Blogflog: Dear Negative Reader
Dec. 30th, 2006 09:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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lkh_lashoutsThis one should be subtitled "And Laurell takes the lead away from Anne in the Wank Race!" Prepare to spit fire.
Link: http://blog.laurellkhamilton.org/2006/12/dear-negative-reader.html
Dear Negative Reader
Very mature, there. Anyone who disagrees with you or isn't on your side is "negative".
I'm sure there are other books out there that will make you happier than mine. There are books with less sex in them, God knows. There are books that don't make you think that hard. Books that don't push you past that comfortable envelope of the mundane.
"Books that don't make you think that hard"? WTF? I've heard people say they "skipped all the sex scenes" and still understood LKH novels, so clearly, higher brain function is not required. (No offence meant, naturally, to you brave souls who have skipped the sex and read the rest.) "Comfortable envelope of the mundane"? LKH has said that no one will die because it will hurt her/Anita. What the hell is that if not "comfort"? Also, her books have become so repetitive that I would call them mundane, except I'm sure the dictionary (yeah, the one she apparently evicted years ago) would knock on my door, kick my ass, and replace "mundane" with "tripe".
They are books that push my character and me to the edge and beyond of our comfort zones.
So damn not true it's not funny. As I said above, there's the no-death thing. Anita and Merry get to fuck whoever they please because of the ardeur or trying to get pregnant or because it's Tuesday. These characters are not pushed anywhere, let alone to the edge of their comfort zones. It's like a really bad version of Groundhog Day, where NOTHING CHANGES.
Let this post also put to rest the idea that I don't know that a small minority, albeit a loud minority, hates my series. I've known that for awhile.
Ha. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Oh, indeed.
I finally realized that I'm not going to understand this noisy, unpleasant minority of my fans. Because you are fans. Only fans would spend this much time and energy on anything. It's a strange kind of fan, a negative fan, but you spend so much time and energy hating and complaining that some part of you must love the hate and complaining.
I can't speak for anyone else, but I know I consider myself more of a walking warning. I actively discourage people from entering into LKHville at all costs.
And if you don't think you are the minority, well, sorry, guys but you are. I have the sales figures to prove it.
a) What's wrong with being a minority?
b) Sales figures are worth less than the paper they're printed on.
c) What's good doesn't always sell; what sells isn't always good.
Some people even ask for more police procedural. I want more, too
Newsflash: So do we. Oh, but wait. You can't get past the part of our criticism that says you're going downhill to realize that we actually think there's something worth following in either series. LKH has the same tunnelvision she accuses us of having.
The ardeur is a pain in my, and Anita's butt, too.
And, as lovely Jean-Claude would say, so many other places.
I've done this major metaphysical event. I won't just 'fix it' because it's hard to write around. God, knows, sometimes it is. But the arduer is moving along. I've got my fix in mind, but it's logical, not something that's merely convenient, or because some people hate it. But the arduer is not going away. If that's what you guys are wanting, then it ain't happening. Leave now, because more arduer awaits. The arduer is evolving, as are Anita's powers, but I don't see the arduer going poof.
"Evolving". You keep saying this word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
I have failed as a writer that you could kill them, and feel nothing.
I… you know, I don't think I'll say anything about this line. I will simply let it sit there in its glory, because she actually admitted a failure.
My characters are real to me in a way that makes me miss them.
Yeah, and that's fine, to a degree. BUT PEOPLE DIE. Considering the number of times she's wangsted about her grandmother and her mother and on and on, she knows. But you move on. Both of my grandfathers are dead and one of my grandmothers. Do I miss them? Horribly. But I've moved on. I realize that people are born, they live, they die. It's how it works. It's what makes vampires tragic.
Or maybe this will not move you, maybe you do not feel for the loneliness of the vampires that have not known love for centuries.
We do. Because we read lots of authors who actually deal with it. But the fact still remains that a) people die and b) characters aren't real. There are people at Lashouts who can attest to the fact that I get a bit weird about my characters. Those same people can also attest that I don't shy away from character death. People die. If you want your fictional world to feel truly real, characters have to die too.
Maybe you do not feel any of that. If you don't feel it, then I have failed you as a writer. I am sorry for that. If you do not feel the touch of my characters, the emotional pain, the emotional triumphs, then I have failed you. You should stop reading me. My writing does not weave magic for you.
This is turning into the worst Dear John letter ever. "It's not you. It's me. Oh, no, wait. It really is you. You don’t understand my vision!"
Go, and find someone who does speak to you. Someone who's characters are plot devices, so the books are neat, understandable, clinical, and utterly organized.
Oh, wait. It is us. Silly me, thinking Laurell might actually be accepting some blame!
They are big, messy books, a lot like life.
