What is it about George Lucas and J K Rawling?

[xiphias]

I mean, let's face it -- both of them are, well, mediocre story-crafters. And the universes they create don't REALLY hold together all that well -- their world-building is, y'know, okay. Their characters are fairly two-dimensional.

But, damn, there's something there. Something about what they create just sticks with you.

What is it?!

I can point to the weaknesses in Star Wars, and in Harry Potter. But that doesn't matter. There's SOMETHING in those that works.

Are there other fictional universes that just, y'know, get you that way? Even if the people who created them are fairly mediocre in their craft?

And what IS it? Can it be learned? I mean, all of you who write for a living -- you've probably asked yourself this question occasionally, too. . .

Is it the same thing for Star Wars and for Harry Potter?

Comments

[goljerp]

Interesting. I read the Tapestry when I was in Israel, borrowed from a friend there who LOVED it, and... well, when I found out that [SPOILER] was [SPOILER], it really ruined it for me. Plus, it was painfully obvious that [SPOILER] was going to be used to [SPOILER]. And while I can certainly read books which take place in a pantheonic or pagan setting, there was something about the pantheon that just... didn't work for me. Kept on getting in the way. I don't know.

In a way I wish that GGK had written a draft of Fionvar, and then put it aside and done more writing... and come back to it. Because I really like some of his other books, like A Song For Arbonne. And Lions of Al-Rassan. Tigana.... well, the whole [SPOILER] thread bugs me, because I really fundamentally don't understand why [SPOILER] just didn't [SPOILER][SPOILER][SPOILER] and at least [SPOILER][SPOILER]. But I still like it better than the Tapestry, I think. I just read Ysabel, and liked that.

Although I don't know if it's fair to call what he does in Song or Lions world building, because of course he's doing a fair bit of filing the serial numbers off of actual events (I was especially aware of it in Lions)... but it's well written and I like it.