Twilight and 50 Shades: The Quality of Writing

💖 📝Thank you for being a subscriber to this show📝💖

So, here we are, finally addressing the elephant in the room when it comes to Twilight and 50 Shades: the quality, or as some might say, lack thereof, in the writing.

However, what if I told you their 'lack of quality' is actually a good thing?

And what if I also told you, that whatever ill feelings you have towards these books and others like them, isn't unwarranted.

Feels like a trap, right?

That something isn't quite right here? 

I assure, there's no snare to get caught in, but perhaps some seeds to be sowed that will hopefully branch out to become roots of reflection, which then might grow out to better humanity.

Sounds kind of deep for two run-of-the-mill books, right?

Funny, how the most basic things in life can teach us so much about ourselves.

Scarlett Marie is a true born creative, who has spent her whole life dabbling in the arts and craft, only to find her feet in the world of words whereby she has spent over fifteen years making stories come alive.

Her time and energy has been mainly spent on the series A Royal Life, of which she started drafting when she was fifteen. 

Here on the 'Diary of a Writer' she hopes to show people a peek behind the door of what it means to live as a full-time creative. 

Visit bookishfeat.com for more details. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Okay, so let's address the elephant in the room when it comes to Twilight and Fifty Shades, the quality of their writing. Now, most people are gonna immediately tell you that the writing in them is uh shit. And honestly, they're not wrong. The writing is pretty fucking basic. But I find it quite intriguing how more people don't actually see this as a good thing. You see, when a story like Twilight and Fifty Shades takes off and it's of poor quality writing, it actually affirms something which I would personally think a lot of writers would take comfort in. And that is that your story only has to be written well enough for the reader to understand and enjoy it. And I find it amusing how more writers especially don't take comfort in that, considering how damn hard it is to actually be a good writer. I would think that more wannabe writers or aspiring writers would actually look at Twilight and 50 Shades and actually take some comfort in realizing, yeah, my writing can be as basic as fuck, and I can still be a best-selling author. Since Twilight and 50 Shades, we have seen this fact being repeated multiple times. We have names like Sarah J. Mass and Colleen Hoover, and a whole bunch of other mid-writers taking off and making millions of dollars from their basic writing and stories. And I understand why people are offended in some ways, because we really have this concept imprinted into us that you know, if you're gonna be great, if you're gonna make millions of dollars, you should be good at what you do and you should have a good product. But the crazy thing is when you look at a lot of products that are very popular and have taken off, they're not generally all that good. They're just marketed really damn well. Like whether it's a certain brand of headphones or a clothing lined, or even a or even a suburb or city. The the crazy thing is the things that are most popular are generally not actually all that good. It's just that they're marketed really well and that they appeal to a vast audience, because in their basic form, they're really pretty damn generic. For something to be so big and to appeal to so many people, it in essence has to be pretty generic, doesn't it? Because when you look at people, they're so diverse and complicated. So to have something like a book or a pair of headphones or, you know, type of music to come along and just like cause everyone to love it. There has to be a kind of generic thing about it that can appeal to so many people. And that's not to say that it's bad. I'm not saying that Twilight is bad or Fifty Shows is bad or Sarah J. Mass is a bad writer or Colleen Hoover writes bad stories. It's just kind of a thing in Western culture where we kind of uphold these things and they're not actually all that good when you start breaking them down. And when it comes to books that are like this, I personally don't think it's such a bad thing. Because there's one thing that these books do that not many other books will ever be able to accomplish. And that is that they turn non-readers into readers. You see, every time one of these types of books takes off and becomes such a huge phenomenon across the world, it makes people who haven't picked up a book in five years actually want to read it. And that's good for other writers. That's good for the industry, and it's good for other creators. Because if those books can get someone to pick up a book, it means that that person is then more likely to pick up another book and another book and another book until maybe eventually they even come across and pick up your book. So whilst these stories might come across as very basic and generic, they do something that the more niche and stories with depth can't do, and that is to pull in masses of people back into reading. On the flip side, I think one problem is, and I blame this more on the publishing industry than I do on people and readers, is that the industry then becomes very focused, almost hyper-focused on this type of style of writing and storyline. Which means