Which, let's be frank, sucks.
So yesterday I was done. We got new beds, we discussed at length the fact that he was going to have to start going to sleep without me in there, and then...
I left.
Yup, I left Hot Stuff alone to deal with bedtime all on his own, because I am a wonderful wife like that and he is a sweet husband like that. He stayed home and did the bedtime thing (which, of course, went well since I wasn't here), and I went to a movie with a friend.
So, I could have been going to see Trolls 2 and enjoyed it.
However, I didn't expect to enjoy Knight and Day as much as I did. I'm not a real Tom Cruise fan. His shenanigans a few years ago left a bad taste in my mouth, and I find him at best kooky and at worst incredibly annoying. But say what you will about the man in real life (except please don't bag on his religion, because I can sympathize with belonging to a misunderstood and maligned religion, since, hello, Mormon), he can still carry a movie.
I don't know what it is about him, but get him on camera and give him a role and he nails it. He seems especially good at capturing slightly manic characters, which played very well into this role (and, in retrospect, seems almost humorously self-referential, although I never felt that way while watching).
Which got me thinking about being able to separate people from their craft. There is an author whose books I love. Her writing is quirky and hilarious and adorable, and it makes you want to be her best friend. Except...I've heard that in real life she's downright cold. (I have never talked about this author on my blog, and no, you don't know who I'm talking about.) Does that make her writing any less best-friend-worthy?
Nope.
Just like someone could be the most freaking-holy-crap-I-want-to-be-around-you-forever-and-can-I-please-marry-or-adopt-you awesome person alive and write a really terrible book that you don't want to read, or create characters that you absolutely loathe.
What it comes down to is this: I am not my characters. I'm not even my writing. I've been thinking about this a lot lately as I've been answering interviews (and interviews...and interviews...), and questions about Evie's obsession with the color pink have popped up a couple of times. You know what? I don't really like pink. I never have. Evie, however, can't get enough of the color. Why?
Because she's not me and I'm not her.
The only scene I had to completely change in Paranormalcy while writing the first draft was the one scene in which I wrote myself--how I would have reacted to what Evie was going through. And it was wrong. Completely out-of-character, needing to be edited out immediately and replaced with how she would respond.
Sometimes authors' real life personalities benefit and help promote their writing--take my author crush, Neil Gaiman, as the ultimate example--and sometimes they don't. But I try to enjoy (or not enjoy) books independent of who wrote them, just like I could enjoy Tom Cruise's character independent of Tom himself.
How about you--have you ever been so distracted by the actual author as a person that you couldn't separate enough to enjoy their book? Or have you picked up a book just because you liked the author? It's an interesting problem for those of us who make ourselves more accessible through blogs, twitter, vlogging, etc.
40 comments:
I really want to see Knight and Day—and then I remembered how much I don't like Tom Cruise. I decided I want to see the movie anyway for just the reasons you mentioned. And, hey, it looks fun!
I have had real-life problems with an author that I can't separate from the books. It's kind of a bummer, but then I start to *see* those annoying traits in the books...ugh.
I felt the same way about Tom Cruise, though and I LOVED Knight and Day. Husband and I laughed through the whole thing.
I once read a novel that I absolutely loved. Then, I met the author... and it wasn't that great of an experience. At first, it made me look at the book differently... Then I realized that the novel was still amazing and that I couldn't let one event sway my opinion so easily.
After that, I looked at things a bit differently. Before I started blogging and going to author events, I read anything and everything and it didn't matter who the author was or wasn't. And that should matter to me now: a good book is a good book, period.
I have some people I won't patronize because of their beliefs. I won't contribute one solitary dime to their fortunes.
My main peeve is anyone who trashes military people, but I have others.
That I can understand, Julie. I won't spend any money on anything Mel Gibson again, ever since his anti-Semitism rant.
Sara--I feel the same way. A good book is a good book!
Susan--I get that, too, though. Sometimes it's hard to divorce the author from their writing.
Jordan--It was fun : ) But if you hate it I'm not giving you a refund.
I was thinking the same thing about Knight and Day. I haven't seen it yet, but I was surprised I even WANTED to see it, since he weirds me out.
