So what makes a good book?
And I’m not talking about it from a writer’s standpoint or an editor. Or even a book publisher. I’m talking about us as readers–let’s face it, I don’t think it’s possible to be a writer of novels and even short stories without being a reader. It’s how I started, devouring novels and short stories, suddenly realizing they didn’t show up in a vacuum but normal people (well maybe not) write them.
In writing I try to understand what readers want–not that I shape my stories around that. We’ve talked about that and I’m never sure just how in control of a story I am. Still, I want to infuse into my stories what I crave as a reader. So what are the magic ingredients?
Characters. You have to have a character(s) you can root for, or even against. You have to be able to identify with something about them. Are they just so cool you can’t help wanting to read about them? Or are they flawed and quirky, like me, such that I can feel for their failures and strife and have to read to see if they can make it? Or that dirty rotten . . . (you know where I’m going), that just better get his/hers before the end of the book because they’ve screwed over so many people they have it coming.
Yeah, characters are paramount and they can’t be two dimensional or you’re never going to get into them.
Sure everyone admires the superhuman hero/heroine who’s always one step ahead of the baddy and saves humanity, and gets the date, but how real is that? How soon do I get bored if the hero is always on top of things? I don’t know about you, but my days don’t go that way very often. I’m usually working my way through my day being challenged by work and home, having to figure out how to fix the broken down car while dealing with some family thing and working in a trip to the vet because the dog ate something nasty he shouldn’t have. My life is full of strife and I rarely have all the answers right away.
Neither do real heroes. I love to get lost in a character who has to make things up as they go, or has to wade in even when they know it’s a trap, but time’s ticking down and they don’t have a choice. And it’s even more fun when your characters are limited by their own faults and idiosyncrasies.
It’s the way real life works and while I love the fantasy genre, I need realism for my characters or it’s just another sword slashing fest with the guy with the square chin winking as he wades through impossible odds never breaking a smile or sweat.
I don’t buy it either.
Okay, this ramble went on longer than I’d planned so we’ll break this up into more discussions.
Craig