Weak Prose and Boredom
I’m finding myself becoming more and more bored by the style of prose exemplified by the contemporary mainstream publishing model. Not all of it bores me, and I don’t think most of it is bad, per se, but there are times when I will read a book and find myself wondering why I’m reading it at all. I’ve always read to be entertained, but lately some of the books I’ve tried to read have failed on that mark. I lose interest in the prose, not the ideas being expressed (although sometimes the ideas cause me to roll my eyes, which is, perhaps, an unavoidable symptom of having “seen it before and in better form”). I suspect a lot of this has to do with a change in tastes. No, I’m not becoming a weird “literary” reader (though I like me some literary fiction in the SF/F vein), but I do like the novels I read to have prose that does more than just “get the job done.” I want the prose to say something to me, to show me things, rather than tell me they exist. Words like “intricate” or “stiff” are meaningless if I don’t understand the context, or see what it is the author is trying to say. I understand the impulse to have prose that isn’t flowery, but sometimes a little flare to one’s prose can make for a more enjoyable experience. The kind of prose I’m talking about here is weak prose. The author forgets that they’re not just telling a story, but showing one. It happens a lot, and for many readers, that’s good enough–for publishers too, because they sell a lot of books with weak prose. But, this sort of bare bones prose is, to me, a waste of paper. Stories deserve more. They deserve a little description, some clever uses of prose, or a little more than two-dimensional character development or plots. Liven things up a bit, folks. It’s okay, really. Readers will love you for it if you can make your writing a little more interesting. If they don’t, then hit them with a cumbersome object.
Random News For 12/11/09 (Peter Watts, Interviews, and Randomness)
Some interesting things have happened today. First, there is an interview with me up on the Outer Alliance blog that you all might want to check out. They asked me some questions about dealing with anti-gay hatred and Survival By Storytelling Magazine, among other things. It’s fairly brief, but well worth checking out. Probably the biggest news for today, though, is the story of the apparent beating and abuse of Peter Watts by U.S. Border Patrol on Tuesday. He has since been released and is back in Canada, but he has to return to Michigan to face trial for what seems to be a trumped up charge that could not only land him in prison for two years, but get him banned from the U.S. for life (he’s charged with assaulting a federal officer, which is apparently adequate reason to beat people with clubs and pepperspray them these days; here I thought these folks were supposed to be protecting us…Watts was on his way OUT of the country, not into it). In any case, Cory Doctorow over at BoingBoing has posted a lot more detail about this here, but what is most pressing right now is that Mr. Watts needs money. He has acquired a good criminal lawyer, but because such trials can often run for extended periods of time and he isn’t exactly Stephen King, he needs a burst of financial aid to pull him through. So, if you can help out by donating a little bit of money, I’m sure Mr. Watts, his family, and his fans would be grateful. Donations can be sent to donate@rifters.com. Update: Peter Watts has broken his short-lived silence here. Update 2: The Toronto Star has a more detailed explanation of everything, which further shows that the border patrol folks are total assholes. That’s all I have for today.