Hit or Miss? Does It Exist?

I recently finished reading Cassandra Clare's City of Bones and have to admit that I really enjoyed it (besides the whole Jace and Clare being related thing . . .I thought they both accepted it too easily, especially since it came from The Bad Guy and also since they had the hots for one another, but I digress).

As I was reading some of the reviews on Goodreads.com, however, I discovered that, while some others absolutely loved it, there were an equal number that absolutely loathed it. Rarely did I come across someone who was in the middle of the road. Which got me thinking about something that happened to me recently in a critique group.

I had been getting rave reviews (or critiques, whatever) on my story. Most of the critters thought the MC was funny, charming and spunky. They thought the story was interesting, the plot solid. They couldn't wait to read more.

And then I had a reader who wasn't so thrilled. Whereas the other readers found my MC likable, this reader found her annoying, selfish and vapid. She didn't like the setting, the fact that she was a princess, and a whole grocery list of other things.

Now, I value each and every critique I receive and have learned through experience that sometimes the most negative critique can be the most helpful, but as the critter's critiques progressed in much the same manner, I realized that there was very little I could do to "fix it" without compromising the whole story.

So I gathered all the critiques I'd been given on the story and combed through them, wondering what I could do to make the character more likable for this one person without taking away what other readers had come to admire about her.

The conclusion: I couldn't. The very things that some readers admired about my MC, were the same things the one critter couldn't stand. I struggled with this for a while, because I am nothing but the queen of let's-make-everyone-happy, but it took reading City of Bones for me to realize that there is such a thing as a hit-or-miss book.

Want another example? How about Twilight by Stephenie Meyer? Hate it or love it? Usually readers feel one way or the other. I have yet to come across someone who read it who was merely indifferent. So, a hit-or-miss is possible. And, better yet, it's okay. It's okay for some people not to like your character or your book, for that matter, because others will. I think it boils down to audience--who the book was written for. When I mentioned that possibility to the critter, it was, of course, shot down and I was credited with being a "bad writer," but the more I think on it, the more I believe that it's true. My book wasn't written for that person, but it was for all those others. I just have to learn to be okay with that.

What about you? Have you read any hit or miss books lately? Had this same writing experience? Please share!

Monday Madness: Why Stephenie Meyers May Be a Genius

I waffle between admiring Twilight and what it has accomplished in the YA world and really, really despising it.

The young love angst is something every young girl can relate to. (I once had the most painful crush on a guy for three days before I knocked some sense into myself.) Twilight also expounds on the theme of being loved and protected in the face of trials/evil. When you're 16, I could see the appeal. But then there are articles like this and this, and I can't help but pull my hair out and/or snicker.

And yet...

Ms. Meyers was on to something. The Oatmeal slams Bella for being a "lego character". He points out that we never get a clear picture of what Bella looks like and that, in fact, anyone can slip into her skin and pretend to be her. He thinks it's a bad thing, and I can see his point. But I also think it makes Ms. Meyer's a genius.

In a world of RPGing, internet dating and the like, everyone is trying to be someone else. Ms. Meyer's just caught on to that and used it in a different venue.

From a writer's standpoint, it makes me cringe. A story isn't supposed to be about someone who has so little personality it could be anyone, it's supposed to be about a specific character with specific wants, dreams and goals. And yet, from a money-making standpoint all I see is dollar signs. $$$$

Let's admit it, there's a reason why Twilight is so popular. And I think it's Bella's very vagueness that makes all the girls squee, OMG, that could totally be me!

So, Twilight... Love it. Hate it. Either way, Ms. Meyers might have opened the door onto a completely new way of shaping a character.

But the question is: Was it intentional?

(What do you think?)

The Greatest Love Story of All Time

Warning: Jaded alert!!!

It's the greatest love story of all time.

Nope, I'm not talking about Twilight. (Not yet, anyway.) I'm talking about Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. You know, in modern day publishing presses, R&J could be considered a YA in some aspects. After all, the main characters are 13-14. (I hope you knew that.) It's got all the angst and OMG-no-one-understands-us element. As well as the idea that LOVE is the most important thing in the entire universe. So, important, in fact, that it's worth stabbing yourself in the chest over.

