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 Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 7:18 pm
The quality of the writing
the plot of it
the characters
quantity
___ = insert your opinion here
: )
And we can debate on Twilight vs harry Potter too.
Because the plot of twilight is decent but the writing is poor : [
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Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 7:26 pm
I think it goes into percentages of importance:
Quality=40%
Plot=25%
Characters=35%
Quantity=0% (some things are meant to be short, some to be long)
Twilight is well written, and has quite a bit of quantity (not that quantity matters). However 40% is still an F. And that is assuming that once considers the quality of writing perfect, which it is not. It is really closer to 25%. Twilight has no plot, and the characters are thinner than the shims I use in my gearbox (.01mm). I give the writing a 25% because of her attention to syntax and sound. The diction is desperately lacking though, as is everything else.
I was never one for Harry, so I haven't looked at deeply. I have no opinion on it.
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Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 10:17 pm
I think the quality of writing can often make up for plot holes and quantity but that's only really in the early stages of writing. As a writer progresses, they really need to be paying attention to all the points to ensure they write a really good novel. I'd get really frustrated if I were reading a book I enjoyed the style of but then found it was heading nowhere fast.
I'll have to agree with redmoon in regards to Twilight. If I had seen sections up for critique, I'd have said "it has potential but you really need to do some work on that Mary Sue and plot of yours".
In terms of Harry Potter, I didn't really have any problems with that. It's been some time since I've read it so I can't remember anything that stands out in terms of how it can be improved but I remember thoroughly enjoying it.
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Posted: Wed Jun 02, 2010 4:43 am
I'm more of a "it's all equally important" type of person. If the characters are poor but the plot is strong, I'm not going to throw the babe out with the bathwater, but I will make sure to strengthen up those characters.
Everything is important.
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Posted: Wed Jun 02, 2010 5:00 am
As for me, I like to prioritize the characters. Some say that when you create good characters, sooner or later, they will be the ones weaving the story. You will just guide them and they'll do all the quality for you. Quantity isn't much of a big deal as J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series were not that entirely detailed regarding everything so is John Grisham; I think it's up to the writer to write good words for a setting that will satisfy a reader.
Oh God... Just hearing Twilight makes me shiver in madness but I've never read it and whenever I have a chance, I wuss out. You can't blame me though, bad reviews + glittering vampires = Oh noes... But hey, what do I know? I'm more of an HP fan.
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Posted: Wed Jun 02, 2010 12:25 pm
I'd say the quality of the writing is the most important. Even if someone had a fantastic plot, it is only as fantastic as their writing. Once I find it a chore to surf through the paragraphs, the book is as good as dead to me. With great writing you can have a poor plot but beautiful prose, and that, sometimes, is enough.
Characterization is in between, a fantastic set of characters trudging through a terrible plot (albeit one supported with decent writing) can be enough to carry a book. It's most often the characters we find ourselves attached to, not the plot itself.
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Posted: Wed Jun 02, 2010 2:57 pm
Hemlock Key I'm not going to throw the babe out with the bathwater I've not heard that saying in a long time... love it. biggrin
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Posted: Wed Jun 02, 2010 7:04 pm
elementalWITHIN Hemlock Key I'm not going to throw the babe out with the bathwater I've not heard that saying in a long time... love it. biggrin Thanks. cool
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Posted: Wed Jun 02, 2010 7:32 pm
I think quality is the best, because if you have true quality writing, it has to have good plot and characters anyway. [:
Also, Twilight was a wonderful quick easy read back when it first came out, before all of this fandom nonsense. Harry Potter is the same, because now all I can think of is "It's the pincers (click click click)" and how old the kids get when the characters have only aged a year.
♥
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Posted: Mon Jun 07, 2010 3:09 pm
I think it's all very important, but if you want a decent story and are pressed on time, focus on characters and the actual quality of the writing. Quantity is a 'meh' factor to me because too much of anything is bad, but interesting plot is nothing without decent characters and quality writing.
Take, for instance, something interesting that you wrote when you were younger. If you read over it now, you'd probably find that despite an interesting idea, both for plot and characters, the quality drains the interest out of it. (This may not be true all of the time, but I find that's what happens often with me. I'll have a wonderful idea and write it down, but I'll find that the execution is lacking.)
It's actually a very helpful exercise, going through old work and seriously looking at it. It helps you see where you've improved and where you're still in need of work. To take it one step further, you could go back and rewrite it, to see how you would fix it.
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Posted: Fri Jul 02, 2010 7:12 am
I think all of the first three matter
I read well writen books but the plot stunk and ones that were as well writen but had much better story line and I read a few that both were bad but the characters were so good I just keep reading
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