There is an author I LOVE online, through twitter/blogging, but this person's books just don't live up to his/her online persona. I still read the books, but I like the person IRL so much more than his/her writing. It's weird.
This is a movie I'm excited about. The preview just looked hilarious. And I generally like Tom Cruise in a spy role. This one looks even better because he's quirky.
Thanks for your musings about separating art from the artist. It's an important point, and one that's easy to forget. Though I am pretty sure (from reviews of Paranormalcy and reading your blog) that your personality and your writing are both fun but deep. So there can't be too big a disconnect between the person and what they choose to create.
Oh, and I SO sympathize about the nighttime problems. My 2yo used to flip his toddler bed over and finally fall asleep underneath the upside-down wreckage. He's just now (a year later!) starting to respect bedtime. Kids are fun.
Most of the time, I am able to separate. Like, I will still listen to Chris Brown songs because I like them, even though what he did to Rihanna is appalling.
On the flip side, I love artists even more when I can both enjoy their work AND what I know about their personalities. Like Jason Derulo, who not only possesses some sort of auditory crack, but who also supposedly turned down a $30k concert in order to spend his parents' anniversary with them. Adorable? YES!
Regardless, you bring up a great point, and I hope more readers will learn to be discerning when they consider authors vs. books/characters. I actually think that issue can be harder for the friends/family of the author than the author themself (because we sort of "sign up for this" when we take on the job).
For me, it depends on how egregious the behavior is.
For instance, though it used to be one of our favorite movies, my husband and I were saying last night that it's a shame we'll never be able to watch Braveheart again.
There are some things you can ignore and some things that you just can't forget, no matter how good the actor/author.
Jessica--That'd be an example of an author's personality being a huge bonus to them : ) And it's the risk you run, being available online--have people buy your books because they like YOU, or have people not buy your books because they don't...
But at least they know about them, right?
Katrina--It's true, writing is definitely going to be similar. Although my first two books were suspense/action, and didn't have very much humor, believe it or not.
They, uh, also didn't sell...
Kim--Yes, exactly! The Mel Gibson factor.
Kristan--Excellent points. I think all authors would like people to have your attitude--ignore the things about us you don't like, but count in our favor the things you do! Tee hee.
I have a book sitting on my shelf that I need to finish. I bought it the day of its release and went to an author signing that night. The whole experience left me with a sour taste in my mouth and I haven't touched the book since. (This was late March.)
I know I should finish it sometime, but I'm still struggling to separate my feelings for the author and their publisher from the actual book.
Stephanie--That makes me sad! That's the exact OPPOSITE of what a signing should accomplish.
I did meet an author one time who was so introverted and very shy at the event, it was a bit of a shock considering some of their gutsy characters.
But I was still definitely thrilled to meet them, because it helped me connect with them as a person more (I'm definitely more of an introvert and extrovert), and really think how great their books are =)
Nice post!
Lea--This is the glory of writing: we can be WHOEVER WE WANT TO BE. It's awesome : )
I've tried reading seven novels by an author I love & disliked every single one of them. I love this author so much that I tried seven different times to love their writing too. It didn't happen.
On the other hand, I recently met an author whose series I adored, but the person turned out to be very unfriendly & unpersonable.
Then, there are people like Libba Bray who's an awesome author & person! :D
Even if I don't like everything about an author, I won't hesitate to read something they wrote. But, I do think that I'd be more opening to trying a new book if they author seems like a cool person.
I love this post. It gave me something to think about on a boring day. (:
Great post. I've been thinking about this lately because I read a few posts from an author's blog (who writes amazing books that I love) and she came off extremely pessimistic and conceited. I honestly think that if I had read her blog before her books, I wouldn't have read the books no matter how much other people liked them. So, yeah, I definitely think it is something we need to be aware of. I know I have to be very conscious of what I post on my blog because I have a tendency to be more cynical than I would like to come across.
Cara--SEVEN?? You win the tenacious award! I think you have the ideal attitude, too, willing to give authors a shot but more likely to if you like them.
Liz--This is why author blogs are a very tricky balancing act. You want to be honest, but at the same time you don't want to alienate people or turn them off of your writing. Things like personality and humor are always harder to convey in writing.
