Phaedrusnyc

"Curly Sue" happened. posted 03/25/2008 at 12:31:06

Should it matter whether a story is "true" or not? If you care about writers working hard to craft good, "real" stories, it should. Why? Because stories that are supposedly "true" can get away with ridiculous plot twists, cliched motivations and dialogue, and unrealistic situations that would simply never be accepted in fiction- or would, at the very least, be mocked for being hackwork. A writer of fiction can work less hard to make his story "real" if he simply SAYS its "real"- and the Oprahs of the world and their followers will eat it up.
If we live in a world that considers fiction "less important" than non-fiction, a fiction writer, whether he or she writes well or not, ends up in a bind. When publishers believe it is easier to promote "true stories" (and it probably is- call it "The Oprah Effect"), then it follows that a desperate writer of fiction who hasn't had luck selling his or her manuscript might decide that changing a character's name to one's own and claiming that the work is based on "reality" is the proper course. Good fiction and good nonfiction both have a place in the world- many times the best fiction is much more "true" than the best memoirs. But, as long as we allow untrue "true" stories, and as long as the standard of writing in a so-called "memoir" has to meet a lower bar than that of "fiction," good writers and good readers will suffer. posted 03/25/2008 at 13:38:48

Live by the publicity machine, die by the publicity machine. Was it mean to call her the "unsexiest" woman? Sure (though not as mean as a word like "ugly" would have been- what does "sexy" mean, anyway?). But it is no more unfair than spending millions of marketing dollars to convince women that someone who is not particularly good-looking is, in fact, hotter than they are- which is, face it, what has been happening ever since Sex and the City debuted. It's sad, maybe hurtful, now that the Manolo is on the other foot. But, like Liberace, I'm sure she's crying all the way to the bank. posted 03/25/2008 at 14:23:53

I have always adored Carrie Fisher, but the more I hear that people like Pellicano and Courtney Love are her "friends," the more I begin to judge her by the company she keeps. posted 03/25/2008 at 13:03:08

Flagged for self-promotion. posted 03/25/2008 at 12:59:08