I recently read an interesting essay from Liza Libes called ‘12 Literary Opinions That Would Get Me Kicked Out of an MFA Program’.
Liza takes aim at the way ‘the publishing industry increasingly conforms to a dominant mode of artistic craft, convincing an entire generation of aspiring writers that “good literature” must be written in a certain style.’
She counters this with her twelve opinions, and I in turn have made a video reacting to these opinions to see where I agree and disagree.
It covers whether literature should be moral, the obsession with ‘show don’t tell’, if long novels are an anachronism, and much more.
This one seems to be generating some very interesting responses in the comments, so watch the video below and see what you think.
Best,
Nick
Point 7, reminds me of an exchange in a well known film.
When a receptionist recognises the protagonist, a famous author, she asks him:
"How do you write women so well?"
He replies:
"I think of a man, and I take away reason and accountability."
Such a character, in real life, might struggle to find a publisher.