I’d also go as far as to say this was a “literary non-fiction” vs. “genre non-fiction” whine. Those of us who write genre fiction are very familiar with the literary vs. genre/commercial fiction bickering that goes on.

But the writer of the rant/whine said:

“Nobody wants to be bothered having to read fascinating, complex stories of men with commitment hang-ups, as they struggle to understand themselves and find they’re way toward intimacy. Today’s readers—both men and women—want their prescriptive answers in a gulp-down form, something they can drink like a slush—not something they have to chew on.”

That’s very similar to what the literati say. “No one wants to be bothered to read my fascinating, complex story, something of literary nutritional value. No, they’d rather have junk food in the form of genre fiction, stuff that’s no where near as well-written as my beautiful literary prose.”

I guess it comes down to the fact that the average person doesn’t want to be impressed by the writer. They want their facts (non-fiction) or they want their story (fiction) and they want the writer to stay invisible, stay out of the way of what they’re looking for.

And I guess I’m one of those average people. (G) That doesn’t mean that I want/condone hacky writing. But I’m not interested in being dazzled by craft. Get to the meat of it. Tell me a good story. Or tell me what I want to learn.

Oh, and may I also point out that quite often, romance readers ARE reading fascinating, complex stories about “men with commitment hang-ups, as they struggle to understand themselves and find they’re(sic) way toward intimacy.”

Maybe this guy needs to write a romance novel. LOL.