There Is No Great American Novel – Jayne Ann Krentz Quote

Stop asking if I’m going to write the next great American novel! There is no great American novel!!!

Ok. That was a dramatization. Still, it’s pretty much how I’d react if people said that to me all the time.

You’ve read those conversations, haven’t you? As soon as someone hears that the character is a writer, they say, “Gonna write the next great American novel?” (cue elbow nudge and wink). It’s definitely a major book trope, but I’m pretty sure I’ve never had that experience in real life (I think I’d remember…).

Come to think of it, is that really even a goal? Do writing students really think, “I’m gonna write the next great American novel”? Do writing teachers really push that idea?

If they do, they need to read this Jayne Ann Krentz quote. It dismisses the concept beautifully:

There is no Great American Novel… This nation is too big and too diverse to produce only one great book. We’ve got lots of them, and there will be more written in the future. Art doesn’t stand still.

I love that. I also love that it comes from a romance author, a genre that doesn’t get much respect, especially from teachers focused on high literature (and, apparently, writing the next “Great American Novel”).

Although, of course, that means they’d probably dismiss the quote simply because of the source… assuming that literary pretension exists.

As far as pursuing a writing career in a realistic way, however, the idea of making the “next great American novel” sounds horrible. In fact, it sounds like self-sabotage.

How can you write anything when you’re focused on achieving an unachievable goal?