By: booksquare

booksquare — Mon, 11 Oct 2004 04:38:40 +0000

Ah, then perhaps I wasn’t clear — the first paragraph (which I redacted) suggests a prejudice against the prolific (cranks, mill). These words do not suggest this type of output is a positive accomplishment; they hint that there’s something not right with prolific writing. I read a recent interview with Joyce Carol Oates (which I can’t find, darn it!) where her output was as much the story as her new book. Sure, it’s relevant, but I don’t recall there being any sort of analysis that indicates this is as normal a state for an author as the (equally suspect in its own way) taking ten or twenty years between a novel. I get a sense there’s a norm and authors who fall outside the lines need to explain themselves. This interview with Oates:

‘The Falls’ is a dark beauty by Joyce Carol Oates, October Talking Volumes author

addresses this topic (in the third section). Why should it matter if she writes one or two or eight books a year? On the flipside, if you’re writing that fast, are you doing the best you can for your craft? This is the topic I’m wrestling with, especially as I’m trying to slow myself down a bit.

The rest, of course, is my interpretation and speculation of why prolific bothers some.people. I believe Roberts would be better served by a slower pace. I found the review to be fair, but I am also a longtime fan of the author, a fan who thinks she sometimes rushes the production line. This results in a certain sameness to her works — Schappell alludes to this — that is both comforting and makes one less likely to rush out and buy her new books. When I consider where she’s been innovative (the JD Robb series and some of the single titles over the past five years) versus where she’s been almost painting by numbers (the trilogies), I think her pace certainly affects her product.

I hope others weigh in on this topic — I’m curious to see if I’m nuts (highly possible) or reading more into a topic than exists.

By: Brenda Coulter

Brenda Coulter — Sun, 10 Oct 2004 19:25:18 +0000

Sorry, Booksquare, but which lines were you reading between? I didn’t see anything in Shappell’s NYT article that suggested writing fast and writing well were mutually exclusive. No, Shappell doesn’t appear to be particularly enamored with Nora Roberts’ latest offering (or with Roberts’ writing, in general) but she did not hint that Roberts could write better books if only she would slow down a bit.

I always enjoy reading your rants, but I’m curious about what provoked this one.

Comments on: When Words Come Rushing, Why Do We Build Dams?

By: booksquare

By: Brenda Coulter