What is the best written work ever and what constitutes "good" writing?

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A

A.C

I chose to create this thread in the Movies & Books section because, most likely, the best work ever written is going to be either a book or a movie rather than a video game, a comic, or something else. This is a continuation of another thread I created once which was about how BERSERK stack up to the best works of litterature.

So who is the Best writer ever? Is it the historically well-regarded Shakespeare or Dostojevskij? And if so, which of their work is the best one?

Also what constitutes "good" writing? Is something good because it has metaphors? Is it because it is realistic and natural? What about non-fictional or auto-biographical works? How do you write good about your own life?

For example, alot of people (including famous writers like Stephen King) consider "THE WIRE" to be the best written TV series ever because it goes for realism, and this is certainly true. But on one hand, because it's so realistic it's dialogue is focused on mostly "chat" which is hardly sophisticated or full of metaphors. On the other hand, sophisticated writing which might be pleasant to read could come across as unnatural and people generally don't speak that way. So what are your thoughts regarding what's good writing?
 
Walter

Walter

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Citizen Kane. :troll:

I remember getting into these discussions in college, but the more I learned, the less I leaned towards superlatives in any regard. "The best" anything is impossible to determine. The qualities and classifications that would determine "the best" are subjective based on those reviewing the works. Not to mention giving all major written work a consistent review would be an impossibly huge task.

Laymans would point to the highest grossing work, which would unfortuantely be the screenplay for Titanic. Is that the best written piece of shit... ever? Hardly. Nonlaymans would say Shakespeare, but only ~5% of the world can even truly understand his writing. There is no universal charictaristic to judge these works by.
 
Vampire_Hunter_Bob

Vampire_Hunter_Bob

Cats are great
The greatest writer of all time was the guy that wrought Se7en. I also would like to point out Stephen King can write a really good prison story.
 
Griffith

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
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Walter

Walter

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That is some badass cover art. I can attest that the epicness of the story within is biblical. Still, it leaves you wanting more. And after more than 1600 years, no sequel has come. Kind of a let down :schierke:

Unlike modern forms of entertainment, The Holy Bible doesn't include recaps for previous chapters, so don't think you can just dive in and start off with page 666 or 777. It's also no family affair. One wrong turn and you might run head-first into Song of Solomon, and LOOK OUT, you're in the middle of a saucy love fest.
 
Griffith

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Walter said:
That is some badass cover art. I can attest that the epicness of the story within is biblical. Still, it leaves you wanting more. And after more than 1600 years, no sequel has come. Kind of a let down :schierke:
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What about the Qur'an? And you can't say this series isn't still generating excitement today, I can't wait to see how it ends. =)

Walter said:
Unlike modern forms of entertainment, The Holy Bible doesn't include recaps for previous chapters, so don't think you can just dive in and start off with page 666 or 777. It's also no family affair. One wrong turn and you might run head-first into Song of Solomon, and LOOK OUT, you're in the middle of a saucy love fest.
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I have the solution to all that and more:

51BV0FA8S0L._SS500_.jpg
 
A

A.C

Walter said:
The qualities and classifications that would determine "the best" are subjective based on those reviewing the works. [...] There is no universal charictaristic to judge these works by.
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So what is your idea of good writing? Why do you think highly of Citizen Kane? Would you agree that realistic dialogue or chat like in Reservoir Dogs is better writing than something full of metaphors or something that only ~5% of the world can understand?
 
P

Psymont 2.0

Walter said:
Still, it leaves you wanting more. And after more than 1600 years, no sequel has come. Kind of a let down :schierke:
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Well, technically the new test is a sequel of sorts... so we are waiting for it to be a trilogy... a holy trinity if you will :troll: .... *groan*
 
Vampire_Hunter_Bob

Vampire_Hunter_Bob

Cats are great
Psymont 2.0 said:
Well, technically the new test is a sequel of sorts... so we are waiting for it to be a trilogy... a holy trinity if you will :troll: .... *groan*
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Oh now that I think about it, Isn't the Book of Mormon the un-official sequel?
 
