Good Writing and Opinions

[seth]

What is considered good writing and how much opinion is based off of a book that is claimed to be "well written?"

I was wondering this because there is so much controversy out there and debating over what is a good, well-written book.

For starters I will begin with one of my favorite authors, J.R.R. Tolkien. He is like power/thrash/melodic heavy metal, you either love him or hate him. The first book I ever read was "the Hobbit," and was hooked. I remember taking long walks on bright summer days with my friend through the woodlands of NY (yeah, great place huh? ) and we would act like we are going on a journey in middle earth. What a bunch of dorks we were, i know, but it was so much fun.

Some say he is too descriptive, i agree but he is the only author I like who writes "too much detail." But some hate Tolkien for that, and the way he writes and lines the characters have some say are corny. Not to mention many claim there is little character development amongst his characters. I can see that, I mean, I cannot tell the difference between Elrond, Strider, Gandalf, the King of Rohan--they all have a similar noble attitude, but even still, I love them all and could picture each one in my mind.

Then there is the infamous J.K. Rowling. I will flat out state that I DO NOT like her writing or the harry potter books. To me the story is boring and dorky. But I have heard many authors on the Absolute Write forum state she is a horrible writer. Yet she has sold more books than I can count.

So, after all this rambling of mine, what is considered "good writing" and how much is opinion drawn into one's work?

[pattepoilue]

Ahh Seth from everything you've posted so far i can tell you're a great addition to the ranks *grins* and you're 'stiring up the natives' as Jocelynn would say, which is always good

I'd like to be able to answer this question but i thought about it, and thought some more and i still can't explain what makes good writing for me. I mean it's very clear in my head but it's not as soon i as i try to write it down. I'm a reader, i do not write....at all (and still i graduated from college ahah), so it's very difficult to judge someone's writing.
I'll just try and make sense of what i came up with.
If i don't like the writing style the story has to be twice as good to keep me captivated, in this case i can overlook nearly any other problems. I'm not saying i won't see what's not right or that it won't annoy the hell out of me but if the story's good i can keep reading and enjoying the book.(yeah i just shut up my inner book-critic)
I've always thought that the most important part was that the readers enjoy what they're reading, i've been teached for many years what made a good book and what did not. And for me it was not natural, i can say it's traumatized me...really, the books i studied in college might have been 'good books', following all the 'rules' by the book but in the end i could not enjoy them. So what is a book worth if the reader doesn't enjoy it?
I've come to enjoy reading very different styles of writing. I loved Tolkien's Lord of the Rings (i learned many words to describe a rock in english lol) , or Jane Austen (which is my favorite Author) but i also enjoyed reading the Harry Potter's books and even the Twilight series. It's not because i read many different styles of books that i can't see which are actually well written and which are ONLY entertaining.
But as i said before, for me entertainment is a big part of why i like reading, it's become really important for me after all those years in school and college studying too closely boring 'great books' , that now i can actually escape and have fun reading a novel which might not be perfect.
This is probably heresy for published and aspiring authors lol You'll have to excuse my simplistic view of books

I'm not happy with the answer i gave you because it doesn't explain very well what i'm thinking, but i think i won't be able to answer that any better today, it's time for bed!
I'll think about that some more and try to come up with a respectable answer soon

[newfiewife]

Hmm, good writing for me personally is a book that can draw me in, keep me connected and feeds me the emotions from the characters. The author has to have the right words to describe emotions to such a detail that I feel exactly what the character is feeling. I find that if the author "tells" me what the characters are feeling it's flat, I need them to SHOW me. I love it when an author can make me cry, make me laugh, make me feel like *I'm* the one falling in love instead of the character.

Then of course the story has to be there, and sometimes you need a strong story when the characters are unlikable.

I've not read Harry Potter and really cant understand the draw. I've had friends give me a copy and I can't bring myself to read it. I've read twilight and while it's not a great book, and it's not really WELL written the story is interesting enough to keep you reading it.

I don't mind descriptive books - but if it's so descriptive that it takes you OUT of the story then it can be too much. I read a book called Sunshine and while the over all story was interesting and I was drawn to the vampire Constantine, the author over described many many things - one being the characters baking job. It would go on FOREVER and it would take me right out of the book. So, yes, too much description can be very tedious.

Hmmmm - it's all subjective I guess. One persons "best book ever" is another's "piece of crap". lmao

[seth]

Sept 12, 2009 14:25:57 GMT -5 pattepoilue said:

Ahh Seth from everything you've posted so far i can tell you're a great addition to the ranks *grins* and you're 'stiring up the natives' as Jocelynn would say, which is always good

