Laura Jane Williams

[boxoftreasures]

To be fair, there's no such thing as an original idea. Literally every plot line has been done before somewhere...Fifty Shades of Grey is a re-hash of Twilight - both crap. West Side story is a rehash of Romeo and Juliet - both great!

 

[sangariana]

To be fair, there's no such thing as an original idea. Literally every plot line has been done before somewhere...Fifty Shades of Grey is a re-hash of Twilight - both crap. West Side story is a rehash of Romeo and Juliet - both great!

Bridget Jones Diary is a rehash of Pride and Prejudice

 

[Lanavalentine]

Bridget Jones Diary is a rehash of Pride and Prejudice

Yes, but don’t say that on this thread! LJW’s head will be growing just reading this, deciding she’s definitely on the same level as Helen Fielding...

She’s probably already stalking Colin Firth to star in the movie adaptation of Our Stop (which she’ll write, direct and star in herself and then flog £200 courses on how to write, direct and star in a hit movie, of course. Places are limited, so don’t miss out!)

 

[SeaWitch]

Yes, but don’t say that on this thread! LJW’s head will be growing just reading this, deciding she’s definitely on the same level as Helen Fielding...

She’s probably already stalking Colin Firth to star in the movie adaptation of Our Stop (which she’ll write, direct and star in herself and then flog £200 courses on how to write, direct and star in a hit movie, of course. Places are limited, so don’t miss out!)

Hhmmm ... bit less blockbuster, bit more straight to Woolie’s bargain basement dvd bin more like....

(Insert a more modern reference here)

 

[boxoftreasures]

She's also on the same level as EL James though, who's a total hack.
It's the way she writes that is questionable; not the originality of her plots. Every plot comes from whatever books/films/plays the writer has read or seen - that's just how they get inspiration. Some writers can spin classic plots into their own brand of gold. Others...can't.

Not related to her writing or her brand, but I do wonder what happened to all the friends she used to have. Used to be so many pictures of her various pals from her travels on her instagram page and now there are none. Either she's meeting up with them all in secret or she's not meeting up with them at all. I don't think she likes to keep very much in her life secret so maybe she lost most of her friends when she moved out of London. Seems kind of sad.

 

[JammyEmmy]

Yeah think it's fair to say that writers are influenced by outside sources, but when you are just literally ripping off someone else's storyline that's not just a passing coincidence! Like her rip off of The Note.

She fell out with her Superlatively Worderful mate Meg - then sold the story to a magazine. Her #irl mate Emma Gannon, they had a massive fall out, and EG has now done her own novel. Her school mate that was in Becoming, Mary Beth has never been seen again after LJW humiliated her on her hen do. That other girl who she went to the hen do and wedding - long gone. Even the Grandma who she used for publicity has never been mentioned again When she had the shared house in London she used to post about her housemates, then suddenly tried to make it look like she lived on her own?! I think she must be lonely.

 

[Dogleggedhat]

Yeah think it's fair to say that writers are influenced by outside sources, but when you are just literally ripping off someone else's storyline that's not just a passing coincidence! Like her rip off of The Note.

She fell out with her Superlatively Worderful mate Meg - then sold the story to a magazine. Her #irl mate Emma Gannon, they had a massive fall out, and EG has now done her own novel. Her school mate that was in Becoming, Mary Beth has never been seen again after LJW humiliated her on her hen do. That other girl who she went to the hen do and wedding - long gone. Even the Grandma who she used for publicity has never been mentioned again When she had the shared house in London she used to post about her housemates, then suddenly tried to make it look like she lived on her own?! I think she must be lonely.

Do we know what happened with Meg?

 

[boxoftreasures]

Yeah think it's fair to say that writers are influenced by outside sources, but when you are just literally ripping off someone else's storyline that's not just a passing coincidence! Like her rip off of The Note.

She fell out with her Superlatively Worderful mate Meg - then sold the story to a magazine. Her #irl mate Emma Gannon, they had a massive fall out, and EG has now done her own novel. Her school mate that was in Becoming, Mary Beth has never been seen again after LJW humiliated her on her hen do. That other girl who she went to the hen do and wedding - long gone. Even the Grandma who she used for publicity has never been mentioned again When she had the shared house in London she used to post about her housemates, then suddenly tried to make it look like she lived on her own?! I think she must be lonely.

I think we need to stop pretending that the trope of falling in love on public transport was invented by Zoe Folbigg in 'The Note' and just accept that there's a huge appetite for trashy fiction about fancying strangers. It's something enough people can relate to because commuting is so common so there's always going to be stories about it.
In 2014, I remember watching a tv drama called 'The 7.39' with Sheridan Smith in which she had an affair with a guy she met on her commute. That was 3 years before 'The Note'.

Think about the audience that Folbigg and Williams are writing for; working/middle-class women in their 20s and 30s. Likely to be commuting and spending a lot of time thinking about love. They also probably pick up paperbacks for their train journeys from station branches of WH Smith who sell that type of fiction. I'm telling you, it's basic marketing to pander to your audience by creating characters that they can easily imagine themselves as. Who hasn't caught the eye of a handsome stranger on the way in to work and wondered if they should approach him? That's why the Missed Connections section of the Metro was so popular! Someone could've written in about you!
If you want to read light chick-lit by writers like Folbigg and Williams, you're gonna have to come to terms with the idea that the same plots and ideas will pop up again and again - in a couple of months there will be another novel about falling in love on a train. Will that author have copied Williams? No, they're just writing for their audience. As long as there are commuters, these plots will be popular. And probably there will be a new crop of books about people who bond over having lost loved ones to a pandemic, fall in love over Zoom, or similar. Editors encourage writers to write about things their audiences can relate to, simple as that.

