Lots of young and new writers complain about the classics. They don’t want to waste time reading anything they don't love because there are so many appealing books to read. The stuff they like to read never wins awards and they don't want to be members of the literati. They want to wind their way through a good mystery novel or let their imaginations take flight on a space adventure. Or maybe they want to get intimate with a bit of romance. These genres rarely end up as classics. You'll find them on bestseller lists, but not on critics' must-read lists. In a hundred years, it's unlikely anyone will still be reading them.
And many writers insist they should not have to suffer through the complex and dated language of Shakespeare or endure a book just because a bunch of academics has declared it brilliant. They know what they like to read, and classics don't qualify.
It's good for a writer to know where he or she stands in the sea of literary categories. While I appreciate fine craftsmanship and have greatly enjoyed many classics and literary works, I also have great admiration for writers who want to write for regular people. You know, people who just like to read and be entertained by a good story. I think this is a grounded and down-to-earth approach, and some of my favorite books have never won awards or been taught in a classroom.
But we should not dismiss such works just because they don't encompass what we ourselves want to write.
The literary elites and critics may turn their noses up at some really fun stories, but they have made it their life's work to analyze and dissect written work and to pass judgment on it. Their word isn't law, but it is reliable and there is a lot of work in the literary canon that will teach you about what constitutes good writing. Does that mean you should spend the next two years reading your way through Shakespeare’s entire repertoire? No. But you should try to work in a few classics and literary works each year, so you can gain an intuitive understanding of what types of stories and styles of writing enter the cultural canon for the long haul.
And it's true—the literary elites can be overbearing with their harsh judgments, highbrow tastes, and disdain for the common fare that is usually found on the bestseller lists and in the genre sections of any bookstore. But they know their stuff. They can identify a good turn of phrase and can pontificate on why another phrase is just lame. They are especially attuned to the richness of language and to stories that address the human condition. If you don't know why they gush at Austen but laugh at Twilight, then go read their arguments. You'll find that they have sound reasoning, even if you don't agree with it.
If you want to be a science-fiction writer, then by all means, stock your shelves with loads of sci-fi. Buy out the science-fiction section in your local bookstore. But don't seal yourself in a box, otherwise your work will become trite. If you're too immersed in a particular genre, your writing will feel formulaic and not in a good way. You'll end up playing by all the genre rules (and this is a key reason why much genre work is ignored by academics and the literary elite—it's too focused on catering to its genre and not focused enough on good storytelling). For example, do we need another epic fantasy with names that nobody can pronounce and that are oddly strewn with apostrophes? No, I don’t think we do.
So yes, you should concentrate on your genre, but don't cut yourself off from the rest of literature. You should read a few books outside your genre each year and make sure you toss in some of those classics for good measure.
Just for Writers
Every time I hear someone say that books about writing are useless, I cringe, and not because I myself write about writing. I think it's fantastic that some writers can sit down and compose a masterpiece having learned the craft solely through reading novels or poetry.
Chapter One: Reading
Start from the beginning
