4 ms·

If you write enough and are willing to study, you can learn the proper grammar or diction. That said, it is sad that we don't seem to have authors who write fan

by kosei 13y ago

If you write enough and are willing to study, you can learn the proper grammar or diction. That said, it is sad that we don't seem to have authors who write fantastic prose anymore. Rather, everyone writes to the lowest common denominator, because (as the author notes), the prose isn't what matters. I feel this same way about music - I think it's often harder to find successful skilled musicians than it is to find successful musicians who found something interesting or different to play, regardless of their skill.

objclxt 13y ago
> it is sad that we don't seem to have authors who write fantastic prose anymore To spin this around a little: we don't talk about authors in the past whose prose isn't worth going back to. Shakespeare had many contemporaries, but you might be hard pressed to name more than a couple. Good prose can be challenging, and people don't want to be challenged all the time. I admire Pynchon's writing in Gravity's Rainbow - I don't want every book I read to be like that. Or to put it another way: there are many novels from the 19th century that were massively popular at the time, but totally forgotten about now. They were novels that were pretty average in terms of prose, but had stories that were relevant to people at the time, and gripped them. I doubt if in a hundred years people will still be reading the Da Vinci Code - but I can guarantee books like Infinite Jest, The Satanic Verses, Nights at the Circus, and the like will be attracting critical attention.
InclinedPlane 13y ago
You just have to keep looking. One thing to note is that typically great artists rise in popularity over time while mediocre artists diminish. Looking back in time you tend to only notice the great artists, and in the moment they tend to be lost amongst the weeds. But that's usually how it is, with rare exceptions.

by kosei 13y ago

objclxt 13y ago

> it is sad that we don't seem to have authors who write fantastic prose anymore To spin this around a little: we don't talk about authors in the past whose prose isn't worth going back to. Shakespeare had many contemporaries, but you might be hard pressed to name more than a couple. Good prose can be challenging, and people don't want to be challenged all the time. I admire Pynchon's writing in Gravity's Rainbow - I don't want every book I read to be like that. Or to put it another way: there are many novels from the 19th century that were massively popular at the time, but totally forgotten about now. They were novels that were pretty average in terms of prose, but had stories that were relevant to people at the time, and gripped them. I doubt if in a hundred years people will still be reading the Da Vinci Code - but I can guarantee books like Infinite Jest, The Satanic Verses, Nights at the Circus, and the like will be attracting critical attention.

InclinedPlane 13y ago

You just have to keep looking. One thing to note is that typically great artists rise in popularity over time while mediocre artists diminish. Looking back in time you tend to only notice the great artists, and in the moment they tend to be lost amongst the weeds. But that's usually how it is, with rare exceptions.