I have never read Stephen King’s novels, mainly because horror books have never interested me. I have no doubt that he is a great writer, though. He has been recognized as one of the most brilliant writers of our time.
He recently gave an interview in which he said of Stephenie Meyer (author of the Twilight series), “Stephenie Meyer can’t write worth a darn. She’s not very good.”
I was disgusted that he came out with such a horrible comment. I understand that a lot of people do not like the way Stephenie Meyer writes, but for such a popular author to just insult her like that is awful. He didn’t elaborate on what he doesn’t like about her writing. Telling someone their writing is horrible is not constructive criticism. I think he should have just mentioned exactly what he doesn’t like about it and maybe something she could do to improve.
Criticism like that feels awful, no matter how many books you’ve sold and how much money you’ve made from them. Stephenie Meyer is a popular author; book sales prove that. But to have someone as famous as Stephen King insult your writing like that has got to feel awful. There are so many more tactful things Stephen King could have said instead.
Just imagine if Stephenie Meyer had said that Stephen King’s writing was horrible. I doubt people would have the same reaction. More people would be outraged. I am sure she would be receiving flaming all over the Internet. But when Stephen King says that Stephenie Meyer can’t write? People all over the Internet are laughing about it and saying they agree with him.
Stephen King may be a better writer than Stephenie Meyer, but I have a lot more respect for Stephenie Meyer. She isn’t giving interviews where she insults fellow authors. Stephen King But the fact that he insulted Stephenie Meyer like that makes me even less likely to read his books. I’ve lost some respect for him.
Filed under: Harry Potter, Other Books, Really Grinds My Gears | Tagged: Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling, Stephen King, Stephenie Meyer, Twilight
Yeah, I don’t like it when celebrities insult each other. Grow up.
That sucks. Maybe he’s just jealous that Twilight went to theaters and had high ratings.
I agree with you completely! So much so, that I will not read any more of his work. He hasn’t written anything good in years — his books now seem to just be an exercise in total word count. To be so disrespectful to a colleague is unacceptable.
So I just heard about this whole Stephen King ‘dissing’ Stephenie Meyer thing, and I have to say, I agree with King. After reading the first book in the saga, I’d say that Meyer isn’t a good writer. She often writes things in a way that are awkward to read, and she repeats the same descriptive words over and over, which just gets irritating.
Also, King was just being honest. He wasn’t going out of his way to attack Meyer; he was asked a question, and he answered it. He also called James Patterson “terrible,” and said that Dean Koontz can be “just awful.” I don’t see anyone criticizing King for giving his opinion on them.
The only reason people are flipping out about the Stephenie Meyer thing is because the books are wildly popular with teenage girls. Twilight is a fad, that’s why people are bent out of shape. Patterson and Koontz are established, and their fans are confident in their success. To me, it sounds like fans of Twilight are simply afraid that King might be right.
Besides, he never attacked the concept of the books. He admitted that they are valuable to understanding the emotions many young girls are experiencing. All he said was that she couldn’t write well.
“She isn’t giving interviews where she insults fellow authors”
Obviously because you don’t throw stones in green houses do you?
King has earned the right to insult whatever book he wants. No one should have to censor themselves just because they are famous.
It’s called constructive criticism. King has gotten absolutely hammered in the media for his work which has been called many unflattering things. Having said that and having read early and later Stephen King works, you can see a progression were all those unflattering comments have made him a better writer and in the long run have encouraged him to improve his skill set. But also, somebody asked his opinion and he gave it and didn’t hold back, kudos to Stephen King for his honesty