The Picture of Dorian Gray question

I think all of the truly great writers don't care about what other people will think of thier writing. They just have a story and put it on paper. The critics and fans all disect it but the author doesn't take it too much to heart

I think what all great writers have in common is his or her ability to transport the readers mind into their pages like they are actually there in the middle of the drama. I read mainly any genre of books, and if the writer can get me hooked in the first few chapters of his/her novel, they got me!

I don't. "Literary" writers do character studies which mostly leave me cold. Those have to be truly outstanding, like this book, for me to have an interest.

I prefer plot-driven books, with an emphasis on SF/Fantasy. That means if it has a rocket ship and some action, I'll forgive a lot. Especially if the story involves technology and follows known physical laws. For classics, it takes someone like Alexandre Dumas, highly plot based, or Jules Verne, a mix of the two.

If we're talking about a basic romance or a novel with barking pigs living on the moon, I need to feel that the writer believes in what she's writing. To her, the story should be true, and if it is, then it will be a good book whether the reader likes it or not (see Hemingway).

To make the jump from good to great, this belief must then be backed by artistic excellence (see Fitzgerald), strong philosophical ideas (see Dostoevsky), or both (see Wilde).

Great authors have an ability to truly observe the world and then to relate those observations as truths that make people think and reflect.

I think a good majority of them all had tragic lives (ex. Edgar Allen Poe,Ernest Hemingway,Bronte sisters). Many of them used these tragic factors in their lives, like people or places to contribute to their stories.

Voice. Just tell it well

I would say that most great writes share the trait of having a true purpose in their writing.

To be a truly great author or authoress, you must possess two qualities: knowledge and sincerity. The first you must have in order to convince your audience that you simply, "know your stuff", and the second you must have in order to give your knowledge (your story) the proper packaging it deserves

I do not think we can call great writers great based solely on technical skills such as character development, pacing, plot development and so on. All the great writers put a bit of themselves into the characters. In essense, the more I feel I know about you as a writer through your work, the greater you become as a writer to me.

persistence

Great writers are called 'great writers' for a reason. They share in common the talent to take the reader to the world they are writing about. They share the ability to d dominate among the mediocres. They share the ability to stimulate impulsive emotion in the hearts of the readers.