for the people who like to read things that are more complicated and in depth, they kind of get starved off because the industry isn't supplying fiction stories to them. It sort of becomes this snake eating its own tail type thing, where the industry is so focused on trying to please the masses and make more money that they kind of forget that there are other stories that should be pushed out to feed other parts of the populace. And I think really this is actually one of the biggest issues or the biggest crux that's going on here. And that is the reality is I don't think as many people would be frustrated with people like Sarah J. Mass and Colleen Hoover and whoever the fourth wing lady is taking off if they then were fed stories that represented and appealed to them. I think what gets a lot of people frustrated is feeling like they're forced to connect with these stories, which they can't connect with, and they're made to feel like an outsider because so many people are harping on about them and saying they're great, and you know, going on about it in the offices and break times, and they can't connect to them because their style of reading or interests and stories is very different and a bit more niche. So when you have something so big appealing to so many people, you're naturally gonna start off handing other people who don't get it because they immediately feel like they're not in on it, they're not included. And I don't think any of us need a psychology degree to know how people will not naturally like being put in that place. So I think whilst we have these, while we have these women, I'm gonna call them women because I'm not referring to any male writers in this segment. So whilst we have these women who are writing these stories and making these millions and making this huge fan base, I think it really is on the publishing industry to make sure they're feeding stories to other people who have other interests who don't want to be involved in it. And of course, that's not something that the publishing industry is going to take lightly because they're in it to make money, right? And for them it's much easier to be like, well, let's just put out another Colleen Hoover or fourth wing adaption than take a risk on a literacy piece that kind of has some deep thought-provoking themes to it because that's only gonna appeal to a certain amount of readers, and that's not gonna make us a lot of money. And I think this this is the sad bit. You know, we have these stories that take off and really become something and make a lot of money, and that money then isn't used to help feed the other part of the population that doesn't give a fuck about them. It's just the money kind of gets gets hoarded or gets thrown at celebrity memoirs. It's just it's it's not great, is it? So really what I'm trying to say is I think the publishing industry could be doing a lot more to, I guess, soften the soften the shout-out that these books are great and everyone should read them. I think that can kind of start rubbing people the wrong way. I think another thing is which is gonna be a more on a personal level, is that because these books kind of take over everything, people are gonna feel threatened that this becomes the basis of what good art is. And I do think it's something that is slightly becoming a problem these days because I'm seeing a very narrow focus on the type of books that the publishing industry is pushing out. So I do think people do have the reason to have quarrels with these stories because when they do get this big and popular, they kind of send set a basis for what a good art is. And that really shouldn't be the case. These pieces are fun pieces, they're not thought-provoking, they're not deep, they're just sort of like eating your favorite popcorn or candy bar in the kitchen type thing. And that's fine. They have a place and they have a purpose, and like I acknowledge, they do something that a lot of books can't do, and that's turn non-readers into readers. But I do think there is an issue when something that's fun and fluffy and has a resonance of candy becoming the staple. It's almost like if the food pyramid was suddenly full of ferro floss and chocolate bars and lollies and whatnot. So it you can kind of see from that perspective why these books kind of seem like a threat and might not be so well received. And then, of course, it can be annoying to deal with the ignorant folk who are just going on about these books like they're the best thing since sliced bread and butter. And of course, if you are an educated reader, you know that's not going to be the case. So it can be a bit frustrating dealing with these annoying folks thinking these stories are all that when they're really not. And I get it, it is it is can be frustrating. But I think one has to also learn to appreciate what these stories are doing and how they're appealing to people, and also just be able to say that just because it's for that person doesn't mean it's for them, and that's okay. We have this real thing in our culture about you know, if if you don't love it, then you're against it, and there's no neutral base, and I think that's quite sad. I think it's even sadder when we start pitting things against each other. We see this a lot in the music industry where we're pitting popular female artists against each other, and then they have their stands, and then the stands try and create wars against each other. It's