My fellow writers, am I the only one sick to death of hearing (or rather reading articles, blog posts, etc, etc) that the novel is dead or that today’s writers aren’t like the writers of yesteryear or as one recent article put it, there are no great novelists left. Then of course names like Hemingway, Faulkner or Fitzgerald pop up. Do I smell baloney? Why, yes, it is baloney, a tad bit overcooked too. Last I checked books were still selling in one format or another. People are still buying hordes of novels, which is how they come up with those little bestseller lists, right? So the novel is dead? I think not. I don’t like every novel published in the history of publishing; no one does. But with so many different genres and subgenres appealing to the masses, how can anyone claim that the novel is dead. Perhaps, the novel has evolved (they’re shorter) and the language of the written word has changed (along with spoken word), but does that mean that the novel is dead? Nope.
What constitutes a great novelist anyway? Book sales, literary circles, awards, tenure at University XYZ, being critically acclaimed? I’m sure some of the Greats were considered hacks in their day.
What constitutes a great novelist anyway? Book sales, literary circles, awards, tenure at University XYZ, being critically acclaimed? I’m sure some of the Greats were considered hacks in their day.
To answer my own question in a tweet: A great novelist’s story resounds with his/her readers. That’s an overly simplified answer, but it should be to leave room for interpretation.
Questions of the day: What do you think constitutes a great novelist? Who do you think past or present are great novelists and why?
Questions of the day: What do you think constitutes a great novelist? Who do you think past or present are great novelists and why?
14 comments:
I think a great novelist is, like you said, someone who connects with his/her readers. It's someone who writes a story that a reader is unable to put down. It's someone who can make the reader feel what the character is feeling. It's someone whose next stories are highly anticipated by fans.
Jodi Picoult comes to mine in my genre of preference.
Sales and/or the scope of readers. Most writers write to be read. If not, it's just a therapeutic exercise.
...the novel will never die. Like everything else, the book market will fluctuate, some days good, others not so much, but stumble into oblivion? Not possible. We are a society of adventurous readers, always searching for that one great ride...
One would be hard-pressed not to mention Stephen King as the top echelon of literary genius in our time.
The novel will evolve, just as it always has evolved. The great novels will ALWAYS go to print for the exact same reason we print out our digital photos:
Because printing is permanent, and digital death is one wrong click away.
We will always always ALWAYS rely on printed copies for longevity. Hell, we still back up our computers to TAPE, not a hard drive. Because tape is PRINTED! (sort of)
As for great authors, we won't know who's hot and who's not until fifty years from now.
Wanna here something prophetic: Stephen King will go down with Hemingway and them other guys. He single-handedly cornered the market on strong, deep, 3rd person POV. People before him used 1st person POV to get that deep.
King taught us all how to write.
Dan Brown and other pseudo-Christian writers will be noted as tapping a new market -- religious fiction -- up there with the sci-fi startups of Clark and Bradbury and Azimov.
Who could argue that Rawlings won't stack up against JRRT. She will. Watch her. Terry Brooks may even make that cut.
Dead shmead. The people touting "NO GREAT WRITERS! NOVELS ARE DEAD!" They make up in voice what they lack in vision.
All I had to do was swivel my head left-to-right, didn't take much vision at all to see how silly those doomsday statements really are.
As for what makes a great novel: Any book that involves not a character arc, but a READER arc. You're different after reading that book.
It's that simple.
- Eric
I suppose I would've said a great novelist is someone who writes literary fiction like no other. However, I've since changed my mind. I don't think it matters what genre you write as long as you write so well that the reader keeps coming back for more. At the same time, a great novelist must continue to produce such stories. Once he starts living off his name and reputation and not worrying about or *gasp* not capable of writing another great novel, then the love affair is over.
Lynnette Labelle
http://lynnettelabelle.blogspot.com
I think your simplified definition is brilliant - for any book to be great, it must resonate. And I completely agree that the book will never die. When I started in Journalism, people said the newspaper would be extinct soon. While online subscriptions have increased, there is still a core group of people who must hold the paper in their hands. I'm one of them.
And I loved Eric's comment about Stephen King and deep POV. You can love him or hate his work, but you cannot deny his writing has impacted the publishing industry.
Tough question!
I think a great novelist can reach out to humanity across the centuries and speak to the core of us.
It's a hard question to answer certainly. I have always judged a great book if it makes me think about it long after I've read it. If the message within resonates so much that I can't stop thinking about it.
Unfortunately I haven't kept up with the times so I can't name an author from today who does that. sure I've read some great books but nothing like "Catcher in the Rye" or "To Kill A Mockingbird."
Someone who can write a story that captivates you, shoves you in their world for a while, and makes you experience things from a pair of shoes you've never put on before.
I think there are tons of great novelists today!
DH Lawrence is one of the best authors of all time, but then again, I have many modern favorites whom I love to read just as much.
What constitutes a great novelist, to me, are those who create memorable characters. I want the story to have an intriguing plot of course, but if the characters are boring or cliched or too perfect than I'm automatically bored with the book. It's through their characters that an author can connect with his/her readers.
Oh gosh I pray the novel is not dead not will it ever die. I just don't see my appetite for reading going away soon. Not that it's a good barometer of the reading public, but still.
I think a great novelist is one who makes you fall in love with the characters, so much so that it hurts to say goodbye. I felt that way today after finishing Catching Fire. My sister told me her son cried when he read the Maximum Ride books because he so wanted to be part of Max's flock. That same sister used to look for passages into Narnia when she was a kid.
What a fantastic topic. I think that a great novelist is one that puts their whole heart & soul into the novel and really connects with the reader.
Like you said, not everyone is going to like your novel, however if one person likes your novel I think you've made an impression to at least that one in the world. One to feel complete :)
Great post!
I hope novels are not dead but I hate that whatever is in is whatever will sell. That sounds silly to hate but I'm shopping my YA novel around and my agent has reported mostly rejections b/c publishers are too busy trying to find the next "twilight" and focusing primarily on paranormal books. I'd say novels arent' dead but publishers are afraid to go past what is selling it seems. Or maybe I'm just bitter :)
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