Bride of pointless bits of earth shattering trivia
Yes, I admit it, I couldn't get my act together to write an entry on writing or some other serious topic, so I'm just going to post some odds and ends from my notes.
So, here we go:
Stop using graphic novels as a blanket term for comic books.
Even when a bunch of comic single issues are collected in trade paperback, they are not a graphic novel. They are a collection or a trade paperback.
A graphic novel is a specific, self-contained story told in comic book form.
'Watchmen' is a graphic novel, a bunch of issues of X-men collected are a comic book or a trade paperback. Even if it's a collection of a story-arc.
If that one story arc is the only story the writer did for a series, or a collected mini-series then maybe.
But, otherwise, they are comic books. Graphic novels is a term thought up by people too embarassed to admit that they read comic books and snotty literary critics.
The big literary innovation that has women reading like crazy this year is '50 Shades of Grey'.
So, the answer to the question of 'how do you get people to read?' is 'porn'.
Cause let's be honest, it's not romance, it's porn, and the womenfolk of america can't get enough of it.
Excuse me while I pause a minute to chuckle to myself.
and with any big idea, everyone and their brother scrambles to find a way to cash in.
(see paranormal romance if you need an example)
Can't wait to see how this literary trend takes off.
Gonna be interesting.
Okay, am I the only one that is getting a bit perturbed to come across book reviews on this site where the reviewers use a bunch of pictures to explain how they feel about a book?
On a site dedicated to the written word, you want to tell the world how you feel about the written word using a picture...?
quit that. Even as as irony it's annoying.
Can we stop using the word 'realism' when defending something in a genre not known for it's realism?
If your book, comic or movie includes a magic sword, vampires, guys in capes or time travel, you really don't want to open up the can of worms that is throwing around 'realism' as a defense of that thing.
"The Dark Knight is so good, due to it's realism!"
"Yes, in the genre of guys dealing with childhood trauma by dressing like a Bat fighting evil clowns, it is the most realistic.'"
"Shut up"
Especially because with the 'realism' thing, people only want to apply it to certain genres and only to specific examples.
If you follow up their claim of realism by going one step further and questioning the rest of the (fill in the book etc of your choice) they get really peevish.
"Twilight is great as it mixes the vampire genre with the realism of young girls struggling to find themselves while dealing with the transition from girl to woman."
'They aren't vampires. Realistically, if you've done any research into vampire lore, vampires don't sparkle or go out in sunlight'.
"Shut up."
Weird how many of my conversations end that way.
So, you want realism, watch a documentary or read a history book.
Or you can just admit that vampires, dragons, robots and Superman are cool and fun and I won't have to give you grief.
Let's end on a happy note, as I have been a bit grumpy this time:
I'm enjoying this trend of taking historical figures and/or literary figures and bringing them back in mystery and fantasy books.
Yes, not all of them are great, but enough are and there's a chance it will get more people reading the originals and there's so much potential there.
You gotta love a book where the Three Musketeers play detective.
So, here we go:
Stop using graphic novels as a blanket term for comic books.
Even when a bunch of comic single issues are collected in trade paperback, they are not a graphic novel. They are a collection or a trade paperback.
A graphic novel is a specific, self-contained story told in comic book form.
'Watchmen' is a graphic novel, a bunch of issues of X-men collected are a comic book or a trade paperback. Even if it's a collection of a story-arc.
If that one story arc is the only story the writer did for a series, or a collected mini-series then maybe.
But, otherwise, they are comic books. Graphic novels is a term thought up by people too embarassed to admit that they read comic books and snotty literary critics.
The big literary innovation that has women reading like crazy this year is '50 Shades of Grey'.
So, the answer to the question of 'how do you get people to read?' is 'porn'.
Cause let's be honest, it's not romance, it's porn, and the womenfolk of america can't get enough of it.
Excuse me while I pause a minute to chuckle to myself.
and with any big idea, everyone and their brother scrambles to find a way to cash in.
(see paranormal romance if you need an example)
Can't wait to see how this literary trend takes off.
Gonna be interesting.
Okay, am I the only one that is getting a bit perturbed to come across book reviews on this site where the reviewers use a bunch of pictures to explain how they feel about a book?
On a site dedicated to the written word, you want to tell the world how you feel about the written word using a picture...?
quit that. Even as as irony it's annoying.
Can we stop using the word 'realism' when defending something in a genre not known for it's realism?
If your book, comic or movie includes a magic sword, vampires, guys in capes or time travel, you really don't want to open up the can of worms that is throwing around 'realism' as a defense of that thing.
"The Dark Knight is so good, due to it's realism!"
"Yes, in the genre of guys dealing with childhood trauma by dressing like a Bat fighting evil clowns, it is the most realistic.'"
"Shut up"
Especially because with the 'realism' thing, people only want to apply it to certain genres and only to specific examples.
If you follow up their claim of realism by going one step further and questioning the rest of the (fill in the book etc of your choice) they get really peevish.
"Twilight is great as it mixes the vampire genre with the realism of young girls struggling to find themselves while dealing with the transition from girl to woman."
'They aren't vampires. Realistically, if you've done any research into vampire lore, vampires don't sparkle or go out in sunlight'.
"Shut up."
Weird how many of my conversations end that way.
So, you want realism, watch a documentary or read a history book.
Or you can just admit that vampires, dragons, robots and Superman are cool and fun and I won't have to give you grief.
Let's end on a happy note, as I have been a bit grumpy this time:
I'm enjoying this trend of taking historical figures and/or literary figures and bringing them back in mystery and fantasy books.
Yes, not all of them are great, but enough are and there's a chance it will get more people reading the originals and there's so much potential there.
You gotta love a book where the Three Musketeers play detective.
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Lex wrote: "LOL...good post, Travis. I think the word that everyone should be using, but don't because it's too damned long and no one really knows what it means is --Verisimilitude: the semblance of reality ..."
Bingo!
All I want is the story to set up rules about how the fantasy elements fit with the real elements and for the writers to stick with the rules they created.
If they do that, I'm more than happy to sink into that world go along for the ride.
Every genre has its conceits that we accept, despite the fact that they aren't realistic.
James Bond is no more realistic than Harry Potter.
I admit I'm guilty of this myself! I tend to call them graphic novels when they're collections in one edition.I read 50 shades of grey. It was poorly written but like a guilty pleasure train wreck I couldn't put down. I think sex and controversy sells, I guess. I wish people who keep reading after this but the general population keeps themselves limited.
I agree on the pictures/gifs. They drive me bonkers. I don't get the trend but they seem to draw the crowd for the most popular reviewers. Kind of ironic...
I generally only get annoyed with the graphic novel bit when it's used by professional reviewers or people trying to defend their involvement in writing or reading comic books.We read comic books, and despite what they may say Neil Gaiman write comic books.
If comic books is a good enough term for Jack Kirby and Will Eisner, then it's a good enough term for the hacks that are trying to use comics to get a job in hollywood.
Haven't read '50 Shades', but it always amuses me, because when I make the 'it's porn' comment, you can immediately see who in the group have read it, just by their expressions.
I'm all for anything that gets people to read. I have no real feelings about if the book is any good or not, but just the hoopla around the book makes me chuckle.
Verisimilitude: the semblance of reality in dramatic or nondramatic fiction. The concept implies that either the action represented must be acceptable or convincing according to the audience's own experience or knowledge or, as in the presentation of science fiction or tales of the supernatural, the audience must be enticed into willingly suspending disbelief and accepting improbable actions as true within the framework of the narrative.