Wangst and weemo

[feuervogel]

I read a lot of writers' blogs. Or LJs, whatever. And I've started to feel like I'm inadequate and inept as a writer, because I wasn't an English major. I'm not Trained in things like Narrative Technique, Structure, and Symbolism, and I'm not well-read enough in classics, folklore, or myths to make use of Allusions.

I'm an impostor.

All I've got is some characters, a story idea, and 20-odd years of reading spec fic (and some Real Books™). No technique, no ideas for creative symbolism or structure or literary allusions.

I'm never gonna sell anything.

Comments

[smarriveurr.livejournal.com]

J.K. Rowling is proof technical skill and education are not requirements for writing a popular and money-making story.

Ahem. For further evidence, I refer you to Stephanie Meyer. If the metric is success, money, audience... yeah. Knowledge of and even skill at writing aren't requirements.

[tammylee.livejournal.com]

I was going to mention S.Meyer but I've never been brave enough to actually try reading one of her stories. XD Is her writing absolutely horrible?

What bothers me about popular but horribly-written stories is what the kids reading them learn about story-telling. Then again, history is fraught with horrible writers who tell popular tales. Staying power seems to be based on popularity and having your works physically survive long enough to become 'classic'.

[smarriveurr.livejournal.com]

I've never read them. I'm afraid the books would burn me. I've read in-depth reviews and analyses, though, and excerpts... summaries showing the characterization, etc. I know some people who have read it, but none of them are writers or English majors, and even they comment on the mediocre quality.

I particularly worry about popular-but-crappy genre fiction, because it just confirms what people want to believe - that all genre fiction is inherently inferior, because look at what the "break out" genre fiction is like! Likewise, every poorly written breakout inspires even crappier knockoffs of the crappy original. From what I've read, the Twilight novels actually bother me more for their commentary (and indoctrination) on people and relationships than their writing lessons.

Not to mention that S.M. publicly and profusely disavows having done her homework with regard to writing fantasy. Which, of course, she's not writing, really. Those vampires and werewolves are taken from fantasy, which is of course a ghetto of unpopular, badly written stuff for D&D nerds.

[tammylee.livejournal.com]

...because it just confirms what people want to believe - that all genre fiction is inherently inferior...
Ugh, yes. This attitude needs to go away and blockbuster crap isn't helping. XD

[smarriveurr.livejournal.com]

Not to mention that whenever a genre novel starts getting literary attention, it stops being considered "science fiction" or "fantasy" or what-have-you - now it's a bildungsroman that just happens to be set on a fictional world where there happens to be magic, or it's a "startling vision of the future" or what have you.