I can separate it. East of Eden was life-alteringly brilliant. Steinbeck, um, kind of a jerk. The point being, I didn't DATE him--he's just a misogynistic dead white guy who wrote (imho) one great book. I read five more and stand by my statement of ONE great book.
Meanwhile I can't bring myself to watch Braveheart now, though it was my high school fave, b/c Mel Gibson's shenanigans in the news.
I can seperate the actor from the movie or the author from the novel.
But if I like someone it will make me see a new movie or read a new book.
I try to not to let an actor or author's behavior in politics, religion, or personal matters influence me when enjoying a good story.
If I have read a book already and loved it, it won't make a difference to me how the author is in real life. But I have had a few occasions where I was very excited to read a book, but then I found the author to be very cold and bordering on rude. So I didn't read their book and stopped talking about it.
On the other hand, a few times I have had no urge to read a book until I met the author online. If an author is very nice, I am more likely to want to read their work. But that doesn't mean I always end up liking it. So Does an author's personality make their writing? No, but it might mean if I would read it or not.
This is a great discussion by the way. I always love your posts!
I separate automatically, but I know not everyone does.
My husband read my WIP and said, wow, that character is downright evil. Good thing I know how the creative process works, or I'd be afraid to sleep next to you at night.
I hear a lot of the people I admire artistically and professionally are unpleasant human beings. And some of my favorite people put in their best efforts only to yield unpleasant results. It just goes to show that you are not defined by what you create, no matter how much the successful jerks in this world would like to think so.
Great post (as usual!) and I agree with the general consensus here...I am definitely one to pick up a book because I like the author (can you say "Paranormalcy"!)...and so far I haven't been let down!
I have had plenty of situations where I would willingly read an author's book because they were the hugest sweetheart ever. Likewise, there has been an author or two who was less than enthusiastic (thinking BEA here, since it's one of the few times I've met authors) and, in turn, I was less excited about their book.
But aside from that? I don't really associate the author's personality with their work. But maybe that's because I'm a writer too, so I know how it goes.
I can read a novel with my eyes closed using nothing but a safety pin and a junior mint....
I am right there with you on Knight and Day. My hubby and I just wanted to get out of the house, and we picked it thinking it would be so-so. Then, we laughed the whole way through. I was glad to see Tom Cruise at his best again. Have to wonder, though, will Mel Gibson be able to get over his current reputation/career ending drama? /sigh.
As far as authors go, I will definitely be buying Paranormalcy because of this blog - so yes, I guess it does have a definite impact. I can't really think of an author I won't read because of their personality, but more often than not, I end up buying books of people I meet and like talking to.
This is a really fascinating post - mostly because this is something I think we've all thought about at one time or another.
I feel the same way you do. However, it's always difficult for me to block what I know about the actor/actress/author/etc when watching the character/reading the book/etc.
It's always hard when you really love an author as a person, but are disappointed by the book and have to give an honest, though perhaps negative, review. This has happened a few times, and it stinks when the author reads it and I know they've read it. D:
Overall, though, I firmly believe that we should look at things individually, in these cases.
Usually I can separate the person from the art. I've yet to run into anything like this with an author, but ever since that interview with John Mayer surfaced I have a hard time listening to his music. Same with Chris Brown.
I'm not a fan of Tom Cruise but I did think Knight and Day looked hilarious and I'm glad to know that it is. I guess I'm okay with him too.
I can separate it so long as there aren't any MAJOR personality issues. And that's only because while reading the book I will be thinking about the heinous crimes of the author, not focusing on the writing.
I used to really love a certain author until she went to a book review site and went on a rampage towards the people who were giving her a poor review. I can understand the desire to defend yourself, being a writer myself, but at the same time...I just can't stop thinking about how petty and mean she was. It stopped me from being able to enjoy her work.
It's a little scary, how your blog can influence the reader's perception of you. On one hand, if they like your blog they are more willing to buy your book, but I worry if I say one thing someone takes the wrong way, I have ruined potential readers. How do you cope with that? Especially now that Paranormalcy is almost out (SO EXCITING)?
