things seem perfectly natural while others are obviously out of place. That's how it is with a bad book. There are glaring, horrendous errors--punctuaton,
misuse of words, overuse of words (especially in the same sentence), storylines
that are confusing, characters that are wooden or so over-the-top they are laughable, etc. Then there are plot points that don't add up, main characters that never grow, unrealistic settings, boring passages, dialogue that reads like a Joe Friday's "Just the facts, ma'am" or where everyone sounds exactly the same--or totally ridiculous.
After working through a book like that (and believe me, it is work) I can look at my own writing and analyze the various components with a fresh eye. Is my dialogue realistic or does everyone talk like me? Are my storylines interesting? What about my characters makes them likeable? How do they develop over time? Is my setting visual? Have I used all the senses in my descriptions?
A good book will have those elements and they will be so expertly addressed that the book reads as if it wrote itself. I can look for those things and admire the writer's skill and ultimately wish I could write as well--I will enjoy the experience of reading. But I'm not sure, on my own, I will learn as much as from the bad book and the struggle it takes to finish it.
Interesting.
Some people are surprised I would even consider finishing a badly written book. "There are so many great books to choose from." I know that. I've read many. But it has gotten me to thinking about the question: Why read a bad book?
You know those "What's wrong with this picture?" exercises you come across in magazines for children? You have to look closely to find all the errors and sometimes you find that you're actually questioning whether something in particular belongs or not. Some things seem perfectly natural while others are obviously out of place. That's how it is with a bad book. There are glaring, horrendous errors--punctuaton,
misuse of words, overuse of words (especially in the same sentence), storylines
that are confusing, characters that are wooden or so over-the-top they are laughable, etc. Then there are plot points that don't add up, main characters that never grow, unrealistic settings, boring passages, dialogue that reads like a Joe Friday's "Just the facts, ma'am" or where everyone sounds exactly the same--or totally ridiculous.
After working through a book like that (and believe me, it is work) I can look at my own writing and analyze the various components with a fresh eye. Is my dialogue realistic or does everyone talk like me? Are my storylines interesting? What about my characters makes them likeable? How do they develop over time? Is my setting visual? Have I used all the senses in my descriptions?
A good book will have those elements and they will be so expertly addressed that the book reads as if it wrote itself. I can look for those things and admire the writer's skill and ultimately wish I could write as well--I will enjoy the experience of reading. But I'm not sure, on my own, I will learn as much as from the bad book and the struggle it takes to finish it.
Interesting.