I think it goes beyond genre even - whether something is 'bad writing' depends on your criteria. I read pretty widely when I worked in book retail, incl things that, by subject/genre alone should have been my thing, but which I found unreadably badly written. The thing is, they were hugely popular
If more people learned this about media and kink, I think the world would be a happier place.
For me bad writing is when someone can take a premise I find intriguing enough to pick up the book & totally waste it with dull, clumsy language & incoherent characterisation. But for people who are reading just to get a story told to them in a low effort, easily digestible way, those books land
I don't wanna single out authors here, cos inevitably they'll be someone's fave, but what I call 'bad' writing is often inarguably 'successful' writing, which is a different criterion. Doesn't make me think the writing is any less bad, but what I consider 'good writing' isnt what those books are for
Feb 2, 2026 21:31
