In an interview with USA Weekend, Stephen King dissed Stephenie Meyer, comparing her to JK Rowling, and saying, “Both Rowling and Meyer, they’re speaking directly to young people… The real difference is that Jo Rowling is a terrific writer and Stephenie Meyer can’t write worth a darn. She’s not very good.”
You can read the whole article here.
Ouch. Yes, of course, Stephenie is no Marcus Zusak or John Green. But is that the point? It's her stories that people love and that have earned her the hordes of fans. Maybe she just needs a better editor!
What do you think about this?
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12 comments:
I read this article days ago and was I found it a bit hmmm....harsh. I know that Stephenie Meyer is not the best writer out there, but Twilight is still one of my favorite reads.To claim that she is without talent is hitting below the belt. I wonder why he has come out with this information now?
To be honest I disliked her characters, her writing and pretty much everything else about Twilight too, so I thought he was fair.
I didn't see the point of his comment. The readers decide what writing they enjoy, and it isn't up to other writers to give their opinions.
As a writer, I know I would never diss a fellow artist. I would like to think no writer would, and this comes as an unfortunate truth that I wish I could ignore.
I am still flipping out about that. Even if it's true, he shouldn't have said such a thing. It's just wrong on so many levels.
I keep going back to WHY - what prompted this comment in the first place?
I think it's his usual diarrhea of the mouth. Here's the original - at least I think original post.
http://blogs.usaweekend.com/whos_news/2009/02/exclusive-steph.html
Yes SK did seem to have a moment of verbal diarrhea. I just don't think i could do that to a fellow author. I think it best to keep those comments to oneself.
Couldn't agree with you more!
Me too. It just seems so unprofessional
I'm not a twilight fan but I don't think it was necessarily wrong for Stephen King to put his view across in the great Meyer/Rowling debate.
There's so much talk about it already. On the back of Breaking Dawn it's got a quote from a magazine saying "Move over Harry Potter." It doesn't seem like Meyer's doing anything about stopping the comparisons.
I think the frenzy about the books comes close but the way Rowling weaves a story with all these different threads to create this world and these wonderful characters, it's so much more superior to Meyer's clumsy attempt.
I think the thing I don't like about Meyer is she believes her own hype. Sometimes I'd like to sit her down and say "Look Steph, there's a lot of room for improvement here..." Her stories have potential, they're just clumsily delivered.
There's my two cents! :-D
Just thought I'd leave a random commment, but it's an issue that I feel strongly about.
No matter the ethics of either argument, it comes down to one thing, and one thing only...
To publish a novel, or any work of art, is to open one's self to criticism. King has every right to criticize Meyer, just as she has every right to ride on a comparison to Rowling, to even retaliate or explain herself, if she so chose.
It's the world of writing. It's a place centered on both the pursuit of art...and the making of money. People's feelings are going to get hurt, if they can't take it...then the business isn't for them.
For many, they find King's comment a bit "harsh" and unwarranted. Although I hold a copy of Twilight Series myself, I would have to say that even though King "shouldn't" have said what he said, I think it's only fair. A lot of people just practically "jumped into the bandwagon." They liked the story. The story line generates a lot of interest. but somewhere along the way, Meyer screwed it up for me until I just couldn't stand it anymore. Another word from that book I would have thrown it on someone's face.
I doubt half of the fans can even justify their obsession about the book.
"Obsession" that's what it all was. Bella and her "love" for Edward and her "I can't live without him" crap.
She was pathetic. It was everything that puppy love was all about. Primal, instinctive infatuation. Lust.
The story within and around Twilight became so superficial. Meyer gave no solidity in the "love" that Bella and Edward felt. Suddenly it was all "I want to protect her," "I need her," "I want to kiss her." Everything was created to have already exist. none of them developed.
I'm a die hard romantic who loves romance novels. but it was lacking. I didn't see where the love between them grew. There wasn't any foundation to it all. I get that Bella was "in love" but she lost her identity because of her so-called love.
Meyer's vampire vs. Werewolf got me hyped up... I actually thought there was going to be a full-on war between them. I thought millions was going to die.... but what the hell was that?
The book left me unsatisfied... the total opposite of what I expected. I don't see why everyone is so crazy about it.
And question? Why did the publishers put Robert Pattinson's face on the covers of newly released Twilight books? It ruins the imagination of the readers. Readers are supposed to have a uncontaminated vision on how the characters look like and what the scenery of the books are like. The whole purpose of reading a book is to get lost within your own imagination. Putting the movie casts' faces in the cover of the book ruins it.
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