Hi! Welcome to Kate’s Quickies!
Nothing matters more to me as a writer than spinning a tale that takes my reader far from their everyday world. Someday I hope to craft a story so engrossing my reader can’t bear to turn away until they close the book and then I want them to sit there for a moment and wish it wasn’t over. Have you ever felt that way when you read a book?
As a reader I want the author of every book I buy to succeed. I want the author to craft a tale so seamlessly I’m inside their protagonist’s skin visiting a compelling story world that takes me away. Show me a new way to look at my world by allowing me into your protagonist’s world and I’ll happily go along for the ride.
Lisa Cron author of Wired for Story does a beautiful job of explaining why we humans crave a good story and how to go about creating and crafting one.
I try to learn as much from the works that don’t move me as the stories that do but sometimes I can’t quite put my finger on why a particular book didn’t work for me. I think now I’ll be looking at what I’m reading through another lens. Each chapter ends in a checklist of skills in which to judge your own work.
Hook my brain into your story, your book, and you’ll have a reader for life:) I’ll try my best to do the same for you. Check out Lisa Cron’s equally terrific website and blog: Wired for Story | The Writer’s Guide to Using Brain Science to Hook Readers from the Very First Sentence
If you’d like to share a great book you’ve read recently, and share your thoughts about what makes for a great story, please do.
Enjoy your weekend, breathe and go write something good!
Kate~
For me, it’s all about the characters. You can have a decent plot, but if your characters grab me, I’m with you all the way to the end. If the plot is amazing and grips me from the beginning and the characters are just so-so, chances are I’ll read the last two chapters and put the book down. I tend to fall in love with the hero and if the heroine is kickass, then I always want to be her.
Well said, Tameri! The plot can be a tad iffy but if the characters pull me in, I’m with you. I always want to be the kickass heroine too. It’s a fun escape. LOL