Except in real life, people die. They fall in and out of love. They move, they change jobs, they have kids.
Oh, and they shower.
I'll give you guys a few minutes to stop reading this, or to go into another room. I'll give you a few minutes, before I talk to the positive readers that are staying.
*L* Mass exodus, anyone?
here are hints about THE HARLEQUIN. First, Edward is in the book in a major way. Second, so is Olaf. Yeah, serial killer guy is back. Anita ends up feeding full blown arduer on three characters she's never been with before.
Oh joy. Run, Edward, run!
One of the wereanimal groups will betray Jean-Claude, and Anita.
Oh dear sweet gods. Please let Richard reclaim his spine, gather the wolves, and create some motherfuckin' havoc that Loki (and Samuel L. Jackson) would be proud of.
I hope it whetted your appetite
I… I…she…. used "whetted" instead of "wetted". I…. okay, who slipped her a dictionary when I wasn't looking?
Link: http://blog.laurellkhamilton.org/2006/12/dear-negative-reader.html
Dear Negative Reader
Very mature, there. Anyone who disagrees with you or isn't on your side is "negative".
I'm sure there are other books out there that will make you happier than mine. There are books with less sex in them, God knows. There are books that don't make you think that hard. Books that don't push you past that comfortable envelope of the mundane.
"Books that don't make you think that hard"? WTF? I've heard people say they "skipped all the sex scenes" and still understood LKH novels, so clearly, higher brain function is not required. (No offence meant, naturally, to you brave souls who have skipped the sex and read the rest.) "Comfortable envelope of the mundane"? LKH has said that no one will die because it will hurt her/Anita. What the hell is that if not "comfort"? Also, her books have become so repetitive that I would call them mundane, except I'm sure the dictionary (yeah, the one she apparently evicted years ago) would knock on my door, kick my ass, and replace "mundane" with "tripe".
They are books that push my character and me to the edge and beyond of our comfort zones.
So damn not true it's not funny. As I said above, there's the no-death thing. Anita and Merry get to fuck whoever they please because of the ardeur or trying to get pregnant or because it's Tuesday. These characters are not pushed anywhere, let alone to the edge of their comfort zones. It's like a really bad version of Groundhog Day, where NOTHING CHANGES.
Let this post also put to rest the idea that I don't know that a small minority, albeit a loud minority, hates my series. I've known that for awhile.
Ha. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Oh, indeed.
I finally realized that I'm not going to understand this noisy, unpleasant minority of my fans. Because you are fans. Only fans would spend this much time and energy on anything. It's a strange kind of fan, a negative fan, but you spend so much time and energy hating and complaining that some part of you must love the hate and complaining.
I can't speak for anyone else, but I know I consider myself more of a walking warning. I actively discourage people from entering into LKHville at all costs.
And if you don't think you are the minority, well, sorry, guys but you are. I have the sales figures to prove it.
a) What's wrong with being a minority?
b) Sales figures are worth less than the paper they're printed on.
c) What's good doesn't always sell; what sells isn't always good.
Some people even ask for more police procedural. I want more, too
Newsflash: So do we. Oh, but wait. You can't get past the part of our criticism that says you're going downhill to realize that we actually think there's something worth following in either series. LKH has the same tunnelvision she accuses us of having.
The ardeur is a pain in my, and Anita's butt, too.
And, as lovely Jean-Claude would say, so many other places.
I've done this major metaphysical event. I won't just 'fix it' because it's hard to write around. God, knows, sometimes it is. But the arduer is moving along. I've got my fix in mind, but it's logical, not something that's merely convenient, or because some people hate it. But the arduer is not going away. If that's what you guys are wanting, then it ain't happening. Leave now, because more arduer awaits. The arduer is evolving, as are Anita's powers, but I don't see the arduer going poof.
"Evolving". You keep saying this word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
I have failed as a writer that you could kill them, and feel nothing.
I… you know, I don't think I'll say anything about this line. I will simply let it sit there in its glory, because she actually admitted a failure.
My characters are real to me in a way that makes me miss them.
Yeah, and that's fine, to a degree. BUT PEOPLE DIE. Considering the number of times she's wangsted about her grandmother and her mother and on and on, she knows. But you move on. Both of my grandfathers are dead and one of my grandmothers. Do I miss them? Horribly. But I've moved on. I realize that people are born, they live, they die. It's how it works. It's what makes vampires tragic.
Or maybe this will not move you, maybe you do not feel for the loneliness of the vampires that have not known love for centuries.
We do. Because we read lots of authors who actually deal with it. But the fact still remains that a) people die and b) characters aren't real. There are people at Lashouts who can attest to the fact that I get a bit weird about my characters. Those same people can also attest that I don't shy away from character death. People die. If you want your fictional world to feel truly real, characters have to die too.
