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Wednesday, February 10, 2021

And another! And another! (Good Literature)

Yesterday, a Radnoti X sale... THANK YOU! ...and this morning, a Farkas Alpha sale...THANK YOU! Well, that was a pleasant surprise! And so, this is how it sits at the moment (Amazon.com)...


Really, Humanity H2O has been the biggest success for myself connected to this writing market. And that success comes from its readers. Readers are the kings and queens in the world of literature. Whatever they say, goes. It doesn't matter whether the writer believes they have a masterpiece on their hands, it all depends on the readers, their thoughts, opinions, expectations. If, of course, you can sway these things with multi-million dollar advertising campaigns and interviews/reviews in all the right places, you're gonna be successful. I think Dan Brown is a genius hack because although IMHO his writing is [censored] his marketing can't be beat. I have some of his books. I wrote a thesis on 'The DaVinci Code' way back in 2013. 

I created a 'checklist' in this thesis as to whether something can be classed as 'good' literature or not. What do you think?

...this collection of data can be used to analyse and compare any piece of writing from any author from any corner of the globe on a common base, without prejudice or discrimination of any kind. With this list of features, literary work can be compared equally.

Firstly, it can be seen that a literary work of merit must have a collection of elements such as a plot which includes conflicts, the use of known symbols for the reader, and a/many point/s of view to show the story through the eyes of a character/characters. Secondly, the written story should not be formulaic, following some set pattern laid down before in previous works by the same/other author.

Thirdly, there must be some meaning and purpose written under any entertainment features within the literary work, and so there must be something ‘special’ for the reader to take away with them after the reading experience which may/may not effect the life of the reader. If that ‘special’ something is merely the feeling of enjoyment, then perhaps this is enough, to give the reader a positive effect which influences their future actions.

Fourthly, there is mention that the characters and features of the literary work should be based on any experiences and real people from the author’s life, perhaps not as a singular entity, but, for example, as a mixture of people to create one character. The characters and features should not be based on a stereotype or ideal held by any specific group, such as a religious or nationalist group, ie. not be dogmatic or merely ‘art for art’s sake’. There should be something real within the pages of a ‘good’ piece of literature which the reader can believe. 

Lastly, the literary work must be appreciated in some way, by readers, groups, or expert bodies and institutes of literature. There will always be critics of any form of art, but so long as there is someone who recognises the literary work as ‘good’, there is a chance that it is actually ‘good’. 

Looking at this list (from 2013),  there are a few things I would change now to be more specific or accurate due to the things I've learnt since (see tomorrow's post). Any guesses? 

So, Humanity H2O... is it 'good' literature? I'll analyse these points tomorrow.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08H8GNYKP



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