like just enjoy the music, enjoy the artists, appreciate what each artist does and represents. Just because one thing isn't for you doesn't mean it's terrible. It's just not for you. I really wish that we could get into a place in society where we can just appreciate that. I will forever remember during the final season of Game of Thrones, and I was on Twitter at the time because Twitter was actually decent then. And I remember seeing this tweet from someone and they weren't into Game of Thrones, which was made them pretty much an outlier because everyone at the time was basically into Game of Thrones. And I really, I really appreciate what this person said, and they basically said something along the lines of, while they won't be watching the final season of Game of Thrones, they really hope that everyone who is doing so really enjoys it and loves it. And I thought that was a really beautiful sentiment to kind of say, you know what, this isn't for me, but I I hope you guys have a blast with this. And I think that's just such a beautiful take and energy to have where you can see so many people are just living for this, they're just so engulfed in it and they're getting so much joy out of it. And instead of trying to crush it down and tear it down, you can stand back and be like, wow, I just I hope it is everything you want it to be. I'm pretty sure the tweet actually had those words in it. It was a very long time ago, so I apologize for not being able to quote it directly or properly. But I hope you can kind of get the sentiment that I'm trying to make here in that, yes, while it can be threatening to be an outline and to kind of watch it all kind of unfold and you're kind of scratching ahead like I don't get it. What are all these people on about? You can still hold space for them to have that joy and have that moment with that book and those characters. You don't have to attack it just because you don't get it. There is a middle line, there is a neutral place. It's, you know, with a pendulum how it swings left to right, there is that neutral stance where it's just hanging there. And we all can, I think, do better to align ourselves with that because society is just too good at making us want to swing from one thing from one side to the other. I mean, we see it all the damn time in fucking politics, you know, it just goes from one end of the spectrum to the other, and it's always just baffling. It's like surely there's a middle ground here somewhere, but no one can bloody find it. I mean, I'm not surprised, all the fucking leaders in the world are absolute toddlers, so they're the last people who's going to find that middle ground. But we as people, you know, we are we're smart, we can change, we can grow, we can learn to find that space and hold it. And if we do that with something like books and music, it then becomes a thing in other places of our lives, like the more difficult subjects like sexuality, politics, and race. And the more of us that can stand in that space, in that neutral space, the more we can start taking this division that's just occupying our society and start bringing it down until the forces are joined. And then when you have that, you have a united group, you have a united populace. And that that is where the power is, and that is the biggest threat to any political government in the world at the moment, which is why they try so damn hard to keep us divided and focused on stupid shit. But anyhow, I'm not going to get too much into that because we're just meant to be talking about fucking pilote and fifty shades. But I hope you can see that even the most basic written stories serve a purpose. And they technically I think should come across as a comfort for most writers because they do remind us that the story only has to be as good as for the reader to understand it. It doesn't have to be any better than that. I think there is something important about reflecting on ourselves and why we are tearing these people down and there, and what sort of bar have we raised? And why are we expecting these creators to meet that bar? But more importantly, why are we expecting ourselves to meet that bar? Why do we have this belief that a product has to be of a certain quality before it is good? When time and time again our world proves that the product being good is actually the least important thing. You know, where does that belief come from that it has to be perfect, it has to be great, it has to be good. Shitty things take off in the world all the time. I mean, goodness gracious, look at the American politics at the moment. So, you know, what's popular isn't always what's good. And I think there's a lot of work to be done in learning to embrace that and accept that and hold space for the people who do want to get lost in it. And I know that can be hard, especially when that group of people start picking fights and creating parasocial relationships and whatnot and really get in your face. But this is why I say it's a it's a whole community thing, it's a whole humanity thing that needs to be addressed, that needs to be changed so that we can so that we can bring down these walls and enjoy the harmony of being with one another and having different tastes and interests. If we can't learn to do that with something as simple as books or music, then we've got no chance of taking on racism or women's equality or embracing people's diverse sexualities. We've just got no chance.