Sep 11, 2009

Books about authors, Part 2

I mentioned this back in the Girl with The Dragon Tattoo post, and promised to follow up on it, so here goes.

I've been seeing a lot of both high-flying and unpublished authors presenting the following sub-plotline:

Character A is an author. He's writing a book. Maybe struggling with it, worrying if anyone will read it, having some writer's block. Definitely passionate about the subject though. Lalalaplotstuffplotstuff. Suddenly, something happens in the plot! And Mr. A's book is suddenly an internationally relevant topic of overwhelming public interest! People are storming the bookstores! Chasing him down for interviews! Women are flinging themselves at him in the street! OMG!

Alternately, Character A is already an internationally reknowned author, and gets piles of respect and opened doors everywhere he goes, thus facilitating his quest. (P.S.- I'm talking about you, Da Vinci Code. You don't fool me.)

You don't have to be a psychologist to see what's going on here. This is the author's greatest (sub)conscious dream playing out. The fantasy that he's playing out for himself every day as he writes, and every night before bed. And really, that's great! I'm glad we're thinking positive thoughts here. But I do find it amusing that these positive-visioning exercises are making it into so many books. Maybe I'm the only one who reads these and says "Ah. Authorial wet dream. Sigh." Or maybe I'm not. In any case, I'm putting it on my cliché list.

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