The Value of Stories

[mabfan]

Has anyone ever told you that you have nothing to say with your fiction, and why don't you just stop writing?

madwriter has the answer to them. Go read his post In Which Madwriter Rants About The "Value" Of Stories.

If nothing else, it includes the most creative use of the Drake Equation I've seen in a long time.

Comments

[fhwqhgads.livejournal.com]

while noone's ever told me that, it's something im terrified of constantly

[lisafeld.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm on the fence about that. Absolutely, writers need to keep writing and improving their craft, and some questions that are supposedly about merit are really about personal taste. But haven't we all complained about big name authors who crank out book after book with nothing to say and no concern for quality? Series that jump the shark and keep going as long as the author can milk it? Authors with brilliant and passionate first works whose sophmore efforts show they may have only had one great story in them?

PS: Forgive my ignorance, but what is the Drake Equation? He mentions it but doesn't explain what it is, how it works or what it implies.

PPS: Sorry to disappoint you, but I think the Prestige is also a matter of personal taste. Uri thought it was great, though, which is very rare for him!

[madwriter.livejournal.com]

In retrospect I wish I hadn't been quite so hot to get that entry down, otherwise I might have been able to go into details about what each letter in the equation meant. ;)