I am not a prude.
I just wanted to say that up-front so you don’t misunderstand what I’m going to say in this post. And there is something else…
I don’t like to be critical of other writers.
Other writers are welcome to write what they want to write. It may not be my ‘style’, but that is not something I choose to fret about.
With those two things said, I wanted to explain one of my goals as I wrote “Arnie Dufner and the Purple Principal!”…one of the things that may make the Arnie series a bit different from many of the books you will find ‘out there’.
It may sound strange, but my primary goal in writing the Arnie Dufner series is to just tell some good stories. That’s what I focus on. I want to create stories that grab my readers and take them on a fun and interesting adventure. I focus on the “story” and keeping it “clean”.
See, that’s the part about sounding like a prude, isn’t it?
What I mean is that, while it may be fine for other writers, I just don’t care for stories that rely on what to me are “titter-gimmicks” to grab readers. I’m talking about the now-common practice of writing about using language that might feel “risque” to younger readers and writing about bodily functions and other things that are used in place of just creating a really imaginative story.
Between you and me, I have to sometimes shake my head when I see parents providing those books to their kids and then getting upset when those kids choose to talk about and echo the language and behavior in the books. It has to be confusing. If it is okay to read it, why isn’t it okay to say it?
It is clear that these books are popular, simply by looking at the sales numbers and the streaming programs made from the books. I guess if I really wanted to get Arnie Dufner in that level of books I ought to rethink my approach.
Nope.
I have no criticism of those who write those types of stories, but I chose another path. My goal is to create stories that:
1. Are good enough stories that I don’t need to use gimmicks to entertain my readers.
2. Are stories that grab and challenge the imagination instead of creating “titters”.
3. Are stories that take us on an adventure that is positive, and cause us to dream big dreams.
If that makes me a “prude”, then okay…I’m a prude who likes good stories.