A

A.C

So, metaphors and Shakespeare it is :guts:

What about forum posts? What do you consider a good forum post?

Something witty like this:

[quote author=Aazealh]
Juno's dialog is just so witty, I'd definitely place it above Shakespeare's whole body of works.
[/quote]

Or something full of metaphor like this:

[quote author=Walter]
No.
[/quote]

Or maybe something that only ~5% of the world understands:

[quote author=Griffith No More!]
WIG WUM WIG WUM GOOD WRIGHT EVERYONE UNDERSTAND!!
[/quote]

Well I liked Walters original comment, and maybe that different writing will appeal to people at different times. Yet, it still seems like Shakespeare is considered the undefeated king of writing. So which is the best? King Lear? Hamlet?
 
Aazealh

Aazealh

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A.C said:
What about forum posts? What do you consider a good forum post?
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Those 3 examples are all good posts. I wonder if you know what a metaphor is, though.

A.C said:
Yet, it still seems like Shakespeare is considered the undefeated king of writing.
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In the English language. I feel that detail needs to be specified. :SK:
 
Griffith

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Speaking of writing, you really have to question someone that attempts to parody satire; I've now seen the Scary Movie of posts. =)
 
A

A.C

Aazealh said:
Those 3 examples are all good posts. I wonder if you know what a metaphor is, though.
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An indirect comparison between two or more seemingly unrelated subjects to join the first subjects?

I've now seen the Scary Movie of posts.
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For example, this is a metaphor. I think.

In Walter's quote I was thinking the 'no' could have multiple meanings. but that's not a metaphor. Sorry, I wasn't thinking straight, and half the time I should probably not even post. I usually don't post, but you wanted people to stop lurking and post so I post. I'm thinking if I post, I'll eventually get better at it.
 
Aazealh

Aazealh

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A.C said:
I usually don't post, but you wanted people to stop lurking and post so I post. I'm thinking if I post, I'll eventually get better at it.
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Don't worry dude, you can post all you want. :serpico:

PS: A metaphor is a figure of speech in which an expression is used to refer to something that it does not literally denote in order to suggest a similarity.
 
Skeleton

Skeleton

What is good writing? Good question. For me, it's less is more. I enjoy stories that are written in a very basic way. For example, instead of writing long, drawn out sentences and archaic words, he/she uses simple, down-to-earth English. Hemmingway is a good example of this. Chuck Palahniuk is another great example. I love writers who can sum up pages of detail in a few sentences. "He looked away from the crimson pool of blood. Disgust climbed out of his stomach." instead of "The pool of blood made him sick so he turned away from it, and then he felt disgusted because of the situation he was in."

I also love regionalism. I think an essential skill for a good writer is being able to write in the setting of your story. For example, if you read Mark Twain's works, it reads as if some poor farmer in the backwoods of Mississippi wrote it. That's how Twain intended it. It's incredible.

I'm not sure I'd consider it the best writing but my personal all-time favorite work is Alexandre Dumas' Count of Monte Cristo. Absolutely amazing. It moves me every time I read it.
 
Death May Die

Death May Die

Not the best work ever, but I like "Hot Fuzz." I the movie they will make a pun and later on it'll happen. Shaun of the Dead also did it a few times.

But do any of you know where "Rose Bud" originated from? Might need to be a film freak to know this one.
 
Walter

Walter

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Death May Die said:
Not the best work ever, but I like "Hot Fuzz." I the movie they will make a pun and later on it'll happen. Shaun of the Dead also did it a few times.
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Then why are you mentioning it here? In the thread about the best written work?
But do any of you know where "Rose Bud" originated from? Might need to be a film freak to know this one.
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Walter said:
Citizen Kane. :troll:
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Seriously, who DOESN'T know that?
 
Aazealh

Aazealh

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Death May Die said:
But do any of you know where "Rose Bud" originated from? Might need to be a film freak to know this one.
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It's "Rosebud" without a space. If it were anyone but you I'd think they were joking, but sadly I know you aren't.
 
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