What I’m Reading – Burn Notice
Okay, so I give up numbering these things. I’ve forgotten. And I’m changing to titles rather than authors… Today’s offering — a media tie-in.
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Let me preface this by saying I’m a huge proponent on media tie-in. I’m not one of those writers who thinks media tie-ins are hack work. My motto has always been, “You say ‘hack’ like it’s a BAD thing.” Yes, media tie-ins are work-for-hire but are also legally sanctioned fan-fic. I LOVE that.
That said, this book spoke to me in a less than happy way. Mr. Goldberg is an award-winning fiction writer, but it was obvious this book was a paycheck. He’s the brother of the gentleman who writes a lot of media tie-ins for other USA Network shows, and I think that’s how he got this job.
There was nothing technically wrong with the book. It was competently written. It followed the cannon of the show — until it didn’t. Which tells me that Mr. Goldberg watched the show, read the show bible, etc enough to make it work but didn’t have a passion for the show. I know media tie-ins are always the work of people who are fans of the show they’re writing about — but it’s obvious when they are. There’s extra attention to detail. There’s a love – or at least fondness – that comes through like a resonance. There was none of that in this book. There were motions.
Small, weird little things that just didn’t ring right – not to mention the occasional copyedit miss that left the strangest typos. In the first chapter, in the set up, no one caught the dropped “e” in reference to the setting – so instead of “Miami-Dade’s finest” you have “Miami-Dad’s finest”. That made for a snicker or two.
But what got me was about halfway in when there started being swear words – big ones. Non-FCC compliant ones. Ones not seen in the show or established with the characters. Though I’m sure the characters WOULD drop an “F-Bomb” now and then, but since it’s not in the show, it was jarring in the book. This started, it seemed, about mid-way through when Mr. Goldberg did a scene that was “Sam” centric and seemingly in Sam’s POV. Sam, being ex-Navy seal, okay in his head there could be some swearing.
However, what killed me more was in the middle of a seemingly Sam POV, Mr. Goldberg dropped back into the Michael Voice Over — HUH??? I would think Michael could only voice over stuff he was witness too (especially since the book is mostly written in First Person – like the show, though there were a few scenes that were NOT Michael-centric in the show, but didn’t have the voice over). This continued a bit through the back half of the book. Then MICHAEL started with the occasional f-bomb. It was jarring. Very jarring — when I mentioned the swearing to my husband even he said, “But the show doesn’t do that…”
On an upnote, sort of, it did give me a bit of a warm fuzzy in that I read and watch for one major reason – to be inspired. Some books and shows push the “I want to do THAT” button. Some do the “Oh, I can do BETTER than THAT” – and that’s what this book did for me. It’s pushing the “Better than That” Button. As writers, we all have the “Going through the motions” times. We put perfectly competent words on paper. Sometimes they get sold. Sometimes people are happy and impressed by our accomplishments. I’m no longer happy with “competent”. I’m using this books as my carrot to put a bit extra, a little more attention to detail, a spark of passion into my work.
Media Tie-Ins are work-for-hire but that doesn’t mean they can’t have passion. I know several media tie-in writers who don’t do it for the contract, the paycheck, the job – but because they love what they do and they love the property they write about. I wish more were like them.