King vs. Patterson - Round 1

I was actually in the audience for that ceremony, and the comment was greeted with tremendous applause.

Because: King is generous, almost to a fault, with other writers. He is an enthusiastic reader, and he doesn't hesitate to praise. During the interview portion of that night, he raved about Canadian writing, singling out Robertson Davies for special praise. He wasn't lashing out at other authors - he was lashing out at Patterson, and his factory approach to bestsellers. And deservedly so.

I was going to bring this up myself. I applauded him. I would have stood up and applauded, but my wife held me down. She felt it was going too far. I agree 100% with what King said about Patterson. I've been telling my wife for years not to dare pick up a Patterson manufactured piece.

BTW: I saw the young man whose book I edited in the audience. He was taken backstage and introduced to King... had his picture taken, etc.

Digression: I still can't get over the genuine love and respect that Clive Barker showed that night. I get choked up just thinking about it.

Atwood, though? WTF?

willietheshakes said:

He wasn't lashing out at other authors - he was lashing out at Patterson, and his factory approach to bestsellers. And deservedly so.

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But Nora Roberts also has a factory approach. I recently read my first Patterson book and it wasn't my thing. I no longer read Nora Roberts/JD Robb, but I do prefer her work to Patterson's. To me, she's reliable, if not as developed in her recent works as in her early ones. Regardless of personal opinion (which is what King's statement is), both of their works continue to sell so obviously their approaches work well for their audiences.

Namatu said:

But Nora Roberts also has a factory approach.

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Actually, I don't think it's the same thing. Regardless of what you might think of their quality, at least Roberts writes her books (so far as I know). Patterson is a brand now, not a writer: he deals in concepts and farms out the actual writing (while giving cover credit, etc to his co-writers). I think it's that approach that King was ... commenting upon.

And just because it works for his readers doesn't mean it doesn't merit comment.

I've only read two of Patterson's books*, and can't see ANY similarity between the two, no matter how far back you look at each story.



* Honeymoon, and Cradle And All

Patterson's still hauling money to the bank, so I doubt he'll get too upset. I mean, his aspirations aren't aesthetic, are they?

JAMES PATTERSON with Blankety Blank. Give me a break.

Captshady said:

I've only read two of Patterson's books*, and can't see ANY similarity between the two, no matter how far back you look at each story.



* Honeymoon, and Cradle And All

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Try reading some of the Alex Cross books. Then, I think you'll see what King was talking about.

I've read several of his books, but after about five or six (including some of the Cross ones), the entertainment value was...diminished, shall we say? Same thing with John Grisham's lawyer books. I've enjoyed some of the others, though.

To each their own, but I agree with King here.

willietheshakes said:

Digression: I still can't get over the genuine love and respect that Clive Barker showed that night. I get choked up just thinking about it.

Atwood, though? WTF?

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Seriously lovely! But what was up with Atwood? She read an essay that she had written once upon a time that had happened to mention Stephen King. It wasn't a speech ABOUT the man, but actually about something else entirely. Seemed to be honest, a little self centered. Thank goodness Barker stood and said what he did.

On an even further digression, how weird is it we were all in the audience that night but none of us knew each other were there!

I read the Maximum Ride stuff. It was interesting for the first couple of books. The concept was cool. The marketing (cross-promoting with internet sites & blogs) was well thought out. But, after the first couple of books the formula starts to show through.

Regardless of what you might think of their quality, at least Roberts writes her books (so far as I know). Patterson is a brand now, not a writer: he deals in concepts and farms out the actual writing (while giving cover credit, etc to his co-writers). I think it's that approach that King was ... commenting upon.

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Yes, yes, yes! This was my interpretation as well. Patterson has created a franchise out of himself, which I really think isn't going to be good for the rest of us out there (if you read the notes from the recent Sisters in Crime publisher's summit, there are some folks in the industry who think that the franchise is the next big thing). King and Roberts have distinguished themselves as really prolific writers, but they are still writers, regardless of whether or not you find their books wholly original. The fact they've become a brand in a sense is a result of that, but I doubt it was their goal.

grommet

Is there a transcript or video of his speech and others' speeches?

emeraldcite said:

Is there a transcript or video of his speech and others' speeches?

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I found this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=me8xi8q6Wzo

I think it is just his speech, though. (Plan to watch from home later when I can actually turn the volume up loud enough to hear ... )

CaroGirl said:

I was looking for a familiar face in that audience but didn't see any of you!
I likewise agree with King and thought his comment was completely warranted. I definitely noticed the applause. I'm not sure what Atwood was all about. She did seem rather queenly in her "court", when actually it was King's court all the way. He was just great.

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Atwood is like that non-stop. She's Godly, in her own mind.

I think what King is suggesting when criticizing Patterson's formulaic approach is that everything Patterson writes is the same in the sense that he tries to guide the reader to some inevitable twist at the end. Doing this for a couple of novels is OK, but Patterson has done this with almost every novel he (or whoever co-pens with him) has ever written. It gets stale, and I agree fully with King on this one.

I found this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=me8xi8q6Wzo

I think it is just his speech, though. (Plan to watch from home later when I can actually turn the volume up loud enough to hear ... )
__________________

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Thanks, I'll check that out!

willietheshakes said:

Digression: I still can't get over the genuine love and respect that Clive Barker showed that night. I get choked up just thinking about it.

Atwood, though? WTF?

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Is there any transcript or video of the clive barker thing? or, what did he say?

thanks!

CaroGirl said:

Her writing is great, no doubt about it. But her ego about herself makes her less attractive, both as a person and an artist.

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To be fair, and God knows I hate being fair, I read an interview once and she just seemed to let go in this interview. I no longer recall what magazine it was in, but I adored her when I was finished. For that brief moment in time I thought, "Wow...she's okay." But, man... what effort does it take to be like that more often? I just get bitchy now whenever I see her name.

Namatu said:

But Nora Roberts also has a factory approach.

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But she writes her books herself. Patterson does not (and to his credit, he is open about this, and apparently quite fair about paying his collaborators and ghostwriters).

I'm jealous, actually, I mean, truthfully. I would love to put out an original novel every 3 months, pull in millions in royalties per year, & be the head of a publishing empire. I'd love to have a ritzy upscale NY apartment, and invitations to the coolest things around. I'd love a secretary to type my stuff, and a "Story committee" so I wouldn't make the sort of crazy mistakes I always make. I'd love each and every time out, to know that I was giving the public what they wanted. Every author who is sucessfull stumbles on a formula that works for them. These particular writers (Patterson, Evanovitch, Roberts, etc.), all do what I can't do which is write for a living. I have been working on a formula for my own work, however, I also have the misfortune of writing about characters who interest me, and these characters turn out to be too unusual.