Let’s Talk About Meg Cabot Instead
Since no one has accused Meg Cabot of plagiarism, let’s talk about her for a second. The same author who gave us Princess Diaries provided the best quote I read yesterday here . And, again, no one has accused her of stealing it from someone else, which made the quote even more special.
“That’s my calling,” [Cabot] says. “To put the blowjob back in literature.”
Beautiful sentiment, isn’t it? Seems Cabot is leaving the kingdom (sort of) behind for a second or two and coming out with something a bit more, shall we say, mature. It’s called Queen of Babble. Kirkus Reviews describes the May release as a ” Chipper European romp for adult girls who have graduated from The Princess Diaries.” Chipper? I guess that means funny.
Cabot also provided my best laugh of the weekend when I read her blog entry about writer do’s and don’ts at booksignings. Basically, she talked about how fellow authors need to stop acting like freaks. The entire entry is here, but my favorites are:
-Under #2 DON’T BE A WEIRDO she says of those authors who insist their characters made them do something:
And I find myself going, “Uh-huh. Really? Your characters actually talk to you? That’s so interesting, because you know, I made my characters up, so they can’t talk to me, because they ARE NOT REAL.”
The truth is, authors, characters cannot act and think independently of you because they are FIGMENTS OF YOUR IMAGINATION. When your character says or does something, it is because YOU MADE THEM DO IT. Your characters DO NOT ACTUALLY EXIST except on paper and in your head.
-Under #4 DON’T BE SUCH A BIG BABY - and this is my favorite - she says:
Often when I go on a book tour I hear from booksellers about authors who were in their store the night before, who are also on a book tour, and who signed so many books that they had to ice their hand. Very often, these poor, tender things needed to have a bookseller stand next to them to flip the books open for them, because their little author fingers are too precious and weak to do this task themselves.
Authors, seriously: Unless you are physically challenged, Harper Lee, JD Salinger, Beverly Clearly, or some other beloved but aged author, YOU MUST STOP DOING THIS. It just confirms what the rest of the world already thinks about us: that we are a bunch of badly groomed little namby pamby prima donnas with spirit guides who think our characters are real.
This is why people love Cabot…
April 28th, 2006 at 8:09 am
I loved this - thanks for posting!
April 29th, 2006 at 1:23 am
Ok, yeah, she’s funny, but, like, she must not be reading very many romance novels or erotica these days, because they’re all about the BJ and the Big Gulp these days. (Personally, I could do without either of those, because imho, they’re guy fantasies, especially the BG, and I like to read for *my* fantasies). I liked the Princess Diaries 1, the movie, but she is a plagiarist, example: Ice Princess which is a total knockoff of the Cutting Edge, plain and simple. I don’t think she even gave credit to Cutting Edge, so what’s that all about? I can’t support writers like that. I’d hate it if someone did that to me and can’t believe she’s not getting sued. My daughter, who’s in the age brackette(sp?) Cabbot writes for, doesn’t like her at all. Anyway, it’s jmho, but I think she’s about 5-10 years too late on putting the BJ into books. She needs to read more and get out more.
May 2nd, 2006 at 1:38 pm
Heh, it was just announced that Kaavya Viswanathan may have possibly lifted from Meg’s Princess Diaries, too.
You might just be a little psychic, too *grin*
May 2nd, 2006 at 5:16 pm
Somebody should put the BS back in Meg Cabot. I’m sick of her superficiality.
May 2nd, 2006 at 5:35 pm
Meg Cabot rox the sox…no lies. Jessica; your just crazy….
May 2nd, 2006 at 7:13 pm
Meg Cabot wrote the first forty drafts of Ice Princess, which is nothing like what’s on the screen. I happen to be a friend of hers, and I know this for a fact. I’m not sure what you think you’re picking on because I don’t see anything in what you’ve posted that is offensive or stupid on Meg’s part. She didn’t write the movies, and they didn’t follow her books at all. The Princess Diaries has always been aimed at a mature teenage audience, and have grown up with her readers. A BJ only seems like the next step, and I for one am glad she’s not only writing about it but adressing why she is.
May 2nd, 2006 at 9:00 pm
Gotta say that Cabot’s Do’s and Don’ts blog entry made me laugh out loud. Her bottom line, I think, was that authors should stop acting like pampered prima donnas and weirdos. I agree. And, really, I’m thrilled Cabot is writing more books that fall within my reading choices and include more adult themes.
Don’t know what to say about the Princess Diaries issue except that I find it very hard to believe Cabot has a plagiarism issue. I haven’t read the book or seen the movie, so I’ll defer to Alexa since she has personal knowledge here. But, I do have to throw out the warning that this is a sensitive area and everyone - the public, publishers, authors and readers - should tread carefully and only make allegations when armed with compelling evidence because there’s too much for an author to lose. Please, please, please.
May 2nd, 2006 at 9:34 pm
I’m sorry, I hope I didn’t imply that Meg Cabot was a plagarizer. I was citing this article:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060502/ap_en_ot/young_author
which claims that at least one paragraph in the Opal book bears a striking resemblance to Meg’s Princess Diaries. And I got a little giggle at the irony that in a post where you announced that because of the Opal issue, you’d focus on Meg, and then lo and behold, Meg gets dragged into the mess.
I haven’t seen Ice Princess, but seriously? Have you been to a Hollywood movie, like ever? Most movies can be compared to one that’s gone before…. There’s a huge difference between using a familiar theme and copying someone else’s words.
May 2nd, 2006 at 9:55 pm
Lara Rose - You didn’t. Your comment earlier today made me smile. Also sent me looking for articles on the topic. Thanks for providing the link. The additional plagiarism charges against the Opal book are, well, enough to make me sigh all day long. Very upsetting. Viswanathan has now lost her book deal and movie deal - a pretty awful and expensive lesson. Also hard for a 19 year old to handle, I’d think.
I was actually talking to another person who commented and directly stated a belief about the movie based on Cabot’s book. I understand it was only an opinion, but it’s one we are all very sensitive about at the moment. Just asking that we all be a bit careful on this subject.
May 3rd, 2006 at 2:55 pm
I totally agree with Alexa. Anyone who reads Meg Cabot’s Blog (which I encourage everyone to do) would know that the only contribution Meg actually HAD in “Ice Princess” was the Zamboni Guy. The writers, producers, etc. changed everything else that Meg contributed. This is not opinion, but FACT. She jokingly refers to her experience in screenwriting (i.e. “ICE PRINCESS”) quite often and almost always makes a point to mention how the film did not hold true to her original screenplay.
Meg is a talented writer with a gift for connecting with her audience. She is not superficial. She’s actually quite funny. She is one of a small number of authors with the ability to make me laugh out loud until I cry. She’s a jewel in the writing community…NOT a plagiarist.