Quote:
Originally Posted by gmw
To me good writing is writing that reaches its audience; almost by definition, this means a popular book is well written whether I happen to like it or not.
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I can't accept that. Of course if the book is popular, it's doing SOMETHING right. But it may also be doing a lot wrong. Those who embrace it don't care about the things it's doing wrong. Possibly they don't even notice. They're "tone deaf" as someone said earlier. Other people are so put off by that sour note that it drowns out the things the author is doing right.
A good writer is one who does most things right and only hits a few sour notes. A bad, popular writer is often doing one thing really well and everything else incredibly badly. Daniel Steel. Dan Brown. David Weber. And others whose names don't even begin with "D". Maeve Binchy. Ken Follet.
Often the only thing they're doing right is inducing you to keep turning pages. I think that may be the only trick you need to create a bestseller.