In today’s Times, Carol Midgely says it is women’s magazines that are the worst culprits in feeding women’s obsession with trivialities. Endless features on appearance, clothes, ‘beauty’ treatments, plastic surgery ops to keep looking ‘good’, botox. They are, she says filled with articles on ‘which celebrity has put on a little weight’, who has ‘wrinkly knees’. (Don’t laugh. A recent magazine felt it worth spending column inches on the state of singer Lulu’s knees.)
But don’t bash the mags. They need to sell, and they do. By the million.
All they are doing is feeding the monkeys what they like best. Because, Carol M says, “they are overwhelmingly bought by women who gorge on the details like famished dogs on a bone.”
THANK YOU CAROL!
Now. Flip mentally to the FICTION that might occasionally appear in these magazines. Or mags like them, aimed at the same market.
And, imagine a writer who writes that stuff working in a writing group focussing on literary fiction (whatever that is… but it sure ain’t what appears in these things). And wait for the sparks to fly. In both directions.
How unpopular I have made myself, many many times… because I would NOT have womag writers in The Workhouse. Or for that matter, any writer focussing on ‘pulp’ genre work. Maybe it will change now, but I hope not.
It’s not a popular notion, but I believe that writers need to work with other writers working in the same broad area. Because then, they are speaking the same language when giving and receiving critiques.
Sure, mix it up for a bit of fun, exposure to other genres if they interest you. But then find your own kind and grow.
Think about poetry, if it helps. Would you expect a writer who wanted to compose rhyming couplets for birthday cards to contribute well to a group of award-winning contemporary poets?
And would the contemporary poets spend hours discussing the merits or otherwise of:
When I look into your eyes,
My love is true, my dear,
It’s being with you every day
That makes me glad I’m here.
I don’t think so.
Rest my case. For both parties, the marriage would be dreadful.
Carol Midgely’s article HERE
PS: Hey… you can get money for poems like that… where’s the phone book…
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
.JPG)
17 comments:
I belong to a writing group of both literary and commercial fiction writers. Many of us write both, and very well. I, for example, have had work published in The Weekly News, and have also been successful in Fish's short story comps. I find that being open to all sorts of fiction is a decided advantage. More 'strawberries and cream' than 'chalk n cheese'!
Hello Ros, I am delighted that the mix works for you all, and wish you continued success.
For me, it would not, and I am sure the writing world can bear both approaches.
Play with the monkees and you'll get fed peanuts.
D
Now now, Mr Bruton!
But tell me, is it the same in the world of lad lit, horror, and so forth? Do you find writing colleagues mixing the genres, as much as women try to?
Interesting question. How about a piece that won the weekly Cafe Doom flash comp and then went on to be shortlisted in the Fish One-Pager? The story was "Visiting Time", BTW, just in case you remember it! Definitely a genre piece - although maybe that's why it got no further than the shortlist.
From my point of view, I'm keen to try literary, genre, whatever, just to see what works and what doesn't. To close one's mind off to a particular avenue seems odd.
There is genre, and there is well written genre. I enjoy all sorts of well written prose. Check out GUD. Great work and mostly genre work. Including a story from yours truly.
I choose to work and share critique with writers who are aiming at the same targets as me. Because then, we know what we are talking about when we analyse each others work.
If I applied the same criteria to a story intended for a coffee break yarn in a womens mag as I might to a piece by Nabokov or Calvino, I would be wasting that writer's time.
And my own.
Aint got no probs with good writing, wherever it be, Jonathan.
Fish One Pager winner was a historic short story. Historical fiction is a genre.
Among the runners up, published, were one fable and another historical piece. Two more genres.
My own runner up one pager last year was a fantasy/surreal piece.
many congrats on reaching the shortlist.
Fair enough! I was about to go off on one there ...
No probs. Say hello to Ed at Cafe Doom. I had a flash in a comp there a while back. Didn't win, don't think!
But going back to the tussle which invariably surfaces when writers say how they would like to work, ideally... because it is taken as an insult or summat by supporters of whichever area the writer says they don't really want to focus on -
I agree with you. Writers can have fun, explore, try things out.
I said above:
"Sure, mix it up for a bit of fun, exposure to other genres if they interest you. But then find your own kind and grow."
Once you find where your heart is, then settle, and work. And then some.
I've got a problem with this statement:
Now. Flip mentally to the FICTION that might occasionally appear in these magazines. Or mags like them, aimed at the same market.
The magazines mentioned in the article do not, ever, carry fiction. The magazines which do carry fiction are not aimed at the same market as the ones mentioned in the article. Sure, they are all aimed at women, but, and I am sure you will agree, Vanessa, not all women are alike.
Readers of My Weekly, one of the best fiction mags on the market, tend not to buy Closer or Heat. Readers of Now wouldn't be seen dead with a copy of Woman's Weekly.
Thank you for your post.
...FICTION that MIGHT occasionally appear in these magazines. Or MAGS like them, AIMED AT THE SAME MARKET.
By that, I mean the (usually female) reader who is obsessed with trivia. And who cannot 'get' a character unless they are told by the writer exactly what the character looks like, what they wear, who their boyfriends are. Where they have their hair done, and what conversations they have with the guy who colours it. What colour their flouncy bedspread is. And so forth.
Sure, there ar e a huge range of magazines aimed at all markets.
I would not however, agree with your statement "My Weekly, one of the best fiction mags on the market."
How would it compare with Prospect? The London Magazine? The Paris Review? Glimmertrain?
Maybe it is one of the best women's commercial fiction weeklies on the market?
Chalk and cheese.
Sorry, yes, I meant one of the best women's commercial fiction weeklies on the market.
I mean the (usually female) reader who is obsessed with trivia. And who cannot 'get' a character unless they are told by the writer exactly what the character looks like, what they wear, who their boyfriends are. Where they have their hair done, and what conversations they have with the guy who colours it. What colour their flouncy bedspread is.
Not sure who you're referring to here, but it sure ain't the readers of My Weekly and the like. Try sending them a story with characters described as above and it'll be sent back by return of post.
I have a sneaking suspicion you're not a regular reader of women's commercial fiction magazines. And that's ok - if you don't like them, don't read them. But don't diss them either. I don't diss the literary mags. I buy them sometimes, enjoy some of their stories and miss the point of others.
Fair comment.
Above removed for typos...
It is interesting though, that you don't want to say who you are. I know I've managed to get up your nose before. I recognise the pseudonym. You've wagged your finger at me several times from behind that name.
Like you, I don't 'get' some literary fiction, not instantaneously. But I still enjoy the challenge, being made to think, being shown life in a new light. I sometimes enjoy the poetry in the language. And usually the work bears reading twice, three times, and I enjoy seeing new things each read.
Maybe the stories in My Weekly give you the same enjoyment. That's great. Maybe your work is therein. Again, that's great. Congrats.
As I said above, there's room for many different approaches, in writing. My preference was to work alongside people who were attempting to break into the same market area as me. And it is what I'd advise any writer to do, once they've found where they want to aim for. Because it worked for me.
Won't work for everyone, of course.
Yes, there's definitely plenty of room for people to work in lots of different areas, in writing. That's the truly great thing about this game, isn't it?
And yes, norton only comes out of the woodwork to wag a finger when he sees someone bashing womag fiction.
(I do read many of your other posts though, have smiled congratulations at your successes, and followed your progress with interest.)
Ta. The name makes me smile. The keeper away of nasty viruses, like Vanessa.
Post a Comment