what readers want
The great thing about a blog like Evil Editor's is that it drives home the point that people read for a lot of different reasons. I mean, I'm sure most folks pick up a novel in hopes of getting a crackin' good yarn and being entertained for a few hours. Sure. But what I'm talking about is when you pick a book off the shelf and read those fabled first 150 words. What are you looking for then? What will make you keep turning the pages? This seems to vary wildly from person to person.
It seems that some folks want to be plunged directly into the action. These people I believe are most concerned with plot. They want an immediate hook into it and they don't want any extraneous prose getting in the way of that. They're here for the plot dagnabbit, and they don't want any fancy-schmancy writing coming between them and the next twist or cliffhanger.
There's another group that wants not plot but story, and yes there's a difference. They want all the particulars laid out nice and neatly right up front. Even though they're very concerned with what's going on, they do not like being dropped right into the action like the plot folks. They're willing to take some time to get all the necessary background. Introducing your main character and maybe giving a little background information won't hurt with these readers.
I think there's also a POV group although I really don't understand exactly what they're after. And there are probably other groups as well - maybe someone wants to meet a really memorable character as soon as they pick up a book or someone who wants to see a gorgeous piece of prose (these are people who smell their books instead of reading them). Of course, science fiction has a whole subset of readers who'd like a really clever idea right up front. The truth is there's probably a type of reader out there for almost anything.
For myself, being exposed to all these different tastes and comparing them with my own preferences, I've realized that what really catches my attention is voice. I want to hear the author's voice right up front, and I want it to be unique and different and interesting. "Voice" is one of those slightly intangible things, but a good part of it is style and another part is POV. Tone is in there too. Essentially voice is how the author approaches the reader.
Is the author telling me an old story, a fable, something that happened to them yesterday? Do they speak directly to me with sarcastic asides? Do they frequently wander off into amusing tangents? Are the margins of the book filled with footnotes? Are they long-winded and verbose, filling up their sentences with large and unusual words? Or are they terse and short and sharp, writing short and direct sentences, sometimes even sentence fragments? Stylistic choices aside, what unique perspective do they bring to the table?
To me, these are the most interesting questions when I'm picking up a book. If I immediately sense that the author has something different to say, I keep reading. The establishment of style and voice take priority over the establishment of plot. I don't like a poor plot anymore than anyone else, but I'm willing to take it on credit, at least for a little while, if the voice is good.
But hey, that's just me!
It seems that some folks want to be plunged directly into the action. These people I believe are most concerned with plot. They want an immediate hook into it and they don't want any extraneous prose getting in the way of that. They're here for the plot dagnabbit, and they don't want any fancy-schmancy writing coming between them and the next twist or cliffhanger.
There's another group that wants not plot but story, and yes there's a difference. They want all the particulars laid out nice and neatly right up front. Even though they're very concerned with what's going on, they do not like being dropped right into the action like the plot folks. They're willing to take some time to get all the necessary background. Introducing your main character and maybe giving a little background information won't hurt with these readers.
I think there's also a POV group although I really don't understand exactly what they're after. And there are probably other groups as well - maybe someone wants to meet a really memorable character as soon as they pick up a book or someone who wants to see a gorgeous piece of prose (these are people who smell their books instead of reading them). Of course, science fiction has a whole subset of readers who'd like a really clever idea right up front. The truth is there's probably a type of reader out there for almost anything.
For myself, being exposed to all these different tastes and comparing them with my own preferences, I've realized that what really catches my attention is voice. I want to hear the author's voice right up front, and I want it to be unique and different and interesting. "Voice" is one of those slightly intangible things, but a good part of it is style and another part is POV. Tone is in there too. Essentially voice is how the author approaches the reader.
Is the author telling me an old story, a fable, something that happened to them yesterday? Do they speak directly to me with sarcastic asides? Do they frequently wander off into amusing tangents? Are the margins of the book filled with footnotes? Are they long-winded and verbose, filling up their sentences with large and unusual words? Or are they terse and short and sharp, writing short and direct sentences, sometimes even sentence fragments? Stylistic choices aside, what unique perspective do they bring to the table?
To me, these are the most interesting questions when I'm picking up a book. If I immediately sense that the author has something different to say, I keep reading. The establishment of style and voice take priority over the establishment of plot. I don't like a poor plot anymore than anyone else, but I'm willing to take it on credit, at least for a little while, if the voice is good.
But hey, that's just me!
posted by braun at 10:54 AM
2 Comments:
I agree, the voice is the most savoury portion of a novel and is what grabs me. No tasty voice, my attention wanes.
The voice really encompasses all that other stuff, at least in part. Because you have to have the pov, details, and etc. all working together. Or something like that, lol.
Exactly. Well I'm glad to know I'm not the only one.
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