“Tall, Dark, and Handsome” does NOT qualify as good writing
Okay, here me out.
Don’t get me wrong, I am a sucker for a good romance or fantasy novel or series. They get me excited about reading and are what I used as an escape during school and stressful times. I truly hope the wonderful and creative fiction writers of the world never stop writing these beautiful plots. And I think that these types of books are a great gateway to the world of reading. The problem therein lies in the actual writing.
Writing a good book needs ALL the components
As an avid reader, I have explored the entire spectrum of genres throughout many different eras of writing; enough to notice that the genuine love for writing has taken a dramatic decrease in past years. I look at the beautiful works of Charles Dickens, the Bronte sisters, Ernest Hemingway, Harper Lee, and Mark Twain and wonder how we went from writing with meaning to writing… with the intent of making money.
One of my favorite authors growing up was the lustrous Cassandra Clare. I thought that woman could do no wrong until I recently picked up some of her books again. While her writing has obviously improved from her first popular series, “The Mortal Instruments,” to one of her more recent series, “The Last Hours,” I got the impression she didn’t enjoy writing anymore.
Now you’re probably thinking, “how could you possibly tell that sort of thing just by her writing?” So yes, maybe it’s just some sort of intuition or superstition, I don’t know. That is until I witnessed several other readers comment on the exact same thing. She no longer writes her own stories. She writes the stories she thinks her readers want to see. And that is exactly why the rest of her books have slowly decreased in readers throughout the years. This being said, my all-time favorite book series is, “Infernal Devices.” I guess it was after those books that she realized how big her audience was and decided to write for them, instead of herself.
There is another author in the same genre that has made me feel similar to what I mentioned before, but it’s even worse. Sarah J. Maas is one of the newer popular authors that have taken over the YA fantasy world. Recently, the announcement that her book series, “A Court of Thorns and Roses,” will be adapted into a Television series. Wonderful…? No.
Readers are obsessed with a book that glorifies harassment, assault, and the idea that trauma leads to love — all because the main male love interest… is tall, dark, and handsome. It seems ridiculous but it’s true. I’ve seen hundreds of posts of readers making jokes about dismissing things that he did, simply because he is their “dream guy.” It’s hard to blame the author in this case when the fans are eating up every word. The potential for such an amazing series is overpowered by a male doing the bare minimum.
All writers have to do at this point, is make a little romance story and the rest of the plot can be ignored. I am tired of reading books with great romance but horrible writing.
Great romance + great literature = success
Emily Bronte wrote beautiful literature on top of having a wonderful romance; which was filled with true love, as well as heartache.
Let’s take a look at Wuthering Heights.
She saw the book as a whole, using the beginning to correspond to the end, making it ever so entertaining to read over and over again. After reviewing the many markings I have made in my own copy, I noticed a pattern.
Here are two quotes within that book that changed my perspective about love, writing, and myself.
“He is more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.”
“If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger.”
It is one thing to write a book that has a heart-pounding romance; it is a whole other thing to write a book that makes you feel something words cannot possibly describe.
BUT WAIT, there’s more. Not only is the girl filled with such moving words to describe her love for the boy, oh no, but the BOY does as well. Crazy I know.
And this brings me to the rawest piece of writing I have ever stumbled across.
“Catherine Earnshaw, may you not rest as long as I am living. You said I killed you — haunt me then. The murdered do haunt their murderers. I believe — I know that ghosts have wandered the earth. Be with me always — take any form — drive me mad. Only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you! Oh, God! It is unutterable! I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!”
As dramatic as it would be to end my ranting right here, I’d like to press on to note the difference between such stimulating literature as “Wuthering Heights” and “A Court of Thorns and Roses.” One is methodically thought out, effervescently splendiferous — and the other is “A Court of Thorns and Roses.”
Emily Bronte does not need to rely on making her characters so starkly different as to make the attraction substantial. Instead, she makes their actual feelings and thoughts light up page by page.
Okay I know I’ve been pretty harsh on Sarah J. Mass. Despite all I’ve said if you have genuinely been impacted by her writing then I am happy for you. As Tessa Gray from “Infernal Devices” said,
“Only the very weak-minded refuse to be influenced by literature and poetry.”
