Lately I find myself revisiting a lot of old favorites. Movies I’ve loved for years. Books I’ve read and reread dozens of times. Because I know I won’t be disappointed and that they’ll give me just what I’m looking for.
Oh, I haven’t stopped seeking out new authors or new movies. I’ll never give that up mostly because I am an eternal optimist. It’s the same optimism that for years wouldn’t let me give up on a book I’d started … just in case it was one or two pages from getting to the good part. *g*
Last night I watched a movie I had been looking forward to for a while. It finally came up on my netflicks list and I put it in the DVD player with anticipation. I just knew this movie was going to be good.
The story was interesting. It was about the illegal diamond trade in Africa.
The acting was good.
The plot was exciting, filled with events that should have been compelling, told in a manner that should have kept me on the edge of my seat.
But I didn’t get what I was looking for. In fact, I stopped watching with around 45 minutes left in the film. Why? Because I didn’t care about what happened. I wasn’t invested in seeing any of the three main characters through to the end of their arc.
And this morning I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about just what could have been done differently. How could I have been made to care about the characters, enough that I would have finished watching the movie.
For one thing, if I had been able to get to know any one of these characters intimately, to feel what s/he felt, care about what s/he cared about, that might have done it. Unfortunately, it seemed like the characters in this film were flat, in place only as vehicles for the plot rather than growing and changing individuals whose lives I could imagine continnuing after the end of the film. Instead, I turned off the DVD and forgot all about these people.
Am I unique in wanting this level of involvement from the films I watch and the books I read? I don’t think so.
So tell me, what is it that makes it good for you? Take a look at your keeper shelves and figure out what it is that makes one book or movie an old favorite and destines another for the used book bin or the charity pile.
Then tell me what I can do as an author to make you care.
Written by Kimberly Gardner
As early as the seventh grade, Kimberly remembers slashing her favorite rockstars and reading romance. So it’s not surprising that her two passions, romance and putting pretty boys with other pretty boys, should come together in her writing. Moliere said, “Writing is like prostitution. First you do it for love, then for a few close friends, then for money.” Kimberly is delighted to finally be doing it for money.
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Kimberly Gardner » FWF wrote,
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Link | February 17th, 2008 at 11:09 am
Lidyah wrote,
Don’t lie to your reader.
Don’t promise something in your blurb, and cheat you reader. Too many of my favourite authors have just disappointed me lately with their stories. I’m not going to pick on them; just deliver what you promise.
Keepers: Chris Owens - Adagio and Julia Talbot’s - Perfect
Movies: Lord of the Ring Trilogy and I am Sam
Then tell me what I can do as an author to make you care.
Make your characters real, make them connect to your readers. Don’t make them one dimensional or stereotypical. Write with your own ideas, and originality. Show effort.
Link | February 18th, 2008 at 5:20 pm
Kimber wrote,
Thanks, Lidyah, for the advice and the recommendations.
I always try in my writing to make my characters as real and three-dimensional on the page as they are in my head. I want my readers to remember them long after they’ve read the last word and to be able to imagine them living outside the story.
With regard to blurbs, it’s often harder to write a blurb than it is to write the story, at least for me. I guess brevity isn’t one of my strenghts. *g* And I can certainly identify with the frustration of being drawn in by a clever and well written blurb only to later be disappointed by the story itself.
I think that we, the writers of those blurbs, sometimes forget that they aren’t just marketing tools but promises to our readers. And promises are made to be kept. Thank you for that valuable reminder.
Link | February 19th, 2008 at 5:53 am
Lidyah wrote,
I want my readers to remember them long after they’ve read the last word and to be able to imagine them living outside the story.
Well said. Very well said. As a reader I want to remember your characters too. If I don’t then it defeats the purpose.
You’re welcome Kimberly, your BLOG posts have been a delight to read - and you’ve touched on some topics I have ranted to myself on a daily basis. It’s nice to see an author being honest. Blurbs are the only thing we readers have to go on - so it’s only fair we get an honest portrayal of what the story holds.
Link | February 20th, 2008 at 6:50 am