I watched the modern day remake of Romeo and Juliet with Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes last night with my fiance. Back in the days of my youth (as in, high school) it was one of my favorite movies. (OMG, so romantic, right?) Last night it just pissed me off to the point where I turned to Fiance and said, "If you kill yourself because I die, I will go to hell and kick your A$$!" To which he replied with something very sweet and mollifying, "Darling, if you died I wouldn't kill myself, but I would feel pretty damn dead inside." (Romance as only a country boy can provide. P.S. I love it when he calls me darling.) Aw. Kissy kiss.

Now, I love romance as much as the next gal (devouring books by Teresa Medeiros like it's nobody's business), but it comes to a certain point where romance morphs into obsession/insanity. And I just can't tolerate that. True love exists. Soul mates exist. But true love isn't about sacrificing everything (including your life... hello, R&J; hello, Bella) for it to work. It's about compromise. It's above give and take. And, to top it off, it's about realistic expectations of yourself and the other person. So, really, the whole reason R&J ticks me off is because everything could be avoided by approaching love with maturity. Talking to the 'rents, for one. Juliet could have just let her father disown her and cast her into the streets like he threatened instead of devising this whole "fake death plan." (Which, really, would the end have been any different? She would have never spoken to her parents again.) I'm sure Romeo would haven't just left her begging on the streets, for crying out loud. And was it love or obsession that drove them to commit suicide? Romeo at the beginning of the play/movie was "in love" with Rosalind. And then he sees Juliet and BAM! Love at first sight! I don't think it was his heart that was reacting to Juliet, but another "part belonging to a man."

R&J and, yes, Twilight, give teens an unrealistic expectation of love. And sometimes I wonder if crap like this is the reason 50% of marriages fail nowadays. The moment one or the other starts thinking, OMG they totally wouldn't kill themselves/turn into a vampire for me, it's over. Love can be crazy and it can be thrilling, but lasting love isn't about the adrenaline rush of forsaking everything else for another person; it's about knowing that there will be times when you will be mad at each other, when you will wish that other person wasn't breathing down your neck all the time, when you get sick of their annoying habits...and you wouldn't want it any other way.

My prediction: If R & J hadn't done themselves in, they would have been divorced within a year. And Bella and Edward? It's going to be one freakin' long eternity (not in a good way).

Spread the love, not the hate

A little while back, I posted a chapter of Dragon Queen on the Writer's Digest SF/F forum and got a snarky comment about a particular bit of dialogue harkening Twilight. The line was: "There's something about you that calls to me. That pulls me in. I wish I knew why". (Drake to Jade)

At the time, I was appalled. Like a lot of other writers on the forum, Stephenie Meyers' teen vamp novels were not on my list of books to emulate. First off, because I was not going for the same audience and secondly, well, I just didn't find the story all that fabulous. (Wait! Don't throw the tomatoes yet, please!) So, the line got scratched and reworded and we went on a rant about the Twilight books. (Sorry, Ms. Meyers.)

Well, maybe because I'm becoming more heart and less brain lately, but I've started feeling a little sorry for Ms. Meyers. After all, she's probably a lot like me: a woman who thought of a story and wrote it because she felt the need to. And, so, after reading another Twilight-bash on one of the blogs I follow, my heartstrings twanged a little bit, and I thought I would go on to find out what Ms. Meyers and her vampire-romances are really about.

I went to her official website and read her post on how Twilight came to be, and it just kept getting more and more familiar. By the end, this woman could have been the me of an alternate universe (except that I have yet to write any teen vampire romances--or get published). She was inspired by a dream and from there it just controlled her. She was compelled to write the story and never dreamed that it was anything that would be published. But, voila, it was, and it was an irrefutable success (no matter what you think). 

Now, I will admit that, yes, I own all of the Twilight series. Two in hardcover. I enjoyed the first book and the second, but was disappointed by the next two (though they did have their good moments). I have friends who L.O.V.E. the books, and appreciate them more than I can, and I'm happy that they can. There are certainly elements in there of good storytelling, I won't deny. 

However, I'm looking at her books through the eyes of a writer, and there are things about the books that just sort of fall flat (as a lot of writers will agree). Still, that's not the point of this post. The point is that when any writer looks at the success of another and feels that the success is the result of an overrated product, he/she can quickly become the green-eyed monster and start spewing filth about the author--and soon he/she loses sight of the fact that the author was or is just like them. A person trying to tell a story. Is it a great story? Depends on the reader. But it is still a story, and I believe that all stories are worth telling and all writers are worth encouraging.

So, please, people, give Ms. Meyers a break and remember that she is probably more like you than you would like to believe.