Maybe you do not feel any of that. If you don't feel it, then I have failed you as a writer. I am sorry for that. If you do not feel the touch of my characters, the emotional pain, the emotional triumphs, then I have failed you. You should stop reading me. My writing does not weave magic for you.
This is turning into the worst Dear John letter ever. "It's not you. It's me. Oh, no, wait. It really is you. You don’t understand my vision!"
Go, and find someone who does speak to you. Someone who's characters are plot devices, so the books are neat, understandable, clinical, and utterly organized.
Oh, wait. It is us. Silly me, thinking Laurell might actually be accepting some blame!
They are big, messy books, a lot like life.
Except in real life, people die. They fall in and out of love. They move, they change jobs, they have kids.
Oh, and they shower.
I'll give you guys a few minutes to stop reading this, or to go into another room. I'll give you a few minutes, before I talk to the positive readers that are staying.
*L* Mass exodus, anyone?
here are hints about THE HARLEQUIN. First, Edward is in the book in a major way. Second, so is Olaf. Yeah, serial killer guy is back. Anita ends up feeding full blown arduer on three characters she's never been with before.
Oh joy. Run, Edward, run!
One of the wereanimal groups will betray Jean-Claude, and Anita.
Oh dear sweet gods. Please let Richard reclaim his spine, gather the wolves, and create some motherfuckin' havoc that Loki (and Samuel L. Jackson) would be proud of.
I hope it whetted your appetite
I… I…she…. used "whetted" instead of "wetted". I…. okay, who slipped her a dictionary when I wasn't looking?
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Dear Ms Hamilton and Ma Petite Enterprises (Part 1)
Date: 2007-01-01 04:51 am (UTC)I would like to come out to say, I do not like being called Negative Reader. I am a critical reader. I critique and criticize. Just because you don’t agree with my opinion doesn’t mean you need to act like children by name calling.
Anyway, I must say you are like a car crash. I know you have at one point been stuck in traffic because of two cars hitting each other. As you slowly pass the mess, you can’t help but take a look and in doing so slow traffic down. This is what you are too many people around the world beside bat-shit crazy.
Once upon a time, yes, we WERE fans. WERE being the main word.
I found this quote about Star Trek a while back ago and found the words much like what many of us have been trying to tell you.
"Many of us who are fans of Anita enjoy Anita despite its faults, not because we think Anita is perfect and not because we do not think it cannot be improved. To criticize Anita, then, means that we enjoy Anita enough to want it to be the best it can be, and we wish to point out the flaws in hope of improvement (that is, to learn from mistakes, rather than to pretend they do not exist). If we didn't care, we wouldn't criticize."
What you don’t understand is many of us HAVE stopped reading the book. We can’t read it anymore because we begin to lose brain cells by how terrible the books have become. Just because we do not read the books doesn’t mean we can not continue to criticize a series we have spent not only money but out time to reading and caring for a series. You, as a writer, have failed us as readers.
You have turned your work into nothing by trash. The books no longer have a plot. The characters are no longer true to what you FIRST wrote them as. There is no tension or mystery in your series like there once was. Tension doesn’t just mean sex either. There is no suspense for you crime scene. No great action for your fighting scenes. You instead write fade to black (i.e MICAH) and over 30 pages of detail sex scenes throughout you books which are nothing but filler. There is no reality inside you series anymore to care for.
Everyone lives because you can not comfort dead. Maybe this is because you still harbor pain from losing your mother at a young age or your grandmother, but you are killing your series one day at a time since you won’t write death.
Life and death are hand-in-hand. It is the saying: “'On the Day You Were Born, You Begin to Die.”
Anita lives a life where waking up could be her last. She is now apart of the police world (kind of has been since book 1), but she takes risks with her life. She is around bad people and monsters alike. Now (since NIC-the newest book) the world Anita lives in, no one dies but the bad guys and evening than not so much. This is preposterous to believe a world with more bad guys not to mention evil under foot doesn’t die.
In reality, police officers are shot at, hit at, and see more dead things than they should ever see. Heck, there are officers who die. It is sad but it happens. He did his/her job and got killed by saving the world in some small way.
But why isn’t Anita following reality? Why isn’t your book coming anywhere close to what reality is? Are you hiding from death? Why aren’t people she loves dying?
In life, you fall in and out of love, people die, people get hurt, you make friends, and you lose friends. Anita has done none of these things. The last person to dies was in book 1 with Philip, but you have made a promise to yourself and to Anita (which makes me question your sanity) no one she cares for will die. Well, honey you know first hand fate, god, or the powers that be will take a love one from you without asking. Why haven’t your books done the same?