The Biggest Writing Lessons Are Learned from Reading Bad Books
Schools teach the classics. Actually, they force the classics down our throats, but more on that later. Schools teach the classics, and this is intended to teach students about writing, story construction, character arcs, symbolism, foreshadowing, worldbuilding, etc. The problem is students learn none of these. We learn more about writing from reading bad books.
Classics are polished. They have withstood the test of time. They often are regarded as perfect works of literature. This view gives aspiring writers the idea that they can be the next Hemingway or Shakespeare. Worse, aspiring writers will compare themselves to the classic authors and find their own writing lacking in comparison, but it’s an unrealistic comparison. First, most classics were published prior to the 1960s and the novels are full of flowery, sentences that run for a page and a half. Second, the classics generally weren’t pop fiction. They are works of literary fiction, a genre that focuses on complex emotions, theme, prose, introspection and examine the human condition.
By reading bad books, aspiring authors can learn what how to write by learning what not to do. Is that conversation boring? You learn how to write interesting dialogue by avoiding dialogue that makes you yawn. Does that passage make no sense? You learn about clarity by trying to decipher confusing prose. Is the plot uninteresting? You learn how to make your plot interesting by avoiding colorless plots. It’s much easier to fix bad writing than it is to try and destruct classics.
Bad Writing Examples
Here’s an example of bad dialogue. It comes from The Editor’s Blog, a resource for fiction writers and freelance editors.
“Did you get the aspirin, babe? I really need it.”
“Yes, I got the aspirin.”
“And the burger buns. I hope you got those.”
“Yes, I got the burger buns.”
“Did you remember to stop by my mother’s house? She said she had something for us.”
“No, I didn’t remember to stop by your mother’s house. I didn’t remember that she said she had something for us.”
Here’s an example of bad prose. It comes from Aliventures, a blog dedicated to fiction writing.
After a short period of deliberation, they decided to each have a latte. They stood and waited patiently for the barista making the coffees and to bring them over. Dave paid with a ten pound note, as he wanted some change, and put his change in his right trouser pocket. Once the coffees were ready, Jason and his former schoolmate went to find an unoccupied table at the back of the cafe.
Can you see from the above samples what to avoid in your own writing?
Should We Even Teach the Classics in Schools?
The 25 most read books in schools are, in order of publication date:
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
1984 by George Orwell
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
The Crucible by Arthur Miller
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
1To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien
The Giver by Lois Lowry
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
James by Percival Everett
Proponents of teaching classics in schools say the books allow readers to have a better understanding of the eras in which the books were written and that the books shed a light on societal issues. Opponents stress that the classics are full of racist, sexist and other disparaging views that don’t align themselves with the modern world.
While I was once in the first group, I am now in the second. Why did I change my mind? My high school English classes, even my college literature classes, had a very narrow opinion of what was considered appropriate reading. I’m not alone in that experience. A recent graduate told The Standford Daily that she “estimates that 90% of her high school literature curriculum was written by white men, 9% by white women and just 1% by BIPOC (black, indigenous, and people of color) authors.” Looking back at my own education, it was closer to 100 percent white men. Of the 25 books listed above, we read six in my high school classes.
The graduate went on to say that she “never felt that she, her family or her friends were represented in the books taught in school.” She wasn’t alone. The article quotes many others who had similar experiences.
Part of the reason for this lack of diversity could be because the canon hasn’t been substantially updated since the 1960s and 1970s. Canon, The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization, explains, is more than simply a list of books. “It takes form as stacks of copies on shelves in the storage area known as the ‘book room.’ Changes to the inventory require time, money and effort. Depending on the district, replacing a classic might require approval by the school board. And it would create more work for teachers who are already maxed out.”
Canon also goes beyond bureaucracy. Books dealing with gender issues and race have been banned in schools nationwide while other groups are fighting to have books written by women and minorities included in classrooms. Which group will win remains to be seen.