No, this isn't about that TV show. Truth is, I've never watched American Idol, I can't stand the new reality shows. This is about being compared to someone else. What brought this topic to mind was a headline I read, "Is Megan Fox the next Angelina Jolie?" New movie stars are always being compared to the old ones, though I don't suppose Angelina considers herself an old star.
And it's not just actors, writers are being mixed and matched, too. These days, many of the newer crime writers are being called the next Elmore Leonard. Now, I can understand how being compared to a famous author might attract readers to your book but can't that also work against you? I mean, if they're expecting Elmore Leonard and they're reading Joe Smoe's take on Leonard they might never pick up another of Joe's books. So being "the next" could come back to bite the writer in the butt.
The truth is, people like being compared to someone they admire, and readers enjoy finding books that are similar to author's they love, so this trend of comparison shopping will probably never go away. In that spirit, let's have a little fun today. Tell us which author you'd like to have your writing compared to and why. And it doesn't have to be a writer who's been around forever, it can be someone new and exciting to you. Give us your idol.
Don't be shy, I'll go first. As a short story writer I think it would be fun to be compared to Stanley Ellin, especially his short story "The Payoff". In this story he writes a straight through story that completely throws you with the ending.
5 comments:
Andre Dubus was brought to my mind today from Jake's interview. I would like to be compared to him. That, of course, is my wildest dream.
Not so wild, Patti. I'll bet if you ever publish a book of your shorts that's exactly who'll they'll compare you with!
It's funny that you should bring this up, I read a book last week by an author that has had their previous book compared to Michael Connelly on the back cover. Three blurbs down from that one is praise from Mister Connelly himself for that same book, but the book I bought, didn't quite have the suspense and tension of a Bosch novel.
Mind you it was still a decent read, but it didn't really build up until a few pages before the finale.
I'd love to be compared to Dashiell Hammett, that is over his entire career because he didn't just write hard-boiled.
Connelly is an expert at building the suspense from page one and never letting go.
Dashiell Hammett, huh? Now those are big shoes to fill and certainly worth aiming for, Cormac. And how cool would that be? Cormac Brown the next Dashiell Hammett - sounds good!
That would be bliss, indeed.
Post a Comment