I'd like to be able to answer this question but i thought about it, and thought some more and i still can't explain what makes good writing for me. I mean it's very clear in my head but it's not as soon i as i try to write it down. I'm a reader, i do not write....at all (and still i graduated from college ahah), so it's very difficult to judge someone's writing.
I'll just try and make sense of what i came up with.
If i don't like the writing style the story has to be twice as good to keep me captivated, in this case i can overlook nearly any other problems. I'm not saying i won't see what's not right or that it won't annoy the hell out of me but if the story's good i can keep reading and enjoying the book.(yeah i just shut up my inner book-critic)
I've always thought that the most important part was that the readers enjoy what they're reading, i've been teached for many years what made a good book and what did not. And for me it was not natural, i can say it's traumatized me...really, the books i studied in college might have been 'good books', following all the 'rules' by the book but in the end i could not enjoy them. So what is a book worth if the reader doesn't enjoy it?
I've come to enjoy reading very different styles of writing. I loved Tolkien's Lord of the Rings (i learned many words to describe a rock in english lol) , or Jane Austen (which is my favorite Author) but i also enjoyed reading the Harry Potter's books and even the Twilight series. It's not because i read many different styles of books that i can't see which are actually well written and which are ONLY entertaining.
But as i said before, for me entertainment is a big part of why i like reading, it's become really important for me after all those years in school and college studying too closely boring 'great books' , that now i can actually escape and have fun reading a novel which might not be perfect.
This is probably heresy for published and aspiring authors lol You'll have to excuse my simplistic view of books

I'm not happy with the answer i gave you because it doesn't explain very well what i'm thinking, but i think i won't be able to answer that any better today, it's time for bed!
I'll think about that some more and try to come up with a respectable answer soon

No, your answer was fine, thank you. I know what you mean about "well written" books being boring. One can have the best grammar, best character development, best description, but if it is a boring story then it will be a boring book.

[seth]

Sept 12, 2009 15:24:27 GMT -5 newfiewife said:

Hmm, good writing for me personally is a book that can draw me in, keep me connected and feeds me the emotions from the characters. The author has to have the right words to describe emotions to such a detail that I feel exactly what the character is feeling. I find that if the author "tells" me what the characters are feeling it's flat, I need them to SHOW me. I love it when an author can make me cry, make me laugh, make me feel like *I'm* the one falling in love instead of the character.

Then of course the story has to be there, and sometimes you need a strong story when the characters are unlikable.

I've not read Harry Potter and really cant understand the draw. I've had friends give me a copy and I can't bring myself to read it. I've read twilight and while it's not a great book, and it's not really WELL written the story is interesting enough to keep you reading it.

I don't mind descriptive books - but if it's so descriptive that it takes you OUT of the story then it can be too much. I read a book called Sunshine and while the over all story was interesting and I was drawn to the vampire Constantine, the author over described many many things - one being the characters baking job. It would go on FOREVER and it would take me right out of the book. So, yes, too much description can be very tedious.

Hmmmm - it's all subjective I guess. One persons "best book ever" is another's "piece of crap". lmao

Agreed. I love it when a book draws me into it so deep, and I feel like I am there with the characters, which is why I searched this forum out, because "Nightwalker" has that feel for me at the present. I . . . *grins* fantasized running into Mira in the dark of night, not that I would cross her, heavens no! Hehe, she is awesome!!!

The last book that totally drew me into it was "Wild Seed," by Octavia E. Butler. W . . . O . . . W . . . ! was that a trip of a read, and touched my heart at so many pages, especially the ending involving Doro's plead. I felt truly sorry for him and begged Anyanwu to reach out to him. That book was a true dominating read, where even I felt hooked and kind of like one of Doro's submissive slaves, unable to retreat 'till I finished the read. LOL.

And (I am by no means gloating, for I am just a would-be-writer) there are sections in my own novel in progress that deeply draw me in. It is kind of like what I was saying in another thread, my characters live in me. My main character is an actual reflection of myself, but all the others dwell in my little feeble mind also and that gets frightening because my Dark Queen is not safe to be around unless one lies beneath her, beneath her foot that is

[newfiewife]

I just looked up Wild Seed - interesting book.

I agree about Nightwalker being one of the books that drew me in. It drew me in the first paragraph. I wasn't even going to buy it at first. I saw it at Target and would pick it up then read the back and put it down. Then I went on Amazon and saw the reviews and then went back to Target and bought it. I read the first few lines and I was HOOKED. I literally fell into Mira's world right away.

I really do admire authors, and ANYONE who can write. My husband can write as well, weather it be a tech paper, or a short story to make me laugh. I find writers to be the most creative artists. I am a frustrated writer and by that I mean I have ideas in my head but can in NO WAY put them down on paper. I will get an idea lying in bed and the story will have a mind of it's own, but the moment I try to put it down on paper it's gone, and I can't even imagine how to get it back. So, i just read. It's always been that way. Maybe I need a ghost writer....yeah, that's the ticket! tell them what I want and make them write it...just like william shatner!! bwahahahaha

[darkstarpoet1]

dun feel bad bout not goin to buy it i was working out of town and was bored and went into walmart for groceries and said hell i'll look at some computer games for my laptop and somehow wound up right next at the book section......seen nightwalker and said hell good way to spend after work since i dun do anything due to being married and the wife not being with me.

by the second day i had it i was searching hard for the second book and back into reading i went. so i guess u can say i blame jocyelyn for me getting back into reading.....evil evil woman