Allowable reader responce was Re: Disapointed in Potter?

[lupinlore]

No: HPFGUIDX 127767


--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "justcarol67" <justcarol67 at y...>
wrote:
>
> 
> Carol responds:
> But your not liking something JKR does is different from JKR making a
> mistake. If Lupin doesn't play a large role in HBP, you have every
> right to be disappointed. You also have a right to be disappointed if
> Snape isn't punished, a position that I find disturbing and that I
> will never agree with. (At least we agree that the less we see of
> Grawp, the better.) But neither of us can justifiably say that JKR
> made a *mistake* because she didn't take our preferences into account.

That depends on what you mean by an author making a mistake.  You are
certainly correct that no author can poll their readership
periodically.  But, readers can have ideas about what constitutes good
writing and what constitutes bad writing.  And bad writing, for an
author, is a mistake by definition.  Now, it also stands to reason
that the definition of bad writing is very subjective.  What one
person sees as a mistake is perfectly fine to another person.  Does
that mean it is wrong to call it a mistake if that is your honest
opinion and perception?  Absolutely not!


> 
> I may well lose my affection for the Potter books if they don't end
> the way I want them to. I may even sell them or donate them to the
> library. But I'm not going to say that JKR was *wrong* not to heed my
> preferences. Who am I to dictate to her? (Yes, I'm an editor, but not
> *her* editor!) 

I am the person who plopped down my hard earned money for the book,
that's who.  As such, I have every right to express my opinion with
regard to whether I find the book well-written or poorly written,
whether I think certain plot points are mistakes or works of genius. 
Now, does JKR have to listen?  Of course she doesn't.  Do I have to
buy the book?  Of course I don't.  Do I have an absolute and
undeniable right to speak my opinion on what I find to be mistakes and
bad writing, you bet your last dollar I do, and I most certainly will!


> 
> Please don't think I'm dictating to you or anyone else what can be
> said on this forum. I'm just reminding you of the difference between
> opinion and fact, and between your judgment and JKR's. If you expect
> the books to satisfy your hopes and preferences in every respect, you
> are bound to be disappointed. JKR can't satisfy every reader, and no
> single reader is going to be happy with her treatment of all events
> and characters. Try to look at the books objectively, as works of
> literature, as the product of the writer's imagination or her craft,
> rather than dismissing them as uninteresting or "wrong" if they don't
> meet your preconceptions of how they ought to be written. You are only
> one of millions of readers, and your tastes are exclusively your own.

There is no objective approach to a book.  To say otherwise is a
rhetorical stance that might be a convention in certain sectors but
really has nothing to do with the reality of reading.  Every approach
is ultimately based on one's personality and emotional make-up.  As
such, some people will see things as uninteresting, wrong, and yes,
mistakes.  And those perceptions are perfectly valid.  And it is
perfectly valid to express them!  Does anyone have to read the book?  
No.  Does the author have to please everyone?  No.  Do people have an
absolute right to express themselves as to the mistakes and poor
judgments they perceive in the books they read?  Absolutely and
inarguably!  Is that fair to the author?  Absolutely! It is part and
parcel of the writing business and if an author doesn't like it, they
are well advised to find some other line of work.  All you can ask is
that a person be honest in their opinions.


> And the same is true for me and for all of us.
> 
> I expect that I'll be disappointed in some aspects of HBP and even
> more aspects of Book 7. JKR can't possibly want what I want for every
> character. But she will only be "wrong" if she violates her own rules.
> As long as the plot is credible within the bounds of the secondary
> world she has created, as long as the characters' actions are in
> character, she is perfectly "right" to write the books as she pleases.
> And we are "wrong" to call her decisions "mistakes" if she follows her
> own rules.
> 

Well, we will have to disagree on that one.  There is no "wrong" in
reader response as long as the reader is honestly expressing his/her
own perception and judgment.  And that includes perceptions and
judgments of what constitutes poor writing, i.e. mistakes.  This will,
of course, lead to a flurry of widely varying opinions and criticisms,
some of them severe.  An author might well get confused and depressed
over it, if they are paying attention (which they do not have to do).
 However, it is part and parcel of the writing culture, at least in
America, and writers are well-advised to suck it up and get used to it
and learn to deal with it in their own way.  Certainly paying no
attention to critics is a legitimate method of dealing with this
situation.  That makes the criticisms no less legitimate, however.


Lupinlore