Excellent Writing, Revisited

After some discussion of this on HPforGrownUps, a list devoted to discussing J K Rowling's Harry Potter books, I can now say that I at least understand a bit better what people are talking about when they call JKR's writing "Grade B". The thing that helped me understand was the comment of one poster (on Adbooks) about her excessive use of the writing construct: [he/she] said [adverb], as in "she said angrily" or "he said excitedly". Extended a bit, my feeling is that people who criticise her writing are the people who appreciate more elaborately descriptive language. They are the people who prefer "she growled" or "he exclaimed", people who actually read and enjoy the long descriptive passages in some books, passages telling just how glorious the sunset is, or describing the beauty of the twinkling of the moonlight on the new dusting of snow.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with this, now that I understand it. It is just not the thing that is most important to me when I am reading. I am much more focused on plot, on characterization, on the depth and complexity of the story. Oftentimes, I actually get annoyed with the descriptive language, because, for me, it gets in the way of the story. I love Anne of Green Gables, but even so, I am almost embarrassed by her effusiveness at times. I suppose the best thing is to have both effective descriptive language, as well as strong plot, strong characterizations, and a good story. Perhaps that is why Tolkien's Hobbit and Lord of the Rings books are so highly regarded.

I will stick to my opinion that JKR's writing is fine with me. I didn't even notice the problem with the "said [adverb]" until it was pointed out. And the story certainly has depth and complexity, interesting characters, and a strong plot.