{"id":4640,"date":"2012-12-04T05:45:19","date_gmt":"2012-12-04T10:45:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.communify.me\/newvinegrowing\/?p=4640"},"modified":"2019-06-07T13:39:41","modified_gmt":"2019-06-07T17:39:41","slug":"guest-post-by-margaret-yang-you-dont-want-me-in-your-book-club","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.communify.me\/newvinegrowing\/guest-post-by-margaret-yang-you-dont-want-me-in-your-book-club\/","title":{"rendered":"Guest post by Margaret Yang: You Don\u2019t Want Me In Your Book Club"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Author
Author Margaret Yang has learned that you don’t want her in your book club.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\nEveryone thinks it\u2019s cool to have a published writer in their book club. That is, until they try it. I\u2019ve been invited into countless book clubs, and actually joined a few of them. I always dropped out at the first opportunity.
\nWhy? Because writers ruin it for everyone.
\nThe first problem is that we\u2019re so darned picky. It\u2019s the great irony of our profession. All writers started writing because we love books so much. But the more we write, the less we like what we read.
\nAt book club, I was the Debbie Downer who sucked the fun out of every story with her unending criticism. I\u2019m sure I was only criticizing the books, not the people who chose them. I am equally sure that it didn\u2019t feel that way to the people on the receiving end.
\nThe second problem is even worse. No matter how much we adore a novel, we always see the support structure. Readers only see the graceful dancing marionette. Writers see the exact place the strings are attached to the puppeteer\u2019s fingers. We can\u2019t help it. Once we learn the tricks, we can\u2019t unlearn them. Worse, we can\u2019t stop talking about them.
\nI remember one night at book club when my friend mentioned her shock at Dumbledore\u2019s death in the Harry Potter book<\/a>. \u201cWhat?\u201d I screeched. I may have even banged on the table a little bit. \u201cHe\u2019s the mentor character. The mentor always<\/i> dies!<\/a>\u201d I looked around the room at eight blank faces. These were super smart, very educated women who read all the time. How could they not know this?
\nThey did not know this because it is outside their experience. They are top-notch readers. They understand books. They\u2019ve just never written one.
\nReaders see novels from the inside out. Do I like this character? Can I relate to the situation? Does the story move me?<\/i> Writers see novels from the outside in. Are the plot points in the right place? How does the author show character growth? Are the stakes high enough?<\/i>
\n
\"Margaret<\/a>
Margaret Yang and her writing partner, Harry Campion, write together under the pen name M.H. Mead. Their new book, “Taking the Highway,” launched Dec. 1.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\nRegarding the eight blank faces at book club, I tried to explain. I talked about Obi-wan Kenobi<\/a>, Mickey the trainer from Rocky<\/a>, and Mufasa from The Lion King<\/a>. The mentor dies in the middle of every coming-of-age story. But that\u2019s a good<\/i> thing. It allows the hero to grow up. The blank expressions turned to understanding.
\nA few people shifted uncomfortably in their chairs. Someone changed the subject. Someone else gave me a dirty look. They would never be surprised by this particular plot twist again, and it was all my fault.
\nI ruined my next book club at the very first meeting. The evening started well. Wine and conversation flowed easily. I liked these women, and they liked me.
\nEverything was going great until, once again, someone mentioned her surprise at the death of a character. Not a mentor this time, but a lovable minor character (another fictional type with a short life expectancy<\/a>). \u201cBut Fred had to die in that scene,\u201d I piped up. \u201cOtherwise, the reader wouldn\u2019t understand how dangerous the situation really was. When the hero is in the same situation later, you should feel death in the air.\u201d
\nAs soon as the words left my mouth, I regretted them. I was met with the same blank stares followed by hostile murmurs. \u201cBut I liked<\/i> Fred,\u201d someone said in a small voice. I liked Fred, too. I didn\u2019t want the character to die. But I understood why he had to. I\u2019m not heartless. I\u2019m just a writer.
\nAnd you do not want me in your book club.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Everyone thinks it\u2019s cool to have a published writer in their book club. That is, until they try it. I\u2019ve been invited into countless book clubs, and actually joined a few of them. I always dropped out at the first opportunity. Why? Because writers ruin it for everyone. The first problem is that we\u2019re so darned picky. It\u2019s the great…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":11551,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[54],"tags":[337,1549,1639,1684,2280,2503,2819,2820],"yoast_head":"\nGuest post by Margaret Yang: You Don\u2019t Want Me In Your Book Club - Newvine Growing<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/staging.communify.me\/newvinegrowing\/guest-post-by-margaret-yang-you-dont-want-me-in-your-book-club\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Guest post by Margaret Yang: You Don\u2019t Want Me In Your Book Club - Newvine Growing\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Everyone thinks it\u2019s cool to have a published writer in their book club. 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