Don't Be Too Hard on Stephen King, Twilight Fans

In a recent interview Stephen King labeled both Stephenie Meyer and James Patterson as not being very good writers. But before fans of both get into too much of a snit, please give King some credit for knowing something about the craft of writing.

What Meyer and Patterson both know is what kind of plot and details appeal to their readers. Their books are fast reads that skimp on character development and literary devices. King just has the nerve to say so.

King is right on about why Meyer's audience loves her books. He calls her storytelling "compelling" (Serpe).

The same can be said about Patterson's books. His story Sunday at Tiffany's, coauthored with Gabrielle Charbonnet, has stock characters. But the book, fluffed up with short chapters consisting mainly of dialogue, moves quickly through the plot. As in the Meyer novels, titillation substitutes for suspense.

In Sunday at Tiffany's the heroine's love interest Michael is a lot like Edward Cullen of the Twilight series in that he is not human. He is an imaginary friend from Jane Margaux's lonely childhood.

Both Meyer and Patterson write fantasy and leave out the realism. As King notes (Serpe), this sort of book appeals to inexperienced readers. It may also appeal to experienced readers who have had too much of a dose of reality in their thirty or forty something lives.

An accomplished author such as Stephen King has earned the right to critique other popular writers. Read Gina Serpe's article "Smackdown of the Week: Stephen King Vs. Twilight's Stephenie Meyer" and you may find that you agree with him. Then when the evening news is getting you down, pick up a Patterson or Meyer novel and leave it all behind for a while.