What makes good..good ?

Hello again, I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to be thought of as a ‘good’ writer and that’s what I want to share with you today. Now, whatever genre you might favour, there are just some authors who are almost universally acknowledged as good, so what is it about them? Surely it must be more than professional critical acclaim, after all, some of the books which have received vicious, scathing reviews have made an absolute fortune with the public. So perhaps its fair to say, maybe the actual technical skill – or lack of it- of the writer doesn’t necessarily mean the book is good or bad. I would add, just because a book becomes a best seller doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a work of genius either !

As a side issue, I am always saddened when critics are frankly derisory about a book because its popular, I personally think there is a place for well-informed and helpful criticism, but there does seem to be a kind of snobbery, as if there’s something wrong with a book affecting a large number of people, which isn’t considered a ‘literary masterpiece,’ by a few narrow-minded, and sometimes spiteful people. Surely just to get people reading has to be a good thing, whatever they find entertaining, is alright by me, as I hope if children see their parents buried in a book, they might want to follow them. Without wanting to offend anyone, to see a child engrossed in Harry Potter is infinitely preferable to watching them wander the streets, head down, glued to their phone, in the hope they might come across an animated monster.

I had no real idea just how hard it would be to put your work out there for public consumption, I was incredibly nervous when my first book went ‘live.’ I was all but convinced I would be, at best, held up for public ridicule or at worst, be arrested for offences against literature. To be completely truthful, I wasn’t exactly an example of calm when the second one happened ! Aside from the fear it would be a dismal failure, I admit to wanting people to think I was a ‘good’ writer, not a master of the literary craft, just good. But, at first, what I didn’t really consider, was how I was going to know, what tangible proof could there be? Thankfully, the books sell, but, as I’ve already said, sales don’t necessarily mean quality. After thinking on it more, I’ve come to the conclusion, if someone reads my book and, at the end, they feel satisfied, either by the fact they’ve been moved emotionally or perhaps simply entertained, then, I can almost believe I can write effectively.

I have always read, all kinds of genres and styles have found their way on to my bookshelves over the years and, surprisingly, very often the more ‘illustrious’ novels have left me cold, whereas those which would never be considered ‘classics’ have been impossible to put down. I do think, to be any kind of writer, you have to be an avid reader. Obviously not so you can shamelessly take notes while you’re reading, so you can later use someone else’s work, so if you had thought about writing ‘Garry Spotter and the Room of Things Nobody Knows’, I really wouldn’t try it...but you do learn a great deal from reading. In my own case, I do feel slightly comfortable when dealing with dialogue now, but some of my early attempts at descriptive work were just really awful. On one occasion, I managed to make the bustling streets of London sound positively dull! But after reading ‘Wuthering Heights’, with all that extraordinary language bringing together the emotional themes and the incredible landscape, well, I could see I had to pay far more attention.

 

A further example would be ‘A Tiny Bit Marvellous’ by Dawn French, her wonderful use of language to differentiate between her characters, as I read this book, it was as if those people were in the room, she had made them so real. After reading this, I checked back at my own work and, again, found my own writing needed so much more.

 

 

So to answer my original question, I believe now, what makes a writer ‘good’ is not just sales, or critical acclaim, its the ability to make people care about the characters, cheering their successes and shedding a tear in those bad moments. To make people think, long after they’ve put the book down and maybe even change the readers opinion on the given subject. I don’t have sufficient self- confidence to say I am a ‘good’ writer yet, maybe I will never truly believe it, but I want to be...so I will keep trying, keep reading and keep learning.

Until the next time,

Take care out there xxx