Woody Allen does this to me. I can't stand him as a person, and since he has a penchant to cast himself in his movies, I refuse to see them. Hubs watches them here and there. I've caught enough snippets to realize I like his sense of humor, but I (repeat) CANNOT STAND HIM.
It's like being handed a gourmet meal - imagine it however you want, French, Middle Eastern, Italian, whatever. It's your favorite meal. It's on a gorgeous plate. The restaurant is cozy and oozing with ambiance. Your companion is DA BOMB. This is the most perfect date ever.
Then someone drops a wriggling, muddy worm in the middle of your plate.
Kinda ruins it, huh?
Woody Allen = Worm
(sorry, getting off soapbox now)
That is a really interesting concept. I think I can separate authors from their work and actors and actresses from the roles they play; however, I know some people who cannot. It seems like they hate a character in a movie and automatically hate the actor or vice versa--it's a shame!
Hmm I might have to see that movie now. :) Also, great topic to discuss. It is true that characters are not like the writer. Otherwise they would not be characters. :)
I was thinking about this very thing at a family reunion this weekend. I tried talking about my writing to some people, and I could see things going downhill rather quickly.
First, I asked my oldest sister if her 12 year old daughter could read some chapters of my book and let me know what bits she likes best. She said "Of course! But edit out the kissing. Your characters are too young to kiss." I was pretty mad. Just because I wouldn't have kissed anyone at 14, and just because I will never let my kids date before 16 doesn't mean my characters wouldn't. It really bothered me.
In any case, I know what you mean. Our characters are really quite independent of who we are, and that's okay. I just wish some of my family members will realize that.
Ahhh! So true!
Many people have problems seperating characters from their authors/actors.
I too have heard of two authors who write the most beautiful novels are really... well, they're jerks in real life.
Which is kinda sad because as you said, all you want to do is run up to them and hug them and adopt them.
But they're not their characters - and you have to remember that.
It's a terrible shame when our heroes turn out to be villains, but dissing a book or a film on the basis of its star turn would be like refusing burgers off the weird guy with the big nose in McDonalds. I like that guy, and I know how upset he gets when people jeer and say, 'hey you should get rid of that schnozz and graft on a burger instead.' If Tom Cruise ever star's in a movie based on this guy's life, I'm watching it.
I've bought books based on the author's personality before. I fell in love with her blog and bought her book and still follow her blog. And she totally comes out in her writing style.
Bottom line for me is the writing style. If my best friend wrote a book and it sucked, I just wouldn't read it again. But if he wrote another one, I'd try reading that one.
I run into this a lot when my friends/relatives beta-read for me. My mother is convinced that every mom I reference in a story is her, and my friends want to know stuff like "why don't you like the ocean?!"
And then I have to explain that I do like the ocean but my MC does not, and no, the evil abusive mother is not based on you, mom <.< le sigh
Excellent post! I have a friend who is the sweetest person alive, yet it's really hard for me to read the things he writes. I've felt bad about it for years because I felt that by disliking his book, I was, to some degree, disliking him. Thank you for assuring me that that's not the case! I tell my friends not to feel obligated to like or even read my book just because I wrote it, and I guess I need to give my other writers the same respect. I am allowed to see them as separate entities from their characters.
(Also, I'm Mormon, too! *Waves*)
Not that I didn't totally enjoy and sympathize with this post, but I just wanted to say
YAY for LDS!!! Me too!! Isn't being LDS awesome?
This topic had been on my mind recently before I read your post. I've thought about it, and, rightly or wrongly my answer is: yes, it does make a difference (except when it doesn't).
There are two authors out there who, have recently said some things that didn't sit well with me. Both are newer (debuted within the last two years) authors, and I have bought books by each of them. The first, a younger author, made a few flippant remarks that she may not have realized are offensive; the other, an older author, is just generally a Judgy McJudgy Pants (about, among other things, her fellow authors--made my jaw drop!).
While I may be more willing to look past (read: buy another of her books) the younger author's remarks, the older one should know better. Neither of them wrote books I loved-loved-loved either, and that makes a difference, too. Their books were good, but...there are soooo many great books and authors out there, so why give my $ to one I find personally distasteful?
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