2008-08-14

pjthompson: (Default)
2008-08-14 10:00 am
Entry tags:

Peace ✇

Random quote of the day:


"Peace has never come from dropping bombs. Real peace comes from enlightenment and educating people to behave more in a divine manner."

—Carlos Santana, interview, Associated Press, September 1, 2004






Like, illustrated version, man. )
pjthompson: (Default)
2008-08-14 12:50 pm
Entry tags:

Is voice more important than worldbuilding?

I know they're both important, and I would dearly love to open this up to a larger forum and hear what others think on this subject. Or perhaps someone with a larger audience might like to take up the question on their own blog?

ETA: Yes, this is mostly a rhetorical question for the purposes of discussion. As I said, both are important.

In my current state of mood, and having read far too many writing blogs for my own good, I'm thinking that voice ultimately trumps worldbuilding.

If book A has breathtaking ideas but writer A can't write h/er way out of a paper shroud, will a tree fall in the forest and still make a sound?

No wait, I said that wrong. How about this: if the worldbuilding is chock full of amazing ideas but the execution is poor, it seems to me the book will probably not sell or find an agent.

But I could be wrong. It has happened before. I'm sure you could come up with a few names as exemplars of good ideas/bad writing who have managed to get published and flourish, but I have to think they are exceptions. Or are they?

Perhaps this is a better example: If writer B, for instance, has good worldbuilding, and is a solid writer, but doesn't have that spark of voice, that fresh way of telling the story, I'm not sure they can break through. Whereas writer C may have so-so worldbuilding, but a fresh and original voice, and gets a 3-book deal.

Or can they? Which is more important--voice or worldbuilding?