 

[ceebs233]

Yeah think it's fair to say that writers are influenced by outside sources, but when you are just literally ripping off someone else's storyline that's not just a passing coincidence! Like her rip off of The Note.

She fell out with her Superlatively Worderful mate Meg - then sold the story to a magazine. Her #irl mate Emma Gannon, they had a massive fall out, and EG has now done her own novel. Her school mate that was in Becoming, Mary Beth has never been seen again after LJW humiliated her on her hen do. That other girl who she went to the hen do and wedding - long gone. Even the Grandma who she used for publicity has never been mentioned again When she had the shared house in London she used to post about her housemates, then suddenly tried to make it look like she lived on her own?! I think she must be lonely.

I would love more info on every single one of these! Espec EG, I didn't know about this whole thing. I'll google but it probably won't tell me anything

 

[sangariana]

I would love more info on every single one of these! Espec EG, I didn't know about this whole thing. I'll google but it probably won't tell me anything

Yeah the school friend story sounds interesting too

 

[Lanavalentine]

I don’t think anyone believes Zoe Folbigg invented the “fall in love on the daily commute” trope... however, The Note is based on her actual life, which I do think makes quite a difference in this situation.

The concept of Our Stop or the newer book also do not fit with the way LJW marketed herself in earlier years. It doesn’t feel authentically her at all, so it’s a bit rich when she touts herself as some kind of hugely original, creative, sex-positive writer who is pushing the boundaries of romance fiction. She’s one of MANY. She’s essentially a glorified ghost writer, typing up whatever common idea her editor gives her, and only vaguely stands out from the crowd because she built up her social media following and wrote a terrible memoir prior to moving to fiction. That’s what’s so irritating about her posturing, course flogging and arrogance - she doesn’t have the talent, ideas or influence to back it up

 

[Calabria]

Yeah the school friend story sounds interesting too

There Was also the gay best friend, was it Callum? He had a run in with the Police, something to do with a faked homophobic attack. I wonder if she distanced after that

 

[boxoftreasures]

I don’t think anyone believes Zoe Folbigg invented the “fall in love on the daily commute” trope... however, The Note is based on her actual life, which I do think makes quite a difference in this situation.

The concept of Our Stop or the newer book also do not fit with the way LJW marketed herself in earlier years. It doesn’t feel authentically her at all, so it’s a bit rich when she touts herself as some kind of hugely original, creative, sex-positive writer who is pushing the boundaries of romance fiction. She’s one of MANY. She’s essentially a glorified ghost writer, typing up whatever common idea her editor gives her, and only vaguely stands out from the crowd because she built up her social media following and wrote a terrible memoir prior to moving to fiction. That’s what’s so irritating about her posturing, course flogging and arrogance - she doesn’t have the talent, ideas or influence to back it up

‘The Note’ has been mentioned so many times on this thread that it kind of makes it seem like everyone thinks Folbigg is some singular literary genius when she’s a dreadful writer, and just as much of an opportunist as Williams. The constant comparisons to her elevate her trash writing. They’re both unoriginal hacks.

I agree about Williams’ new novels not aligning with the image of herself she presented when she first started. Guess she’s changed tack to follow where the money is. I found her more interesting before the novels.

 

[ceebs233]

There Was also the gay best friend, was it Callum? He had a run in with the Police, something to do with a faked homophobic attack. I wonder if she distanced after that

just googled this - wow people have interesting lives (says she sitting googling others!) - and I only knew of him (through her) maybe since 2017 latest I think... whereas his misdemeanours were 2016 so to be fair she def didn't distance after that

 

[Lanavalentine]

There Was also the gay best friend, was it Callum? He had a run in with the Police, something to do with a faked homophobic attack. I wonder if she distanced after that

I think they’re still friends. He recently posted an Instagram Story praising The Love Square and saying she’s the most LGBTQ inclusive straight writer he knows of.

 

[Listerfiend]

Is there anyway to read Laura’s old blog?

 

[sangariana]

You can try the wayback machine, or someone posted some archived on goodreads

 

[LongTallSally]

I don’t think anyone believes Zoe Folbigg invented the “fall in love on the daily commute” trope... however, The Note is based on her actual life, which I do think makes quite a difference in this situation.

The concept of Our Stop or the newer book also do not fit with the way LJW marketed herself in earlier years. It doesn’t feel authentically her at all, so it’s a bit rich when she touts herself as some kind of hugely original, creative, sex-positive writer who is pushing the boundaries of romance fiction. She’s one of MANY. She’s essentially a glorified ghost writer, typing up whatever common idea her editor gives her, and only vaguely stands out from the crowd because she built up her social media following and wrote a terrible memoir prior to moving to fiction. That’s what’s so irritating about her posturing, course flogging and arrogance - she doesn’t have the talent, ideas or influence to back it up

The Note and Our Stop lol tho. I don’t think either of them claim to be Booker prize stuff but I read Our stop first and it was okayyyyy. Felt like it was trying to be something else (perhaps because she was trying soooooo hard to be someone else). And then my friend said it sounded like The Note which was out a few years before and she'd seen on This Morning, based on her true story etc. So I read that. I mean yeah, all stories go back to Shakespeare and fancying a stranger on a train isn’t anything new. But honestly. Whole chunks and ideas were pinched. Laura even called her main guy “Train Man” like the guy in The Note. I have both books, I’ll dig them out when I can be arsed. It’s bleeping *weird*.

 

[erahme]

I think they’re still friends. He recently posted an Instagram Story praising The Love Square and saying she’s the most LGBTQ inclusive straight writer he knows of.

She promoted his book "Eat Gay Love", essentially the LGBTQ+ version of Becoming with less snide remarks about everyone he knows. But an equally tedious and self gratutious read.

 

[Bette Lunch]

Socks and sandals.