Comments on: When Publishing, Go Write A Proper God-Damned Book, Please?

By: Lethe

Lethe — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 03:26:03 +0000

Very enlightening post. Lately I’ve been very interested in the possibilities available to fiction bloggers that novelists simply don’t have. I agree with the commentor who mentioned the autobiographical style, my blogs are autobiographical fiction. But it up to the blogger to keep the reader interested and the story continually open. This prompts the reader further and further on. I would like to challenget the idea that blog fiction ever needs to get resolved. Some novels maintain this open-architecture, but the blog form is even more perfect for it. As for switching between mediums, I can see why blog writers are failing. A novel or a book for that matter is an organic thing.

By: Eli James

Eli James — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 09:38:31 +0000

@Theron: I agree. Blogs aren’t as long-lasting as books, so I guess it’s only natural for bloggers to gravitate towards instant reader gratification rather than the ‘deeper sense of meaning’.

@Eoin: Well, thank God for that. I’m sick of people blasting blooks for not being as riveting/good/wonderful as their blog counterparts.

By: Eoin Purcell

Eoin Purcell — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 16:56:26 +0000

In defense of 20’s book,

The article in question was very hostile and while I wouldn’t call 20’s book a classic, for the genre it sat in it was pretty good.

It also got much better reviews from others too!

Eoin

By: Theron Gibbons

Theron Gibbons — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 13:52:23 +0000

I think that for a blogger to succeed at writing, they will need to use either a diary/confessional with a light plot or else an autobiographical style with a conflict resolution of some form, and that comes down to whether they want to write fiction or memoir.

Also, the mediums can coexist (analog and digital and visa versa), but the issue is one of time. Blogging is mostly in the now, while a book is less so. The writer has to accept that their work won’t be appreciated immediately, that the book must have a deeper sense of substance than can exist in the immediacy, in order to survive.

This would be especially true for a blog who is orienting their book as a work of fiction, rather than a memoir or biographical context.

By: Eli James

Eli James — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 14:14:25 +0000

Thanks, Sharon.

I’ve heard about it, but I haven’t been to any bookstores lately (been reading off friends). So, no, I haven’t read it.

By: bibliobibuli

bibliobibuli — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 11:30:49 +0000

Eli, you’re doing such a good job blogging all this so well.

have you managed to read awang goneng’s book yet? i’m just gobsmacked that it translated so well from blog to book.

By: Mack

Mack — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 08:17:47 +0000

You might consider that these are two very differnt mediums you’re talking about, and one just does not work in the other.