It does mine, because I refuse too look at it. I understand your point of view. But if I had bought some Hitler works in 1940, I certainly, would not be enjoying them today. I'd be trying to get rid of them. Artist actions have consequences.
Yes, finding out bad stuff about an author would probably would put me off reading their books any more. I know that finding out 'nasty' stuff about other idols of mine has changed what I think about their work. Jon Voight used to be my favourite left-wing actor, back in the 70s. Now that he's come out as so right-wing he squeaks, I just can't watch his films any more. In my eyes, they are a fraud. I also had a bit of a dip in my admiration for Arlo Guthrie when he joined the Republican Party (Woody will be turning in his grave!) although my good opinion has been partly restored since I've checked some of his reasoning for his conversion. But going by my reaction to these people ...yes. If an author proved to be a horrible person, or somebody whose values were totally opposite to mine, or contradicted the message in their work, I would probably not enjoy reading their books any more. I don't expect them to be paragons of virtue, but there is a line... It's interesting that one of my favourite authors, CJ Sansom—who wrote the excellent Shardlake series, set in the time of Henry VIII—came out during the Scottish referendum with a whole load of pish about how Scots seeking independence were no different from Nazis on the rise in Germany. I was shocked that such a warped and misinformed view could come from an author who purportedly studies history, and it did make me lose respect for him. However, shortly afterwards, another in his Shardlake series came out, and I did buy it and enjoy it. So in this case, the author's behaviour didn't taint my opinion of his writing (very much.) However, his opinion on modern-day Scots seeking independence has nothing (much) to do with his stories about life in London during the reign of Henry VIII either. There is a difference between disagreeing with an author on outside issues, and discovering that he or she is a fraud. However, keep in mind that on this thread I've been dealing with the OPs topic of what I USED to think authors were like when I was a child. It's not the way I think of them now, or at least not to quite the same degree. There are still a few who inspire awe, but I'm more likely to see them as real people and not exactly magic. Just people with talent and the willingness to work at their craft.
Lol. Air? I guess. I just love writing and always have. Eh editing and looking over your work may be a pain some times but I always have loved and will love writing. It's a chance to make new worlds, new stories, new people. Maybe it's because I'm an escapist.
I love writing too, or I wouldn't do it. And I find editing to be just as much fun. Is there no end to the fun? Yes. Formatting it for publication. Urg.
I type it out in a manuscript format so I don't have to deal with formatting it later. And I like rereading my work too but after like 10 times of rereading the same chapter it becomes a chore. Also my love and passion for writing is the reason I want to write, whether that be books or news stories or whatnot because I am a person who can't do anything he doesn't love. I just don't believe in obligations, if I do something it's because I love doing it. I mean currently I am doing crap temp jobs as a way to make a quick buck for the internet bill but other than that I have no job. I'm going to school this fall and am working on my first book and will hopefully have it published by the time I get out of college. As for after that I want to get a position writing articles for the news/news paper. I'm not one of those people who can see themselves doing some bland boring job to pass the time. I just can't. I know friends who do it as an obligation and give it 150% but if I go and try I do like 30%. Yeah. I just don't believe in doing anything you don't love. This is a short life and you only get one (unless you're a Buddhist ) so why not live it up? And becoming an author and article writer is what I plan to do with it.
I guess it just depends on how badly the author screwed up in his/her personal/professional life. If an author went on a drunken tirade in public, spewing racist BS to everyone in audible vicinity, well, that might be a dealbreaker to some while it wouldn't be to others. But @jannert is right. There is a line that, when crossed, you've basically kissed any shred of credibility good-bye. My Misconceptions: - Writers dressed formally to write. They also used typewriters and have a cup of their favorite liquor/carton of favorite cig. - Writers only wrote deep, dark, gritty, edgy tales of woe and misery. I'm looking at you Dickens and Dostoyevsky. - When they finished a manuscript, it instantly became a book. No agents, no beta-readers, nothing. It became a book.
