First, a little titilation for all those people who find my blog because they are googling Inverness Porn.

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If you were expecting something more, you came to the wrong site. Sorry to disappoint you.

Remember, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Feel your boobies!

And now, for something completely different.

I’ve been pondering lately the difference between quality fiction and fluff. Or maybe those aren’t quite the right words…

There is fiction out there, both written and video, that is good, quality, intellectually produced, award-worthy stuff. I’m reading one right now, Ursula K LeGuin’s The Left Hand of Darkness. It is a classic work of Science Fiction. It won awards, including the Hugo and the Nebula.The building of the world, or more specifically, the society, is compelling and thought-provoking. It explores love and relationships, but it is not a romance. There is not much action; it is not a thriller. It is compelling.

But it is not an enjoyable read. It is fascinating, and fulfilling, but it is not fun.

Should it be?

No. Just as there are works of art that are designed to provoke the human spirit rather than please it, there are great works of fiction that are wonderful in their complexity, their subtlety, and their epic greatness.

Ask any runner if they feel like running a marathon in any given afternoon just for fun. I doubt they will say yes. Running a marathon is not just an achievement, it is enjoyable in and of itself. But it is not a casual everyday run.

The Left Hand of Darkness is certainly not a marathon read. Now, Lord of the Rings, that is a marathon! But well, well worth the work.

Lord of the Rings was also made into a fantastic motion picture. More than once, actually. The epic films made around the turn of the millennium are much more fun to watch than the books were to read. Enjoyable in different ways. But the films necessarily removed most of the parts where the books slowed significantly. In story terms, it was important for the reader to feel how much time was passing as the adventures went through their epic quest. The movies condense this.

There are other movies and even some television shows that tell compelling, creative stories. But there are times I’m perusing the options I have via cable and on-demand programming, and I very purposely skip over these great works. Yes, they are worthwhile. They are good. But they are not what I want. I’m at home, I’m taking care of kids and doing housework. The only time I could possibly sit down and watch a show that takes real concentration is late at night, and then I’d rather be either sleeping or writing.  I’m actually choosing something of lesser quality over greater quality because it fits my needs for the moment.

I select books in the same way. Sometimes, I really want something that I can delve into deeply, to analyze and ponder. But when I’m reading for pure enjoyment, I want something fun and light. Other words people use are light reading, fluff or candy. That’s not to say that these books are not quality. There can be good fluff, and bad fluff. Sometimes bad fluff is still enjoyable; think of all those B movies we love to make fun of! I could name some of my favorites, but I don’t want people to think that just because a book is fun, it’s not quality.

I write for myself. I write stuff that I would like to read. Sometimes, while writing, I really wish I could just sit back and read the story, then I remember that I can’t do that because I haven’t written it yet.

I would like to write something someday that is lauded as a great work of fiction. But even more than that, I want to write something that makes people say “I really enjoyed that.” when they’re done reading it. I want them to want more. I don’t want them to vow to read my work someday because everyone says it is great, I want to jump to the front of their to read queue because my book is the one they want to read.

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