Applegate wrote:So when you can't win, you try to pull the better-than-thou card─because of course, you're the only author on these forums.
Actually, I'm
not the only published author on this forum.
Applegate wrote:What was your argument just now, though? "Just because a book is published doesn't mean it's good"?
Correct.
Applegate wrote:So really, the number of books you publish doesn't matter...
The number of books an author has published stands for the years of experience they've put into learning the craft of writing. Just to put things in perspective, I was first published in 1980; a short story that had to be written on a typewriter because the PC hadn't been invented yet. A single error meant retyping an entire chapter. Back then research meant going out and experiencing it yourself plus spending a lot of time in libraries. I learned to write from actual books and magazines specifically for writing. (Did you know that Writer's Digest has been putting out their magazine, and their how-to books since the turn of the century?) I also learned from experienced authors I actually know personally, as in; I spent time in their living rooms talking about how to write fiction, and from every correction made by my editors. How many years have
you put into learning the craft of writing fiction?
Applegate wrote:...there's no evidence that what you write is actually good.
The only people who need proof of whether I'm actually good or not are my editors, and I am very lucky in that they take their job very seriously. They know exactly what my readers want and their job is to make sure I provide it. They would never allow a manuscript past their desks with such errors in grammar, characterization, plotting, or research as found in those books. Nor will they take manuscripts written in Present tense, or one that has head-hopping.
Applegate wrote:You yourself indicated that success with publishing doesn't equal being a demonstrably good writer...
Correct. However success is not the same thing as experience, though I am successful enough that writing fiction pays my bills. (I quit the day job in 1998.)
Applegate wrote:...and thus your opinion is no better than mine.
Are you saying that you have the same amount of experience that I have in writing fiction? I think not. ♥
Applegate wrote:This is a challenging of your statement to the topic creator that good fiction demands you write in present Past tense. The sources I linked demonstrably say that that is untrue; cherry-picking parts of the woman's argument and ignoring where she continues on to say that it can be done and that when done well it is very good doesn't make it any less true that there are editors (and readers) who believe good fiction can be written in present tense.
Actually your sources said this:
The problem with present tense is that it’s great when it’s great, and when it’s not….*shudder* it’s horrible!
-- ...for
young adult and
middle grade readers, present tense is far more common and acceptable. It’s possible that writing in present tense may even be advantageous in these genres...
--
Writing in Present Tense Might be a Bad Idea
There are indeed editors who believe that fiction can be written in Present tense, but they are few and far between, and of them they insist that it takes an
experienced writer to do it, in addition to a good editor to clean up the mistakes that
will happen.
Applegate wrote:In closing, the argument that "any fiction book is written in past tense" is untrue...
Still beating that dead horse?
Applegate wrote:...and the argument that "editors hate present tense" is untrue (though I grant that some may hate it).
More than 'some' hate present tense.
Applegate wrote:Therefore, anyone should feel free to write in the present tense, even for narration in their story.
Allow me to repeat myself:
-- One should create a VN the way you want to, using any form of free-writing and creative grammar that you please. However, once you try taking such a story to a publisher, all bets are off.