As a middle grade writer I am constantly amazed at how many people will take the time to read one of my books and then write a one-star review complaining that they didn't like it because they're not a child.
That’s something I always appreciated about Roger Ebert’s reviews—he tried to engage with what a film was trying to be and evaluate how well it did that
I can't remember how the conversation went. But one time either Siskel or Ebert were saying a movie would have been better if they had done this or that and the other one said something to the effect that "you can't review a movie they didn't make."
One of the best things a college professor ever said to me was after a book review I wrote saying why didn’t they cover this or that instead. He said ‘you’re reviewing the book *they didn’t write* - you need to review the book *they wrote.’* Mind blown, and that lesson has stuck.
My favorite writing analogy is from MST3K's "The Screaming Skull:"
"So they put a tiny bit of plot in a box and just filled the rest with a bunch of foam peanuts. This, for example, this scene is a foam peanut. Maybe two."
Now when I'm writing, I'll ask, "Is this scene a foam peanut?"
Sometimes you don't know right away, though! I wrote a scene in one of my books where a character is walking his (shy, nervous) dog and has to deal with annoying neighbor who doesn't control her larger, exuberant dog.
1/2
Several chapters later, I realized that set me up perfectly to have the love interest walk the dog, run into the annoying woman, and have the shy dog slip her collar and run away, setting up a Big! Emotional! scene of them searching for her in the rain.
2/2
My hubs and I have a rule: don't buy food from a place that doesn't primarily sell food. Gas station candy? Yes bc they sell lots of it so it's not old and stale. Snacks from the impulse checkout aisle at Old Navy? No way.
As someone who now buys his favorite candy bar in bulk online every month or so (credit to my wife for finding it!) because every single time I picked up a couple at the supermarket they were stale to the point of being concrete foam (in flavor and consistency): YES, this rule applies very broadly.
I don't know about milkshakes, but I've gotten some excellent hot dogs at Home Depot... Which is to say some stories incorporate unexpected genres really well
Those are usually independent franchisees that the Home Depot allows to setup their little sabretts cart outside to increase customer goodwill.
Sometimes they also allow some guy with a BBQ smoker trailer to setup in the parking lot, it might make someone think about getting an new grill.
Cari Hunter, @carihunter.bsky.social, this post reminded me of some of the reviews for your books. The ones who after reading your sapphic CRIME Fiction novels deduct a star because there wasn’t enough romance or the people who are SHOCKED that books based in Northern England include English slang!
LOL, I know! "Wow, you picked up a book clearly labelled 'crime,' written by a British author, and you are devastated that the book is not an American-sounding Romance?" I don't think the book is the problem here, Karen.
I wish every time someone typed, "I know the blurb said this book was about X, but" into Goodreads, their entry window would be replaced with their own personal worst "not angry, just disappointed" gif.
I've been writing British WLW crime fiction for ten years and I still regularly devastate readers who prefer their British crime to focus on a romantic pairing and not be so bloody British. I add more British just for them.
Reminds me of when I was little, there was this kid who didn't like me for no good reason. He asked my favourite band, at the time it was Aerosmith, and I told him. His response still blows my mind 30yrs later as he exclaimed with great sincerity and anger
"GREAT NOW I CANT LIKE AEROSMITH ANYMORE!"
I think every genre has at least one example of an "easy out" where people who don't like That Thing (e.g. the easily cleared up misunderstanding) decide it means they don't like That Genre.
Perhaps he was just looking for an easy out, but I dunno, I think he was just such a dumb fuck he couldn't process people he didn't like having anything in common. I wonder if he ever grew out of that shitty attitude.
Somehow a lot of people got it in their heads that ”realism” in storytelling is a first order requirement instead of just another genre with its own conventions.
