What Keeps Me Turning Pages
My agent always says to make sure you have lots of "sizzle" in the first ten pages of a novel, the first 30, the first 50. Because if you are going to hook a busy editor, it better be up front. Every page, he says, should be a page turner.
And he's right.
One of my writers' group members is GENIUS at moving the story forward. If he can't see the sense of a scene, no matter how funny or well-written or brilliant, it gets cut. And I've learned to do the same, with him as my guide.
But what keeps me, as reader, turning pages? I think about that a lot because I am often asked in interviews "What do you read?" The truth is, I read a lot of quantum physics and religious texts. Nonfiction. I read one fiction book a month for the book group I am in. And I read a few authors I know I love, but who are completely out of my genre, like Neil Gaiman.
However, when I had a lot more free time, oh, like four kids ago, I read fiction voraciously. And what kept me turning pages was always character. Yes, I would race to see what happened in the plot. Did he save the world? Did she catch the killer? But if you look at those two things, I didn't word it as Was the world saved? Was the killer caught? A "he" and a "she" achieved that.
Character, for me, keeps me turning. I fall in love with them, and want to know all their quirks, their past, their oddities. And the plot can't bore me to tears, but even the best plot in the world can't hold my interest if I don't care about the characters. I can remember, even before I could truly articulate why I didn't like it, a book by a very famous, million-, zillion-selling author. He sticks a lot of sex in his books, a lot of racy, edgy stuff, so maybe that's why he sells. But I remember one book had a great plot involving terrorists. And I also remember it had so manay characters, none of whom I particularly cared about. I ended up caring about one cop, but I would skim over scenes between his because none of the other people seemed to matter to me. I knew I never wanted to be a writer like that.
I have to care.
So, what keeps you turning pages? Who is on your must-read list?
And he's right.
One of my writers' group members is GENIUS at moving the story forward. If he can't see the sense of a scene, no matter how funny or well-written or brilliant, it gets cut. And I've learned to do the same, with him as my guide.
But what keeps me, as reader, turning pages? I think about that a lot because I am often asked in interviews "What do you read?" The truth is, I read a lot of quantum physics and religious texts. Nonfiction. I read one fiction book a month for the book group I am in. And I read a few authors I know I love, but who are completely out of my genre, like Neil Gaiman.
However, when I had a lot more free time, oh, like four kids ago, I read fiction voraciously. And what kept me turning pages was always character. Yes, I would race to see what happened in the plot. Did he save the world? Did she catch the killer? But if you look at those two things, I didn't word it as Was the world saved? Was the killer caught? A "he" and a "she" achieved that.
Character, for me, keeps me turning. I fall in love with them, and want to know all their quirks, their past, their oddities. And the plot can't bore me to tears, but even the best plot in the world can't hold my interest if I don't care about the characters. I can remember, even before I could truly articulate why I didn't like it, a book by a very famous, million-, zillion-selling author. He sticks a lot of sex in his books, a lot of racy, edgy stuff, so maybe that's why he sells. But I remember one book had a great plot involving terrorists. And I also remember it had so manay characters, none of whom I particularly cared about. I ended up caring about one cop, but I would skim over scenes between his because none of the other people seemed to matter to me. I knew I never wanted to be a writer like that.
I have to care.
So, what keeps you turning pages? Who is on your must-read list?
posted by Erica Orloff at 6:42 AM
7 Comments:
I love Neil Gaiman! He's an amazing storyteller. It makes me crazy, though, when I'm not reading two books a week. (Considering I'm practically working two jobs, I've been crazy for quite awhile now.)
I'm reading and loving the details in Marcus Sakey's debut, The Blade Itself. My must-read auto-buy list is Barry Eisler, Tess Gerritsen, Nora Roberts, Joe Finder, and John Burdett. And you, of course!
It is the characters for me too. The plot could be very small as finding the neighbor's cat or as big as saving the world, and as long as the characters keep me entertained I'm good to go. =D
Hi Spy:
Neil Gaiman is definitely a storyteller. In American Gods, he makes this truly extraordinary plot seem . . . amazingly personal. And it all starts with the character.
E
Hi Kelly:
I agree. I have read books that are really about the ordinary yet, by virtue of being very witty, keep me hooked because of the voice of the main character.
E
I'm more of a plot person - and the pace/action has to be fast. However, I do need to care about the characters too. It's hard for me to separate, but if I had to say one or the other it would be plot.
sara:
I know how intermingled they are, but I guess for me yet another weary detective or yet another cop fade away, whereas an unbelievably different character like Sonchai Jitpleecheep in Bangkok Tattoo sticks with me, even after the details of the plot fade away.
E
Character does it for me. A plot is more compelling when driven by character motivation, rather than the characters simply reacting like puppets on a string.
I don't really have a must-read list. If I hear something is good, I'll pick it up. I like to read a variety of authors, always looking for something new. Andrew Vacchs and Loren D. Estleman are a couple of my recent faves.
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