“Good
books don’t give up all their secrets at once.”
― Stephen King
Good man,
Stephen, and any reader or writer worth his or her salt will agree with him
whole-heartedly.
Readers
don’t want a dump of info all at one time. They don’t want to be given every
little inside tidbit that would ruin the ending of the story for them. They
want to be teased and tricked, drawn into the story, to become a part of it.
Writers want
to provide them with just that. A tease, a hook and some great entertainment.
So where
does that leave everyone?
In a very
good place. How many times do the giver and receiver actually agree on what
they’re looking for and trying to do?
Consider the
great books you’ve read. Even the not so
great ones. There are hints and suggestions as you go along and part of the
enjoyment of reading is guessing what’s coming next.
From the
writer’s side part of that same enjoyment is hooking the reader, giving that
reader just enough to make him or her want to keep reading; need to know how
it’s all going to turn out. So how do writers do that? That’s not so easy to
explain. You could say they create fascinating, engaging characters against an
engrossing setting with an intriguing problem to be overcome.
I could say
that and probably very few people would know what the heck I was talking about
really. No, it’s much more complicated than that. Each writer is different in
his or her approach. Some create detailed outlines, other fly by the seat of
their pants. Some write with words flowing, others have a movie running inside
their heads. “Just open a vein” some writers say. Others quip, “stare at the
blank screen until blood beads on your forehead.”
Readers just
have to enjoy and maybe leave a favorable or not so favorable review. You guys
have it easy. And, when Writers are in reader mode they have it easy to.
Then there’s
writer mode and things change. If you’re a reader aiming at writer status there
are a few things you should remember. For starters learn the language you’re
writing in. No, it doesn’t have to be perfect, but it can’t be sloppy. Read
other writers you enjoy. Get hints and tips on style and story crafting, but
don’t go the plagiarism route. You’re creative. You don’t even have to consider
taking someone else’s work. But reading the work of the others can give you a
very good feel for story structure, dialog flow and what genre you feel most
comfortable in writing. Get to know your prospective audience. Lots of readers
read in many genres, but each genre is a world onto itself. Learn all about
that world.
Readers –
well I’d like to urge you to support the writers generally and specifically the
ones you really enjoy reading. Think about posting a review somewhere when you
really enjoy a book. Talk about what you liked and maybe didn’t like.
Writers and
readers are a team. So come on, tell us what you love about reading, writing
and what authors you enjoy reading – and if you have the time, why. The more we
share the better we become.
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