My Soapbox - get ready for the
exclamation marks!!!!!!
It's a part of life. People have opinions. As a quiet person, I
find it quite annoying when people don't shut up about one opinion or another.
Yeah, it's okay to just say what you believe, but to go on and on about it drives
me crazy. Be it politics, news, work issues, or....writing.
One of my pet peeves is how people think romance writing is not
true writing. It is! We romance writers have to plan our books (although I
would call myself a panster, I do plan what I write in my head), create believable
characters and conflict, write convincing descriptions, choose correct
word choices, and, oh yeah, add that to-die-for romantic tension. But, there
are all types of romance writing. They all cannot be the same and wouldn’t it
be boring if they were?
My latest pet peeve is the Fifty Shades of Grey bickering. There
are plenty of people who have opinions about Fifty Shades. But, why is it that
I hear more negative comments than any other? (Especially from those who have only read a snippet of the series). I know there are people out
there who ENJOY the book. Like me. There. I said it. Well, I think it's because
the lovers of the book are scared to say they like the book, behind all the
negative hype. No matter what, there are going to be views on both sides.
Love it or hate it.
But, I want to say to those
other writers… How dare you?
Do I go around saying how much I hate every book I don't like? No!
Why? Because, first I don't think I have a right to do that. I am by far
not the best writer in the world, and unless you are William Shakespeare or Charles Dickens, you aren’t either!
Second, I don’t say anything negative because I know how hard it
is to write something! We should be there to support other writers.
We, as writers, should know how hard it is to birth a book and give it
life. Our books are our second lives. We live and breathe these books.
That book you are criticizing is someone’s baby. Would you tell another person,
“Oh, your baby is really ugly. Why did you conceive him.” No!
Third, we should be happy that this book put Erotica on the radar. I never really opened up an erotica novel before this, since I am more about the emotion behind the romance. This book showed me that there is emotion behind erotica! So, I find Fifty Shades an eye-opener.
By the way, would you, as a writer, NOT want to be in E.L. James
position - becoming a worldwide phenomenon, selling millions of books in three months’
time, becoming a household name?
So, bravo E.L. James! Although you have critics out there, you
also have romance authors who strive to do what you've done. If I could be in
your shoes, I would be an even happier woman.
Hopefully, I haven’t lost any
fans out there. I’m just saying it how it is, which is a big deal for a shy
girl from bodunk Louisiana. J
Now, I’m off to read the last in
the Grey series. So, there!
Laters,
Melinda
