Yesterday while I was pretty much incapable of anything but reading, thanks to the child who shared her flu, I read Flirt. I’ve been tracking all my reading for the year at Goodreads, and I like having some place to track what I’m reading and what I think about it. But for this book, I really didn’t know what to think when I finished. I wasn’t capable of too much thought (see “flu”), but I kept chewing it over in my brain.
Here’s the thing; Laurell K Hamilton excels at creating a world so real it’s easy to believe in, and characters you become invested in. I don’t know how you rate a thing like that, but she’s currently rating it by her income and number of times on the NYT list. I’d say those are pretty good indicators that she’s pleasing her audience.
The ability to emotionally involve and move a reader isn’t something everybody has. I read a lot of books that are technically competent but have no spark. I can read as much as a quarter of the book before I toss it aside because I just don’t care who lives or dies or becomes a Jehovah’s Witness.
There are books that have what many people call flaws or even bad writing. Dan Brown, Stephanie Meyer, and Laurell K Hamilton are frequently accused of this. But when you entertain that many people, get that many readers invested in your story, your world and your characters, it’s hard to say “bad writing” with a straight face. Harlequin Presents novels fall in this category, too. They consistently hit store bestseller lists. They are not what a writing teacher would point to as stellar examples of how to write. Even in RWA’s Rita contest, they usually don’t score well. But they involve and move people emotionally.
That’s difficult to do. If you think it’s easy, really look at how many authors can do it. Then look at how many can do it consistently.
Books today compete with a lot of other media for time, attention and dollars. If I want my books to be the ones readers will pick up instead of playing a game, watching a movie, or looking at LOLcats, I’d better study what Harlequin Presents, Dan Brown, Stephanie Meyer and Laurell K Hamilton are doing. Because those authors are doing what’s nearly an impossible feat; getting a reader emotionally involved and invested in nothing more than printed characters on a page.
Hey, Don’t dis the lolcats. 🙂 I think you do a good job of getting people to care about your characters. I’ve spent many a night staying up waaaaay to late trying to finish one of your books. I don’t think there’s a magic formula, but a big part is you have to care about your characters, if you don’t why would you expect your readers to? Empathy and respect for both your characters and your audience can cover quite a few flaws, don’t you think?
Ann, I love lolcats. *g* This is why I rate them as tough competition for time and attention! I think you’re right, the author has to care about their own characters and their readers. And thank you, I try hard. Every time.
Oddly enough, I was just discussing Stephenie Meyer’s writing with someone last night. I’ve never read her books, but I’ve heard consistently she’s a “bad” writer. Uh, excuse me? The point of writing is to move an audience, not to mirror Strunk and White. Sure, there’s a lot of be said for technique, but it’s so much more important to be able to reach the masses. As I’ve become more aware of this, I’m less concerned with how many sentences I start with “then” and more concerned with the levels of emotion I try to add to my writing. Hopefully if I’m invested, the reader will be too.
Excellent post!
Cari, I read Stephanie Meyer just to see why the uproar, and the books are gripping. In fact, she does a nice trick in creating suspense by starting with a scene in which Something Bad Is About to Happen and then cutting away to chapter one and building to that point. Exactly the kind of thing you’d be told in a workshop not to do, but without it, the books wouldn’t have the same tension. (“Common writing wisdom” says never start with a prolog)
For me, the story is important but, typically, it’s the characters that play the biggest role in deciding my feelings about a story, good or bad. If the characters don’t move and/or intrigue me in some way, I usually won’t make it to the end. Love or hate a character, it’s the feelings they incite that make a book enjoyable for me. I love Stephenie Meyers characters and despite all the flack she gets about her writing, I don’t see anything wrong with it. The formula of a story or how it’s written isn’t really all that important to me, it’s what the content of the book makes me feel that matters. As for Laurell K. Hamilton, I didn’t make it past book 2 in her Anita Blake series because honestly, I just did not like her heroine (at all). As for your books, I’ve only read a few (Night Music, Night Rhythm and Claimed by the Wolf) but every one I’ve read has had incredible characters woven into a very enjoyable story.
Aimee, I have to care about the characters to keep reading, too. Anita Blake does have a lot of unlikeable traits, but she also has qualities that make her heroic, such as being willing to fight for people who can’t defend themselves. I also think the supporting cast of characters in her world is part of what makes the books so successful. And thank you!
I do agree that you have to care about the characters. If you don’t, then no one else will. It took me a while to like LKH’s Anita Blake series. I started with a later book, then had to put it down and pick up the first book in the series. I can’t say that I like Anita Blake or care for her childish behavior a lot of the time, but I do really like the secondary characters. They keep me coming back for more.
Carrie Vaughn is another author who’s good at writing with strong emotional impact. As for Stephanie Meyers, I didn’t think her writing was great, but I also didn’t think it was terrible. She kept me reading with her storytelling…at least through the first book. And that’s all that is important.
Jordan, I love Carrie Vaughn’s books! I’ve been on a Kitty Norville tear. She does a great job of building plot and character and making you care. I agree, a book that keeps you reading is a book that succeeded.
You’re welcome! And you’re absolutely right, supporting casts are an integral part of any good story. I think JD Robb’s “In Death” series is a good example of that, Eve and her cases are enough to hold my attention but without Roarke, Peabody, McNab, Feeney, Summerset, etc., etc., etc. they wouldn’t be near as engaging as they are and while I’d certainly still read them, I wouldn’t be near as enamored as I am. Perhaps I’ll give LKH another try because now you’ve made me curious enough to want to meet her supporting cast 🙂
The supporting cast shifts a little through the course of the books, but you do get attached to them. While I was reading Flirt, I was wondering what was happening with the animator Anita had been mentoring and also thinking that it had been a long time since we found out what was going on with Shang-da and some of the wolves. Once a cast reaches a certain size you can’t get them all in each story, but they do add to it.
Peabody is one of my favorite characters from In Death.
I love Peabody, she’s great for Eve- helps bring her out of her shell. In the Anita Blake books, I like Micah, and Jason (he gives her such a hard time, and has such fun doing it). 🙂