Writing is fun, though! I've always loved it. I mean, come on, you create these people, you build them a setting, and then you gently set them in there (or throw them in, but that's when I'm in an aggressive mood and we don't talk about that) and see what they do when you throw stuff at 'em. I love my characters, I love seeing them interact. I love learning things about them. I just learned last night that one of my not-terribly-nice characters is struggling with mental illness. It's fun, or I never would have started, and I definitely wouldn't be keeping at it this many years later. It's like...it's like playing in a doll's house. Used to love that as a child. So many dramas went on in there. Well, it'd be a bit creepy for an adult to be playing in a doll's house, but writing is an excellent alternative, and it's even more fun. I love revision too. I love it too much sometimes. I admit though, there are parts that aren't fun. Like when you've completely written yourself into a corner and don't know where to go. But you drink a gallon of coffee, a pot of tea, and eat five chocolate bars, and then you finally hit a breakthrough and it's just the best feeling ever in the whole world. If I didn't write, I honestly might not be alive right now. It helps me deal with life, which I'm not that good at. Something I wrote in my journal once: "If I stop writing, I will be half a person. If I continue writing, I will be no real person at all." I'm not exactly sure what it means, still, I guess it's why I write.
Out of interest, where would you draw the line with this? Do you have a tolerance for minor actions you find disagreeable? For instance I'm an Amy Winehouse fan, and a lot of her songs are about her cheating on her boyfriends - even though I don't agree with the things she did, I still enjoy the music: Would you be able to enjoy the music of an adulterer more so than a murderer?
I'm following with interest this discussion of how the choices of the artist affect how people view their work. Lots of interesting perspectives. I don't know for sure how I feel about it--I suppose it would depend. Usually, I'm kind of oblivious as to the private lives of artists and celebrities, so I wouldn't necessarily even know about any reproachable actions on their part. There are times when I can't help learning about such things, though. Gill sans is one of my favourite fonts, but while reading a book on fonts, I learned about some activities of its creator that I found exceedingly disturbing and don't approve of in the slightest. I still love the font though, so I try to block that from my mind.
I thought they used a typewriter and wrote one, perfect draft. Then, they'd mail it to publishers until one would accept. Though, sometimes, if the book was terrible, they'd get a rejection letter. If they got the book published, they were set for life.
The one draft thing seems to be what's always shown on TV. The writer types, "The End," then everyone celebrates.
I know a lot of people write multiple drafts but I have always been for the one draft kind of deal. Yes, I rewrite certain parts as they appear wrong to me but that's while I'm still working on the first draft. Other than that it's just edit and send to publishers.
I don't think I had one misconception about writers. I didn't know that editing was something very real and very time consuming, but because of school, I knew that you had to fix spelling and grammar mistakes. This is a really interesting thread..!
When I was a kid I hated books. I didn't know what beautiful things I was missing out on. Does that count?
You never read the magic tree house books or even better the goosebumps books? Damn. Those were my childhood.
No. Goosebumps series was never translated to my language. School always assigned us some boring books so I assumed they were all like that. Then when I was 13 I was bored one day and picked up R.L. Stine's Dear Diary, I'm Dead and instantly fell in love with reading.
Yeah that's why I never really read in high school. Because all the books they gave us were boring as hell. I passed with a B in english without ever picking up one of the books or doing the book projects though (B is 80%, idk if it's different in other countries).
I didn't like to read until the fourth grade. I had trouble learning to read and my younger sister was the opposite (she learned to read early.) So, I had it in my head that only smart people read. Then, my teacher made me stay inside during recess and read because I was so behind. I realized I loved reading after that.
There were not many other assumptions I made as a kid. I always wanted to be a film-maker, not a writer. I never read. I watched movies. That's still the case.
So I'm terrible for constantly being able to think of pretty cool story ideas, and most times I'll start another, then another and soon I'll just combine them somehow or discard one (or all...) I just can't seem to ever stick to one idea without seeing some kind of 'flaw', getting bored of it or just plainly thinking of a better idea. Is there any advice someone could give me on how to find the will to persevere one idea without getting so sidetracked by more appealing ideas?
To paraphrase something another member of the forum said on another post might help you get over the boredom hump: "Think of the worst thing that can happen to your character, and write that." Keep it fresh that way and keep yourself interested. Alternatively you can learn some discipline, the hardest thing next to common sense there is to learn (I'm still learning).
Like dieting or working out. I don't think there is a quick fix to this. Like anything. There is sort of three stages. 1. The fun moment when you begin. Excitement passion! 2. The vegetables! The yucky work! Hard, time consuming. Eek! 3. Satifaction of making it past step two and having a final product(even if it is just a first draft.) Abandoning a story because for what ever reason you don't like the prospect of reaching 3 is fine. We have all had moments where he discard an idea. But if you find you are never reaching 3. You may need to step up your determination to reach 3. As maybe it isn't that the plot lines are bad but that you just aren't determined enough. There may be tips for keeping it more interesting but at the end of the day. You just might need to step up your determination. Sorry if that sounds harsh.
