tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3458341.post4326496285234695804..comments2024-01-06T10:36:04.084-05:00Comments on A Commonplace Blog: Why awful writing is toleratedD. G. Myershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10659136455045567825noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3458341.post-15183071004370959162010-09-17T18:45:08.124-04:002010-09-17T18:45:08.124-04:00I certainly did not mean to imply that MR James wa...I certainly did not mean to imply that MR James was mediocre in any way! Just that he is terrifically entertaining.panavia999https://www.blogger.com/profile/12022750065016664499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3458341.post-63455556653147039802010-09-17T14:48:17.205-04:002010-09-17T14:48:17.205-04:00It seems to me that there is a latent fascination ...<i>It seems to me that there is a latent fascination with language in a significant portion of the general population.<br /><br />When it comes to reading, though, the fascination dissipates into thin air. Ignorance of any other kind of writing? You have to be right about that.<br /><br />But why are they satisfied with such indifferently written books when their own pasttimes suggest a deeper interest?</i><br /><br />I think it might have something to do with the <i>intended use</i> of reading in the general population. People use language as not only a tool for communication, but as a toybox, a set of art supplies, and good on 'em because it is all of that and more. I think it's built in, a hard-wired function in our brains.<br /><br />Reading, on the other hand, is something done mostly for pleasure, for escape. And we seem to--as a species--like our escapism to be simple-minded and our involvement passive.<br /><br />I love baseball and like to go to a game when I can, but when I read, I want the writing to spark my brain, not to numb it. That is likely a minority use of reading. And that is likely not going to change.<br /><br />I'm not at my best today and I apologize in advance for the vagueness of my comment.scott g.f.baileyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05726743149139510832noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3458341.post-31523209354871596462010-09-16T16:58:20.273-04:002010-09-16T16:58:20.273-04:00M. R. James is a distinguished prose stylist.M. R. James is a distinguished prose stylist.D. G. Myershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10659136455045567825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3458341.post-86570117543848886522010-09-16T16:42:24.539-04:002010-09-16T16:42:24.539-04:00Mr. Meyers says: "But why are they satisfied ...Mr. Meyers says: "But why are they satisfied with such indifferently written books when their own pasttimes suggest a deeper interest?" I suspect it's just plain fun, escapist pleasure.<br />We all like a cracking good story. After an especially soul stifling day of accounting, I don't want to read Thomas Hardy, but maybe an M.R. James horror story or a true crime paperback. (Now, that's where I've encountered some really mediocre writing lately, but soldiered on anyway for the story.)<br />Your professional and personal immersion in literature makes you not elitist, but sensitive to language. That's a great thing. We need people to carry the banner of good language.panavia999https://www.blogger.com/profile/12022750065016664499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3458341.post-19000450252212262022010-09-16T13:37:07.248-04:002010-09-16T13:37:07.248-04:00Do you think it is possible to write a thrilling g...<i>Do you think it is possible to write a thrilling genre novel while being attentive to language? And if so, could you speculate why this has not happened yet?</i><br /><br />You clearly have not read <a href="http://dgmyers.blogspot.com/2009/03/charles-mccarry.html" rel="nofollow">Charles McCarry</a>.D. G. Myershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10659136455045567825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3458341.post-17373021746406234742010-09-16T13:32:09.766-04:002010-09-16T13:32:09.766-04:00So I don't know about toleration or indifferen...<i>So I don't know about toleration or indifference. I'm putting my bet on ignorance.</i><br /><br />You may be right, Scott. But I wonder. A lot of people seem to enjoy puns, plays on words, and other forms of verbal cleverness; other people spend a lot of time doing crossword puzzles or playing word games. It seems to me that there is a latent fascination with language in a significant portion of the general population.<br /><br />When it comes to reading, though, the fascination dissipates into thin air. Ignorance of any other kind of writing? You have to be right about that.<br /><br />But why are they <i>satisfied</i> with such indifferently written books when their own pasttimes suggest a deeper interest?D. G. Myershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10659136455045567825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3458341.post-88042088916833043062010-09-16T13:31:24.088-04:002010-09-16T13:31:24.088-04:00Scott, interestingly, the notion that good writing...Scott, interestingly, the notion that good writing or a good story is one that succeeds in its intended purpose is not mine, exactly, but perpetrated by none other than Cleanth Brooks in his Understanding Fiction.A. J.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3458341.post-69156572259645720772010-09-16T13:28:27.492-04:002010-09-16T13:28:27.492-04:00Do you think it is possible to write a thrilling g...Do you think it is possible to write a thrilling genre novel while being attentive to language? And if so, could you speculate why this has not happened yet?A. J.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3458341.post-30481690602062382962010-09-16T13:26:52.123-04:002010-09-16T13:26:52.123-04:00@ A.J. "Good writing is the kind that reaches...@ A.J. "Good writing is the kind that reaches the intended audience" is, I think, merely confusing writing with marketing.scott g.f.baileyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05726743149139510832noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3458341.post-22038173020872555632010-09-16T13:24:22.228-04:002010-09-16T13:24:22.228-04:00Because most writing is bad, it's rare that an...Because most writing is bad, it's rare that anyone comes into regular contact with careful, intelligent prose. This results in a populace that doesn't know the difference between good and bad writing, and the equating of "good" with "difficult" because good writing has those qualities you mention of precision and thoughtfulness. That kind of writing requires more from a reader than whatever hack prose the reader is used to, and so it is avoided and pushed to the margins of our culture. Plus ca change, etc.<br /><br />In your post yesterday you wrote about how holders of advanced degrees in the past had all received good classical educations, whereas nowadays a PhD in physics may not have read anything worthwhile aside from a textbook or academic journal since his days in high school. That's a contributing factor as well, I'm sure.<br /><br />So I don't know about toleration or indifference. I'm putting my bet on ignorance.scott g.f.baileyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05726743149139510832noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3458341.post-80772667387826288182010-09-16T13:22:02.945-04:002010-09-16T13:22:02.945-04:00Adlai,
Yeah, I’m such an elitist that I feel supe...Adlai,<br /><br />Yeah, I’m such an elitist that I feel superior to my wife.<br /><br />Nonsense: I am making a straightforward critical evaluation. Silva’s novels may be thrilling, but they are written in sentences without any distinction whatever. And consequently, I can’t endure them.<br /><br />That doesn’t make me a <i>better</i> than the readers who enjoy Silva’s novels, even if it puts me in the <i>minority</i>.D. G. Myershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10659136455045567825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3458341.post-65143762190759920742010-09-16T13:10:53.566-04:002010-09-16T13:10:53.566-04:00More elitism. If Daniel Silva is good enough for s...More elitism. If Daniel Silva is good enough for some, who made you judge over him and his readers? <br /><br />Elitism does not equal merit; most literary writers compose in ready made language, too, the kind of language that they learn in MFA programs. Often, however, such exercises fall flat. <br /><br />Good writing is the kind that reaches the intended audience, which could mean that it is entirely bad as writing.A. J.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3458341.post-61776061107517347282010-09-16T12:39:52.707-04:002010-09-16T12:39:52.707-04:00My advisor once described Lacan's writing as &...My advisor once described Lacan's writing as "offensive."Lane Eliezerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03126806364534796844noreply@blogger.com