Image Credit: Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos.
Everyone has their own tastes in books and stories, of course. The publishing and literary world would not be so interesting and extensive if we all read the same thing. Genres would disappear and creative imagination would be limited to whatever it was we all read. But there are elements in books and stories which cross all genres. These are the things I look out for whenever I read any kind of story, regardless of its word count.
Crucial Ingredients For a Cracking Read
- Characters readers root for.
- Sustained tension throughout the story. You don’t want characters let off the hook until they resolve things right at the end.
- A worthy opponent (can be another character of course but it can also be a goal. Sometimes, as in The Lord of the Rings, it is both – Frodo has to destroy that accursed ring in the fires of Mount Doom and avoid Sauron who is trying to get his ring back and is renowned for not liking to be refused!).
- A satisfying ending. Doesn’t need to be a happy one though it often is. Does have to be appropriate for the character and the situation the author has put them in. Having said that, most readers including me prefer “good” endings in that most of us like to see justice done (especially in crime stories) or to at least leave the story knowing the conclusion did offer some hope. Very few like stories with such negative endings there is no hope. There are enough dispiriting stories on the news! I am all for books and stories being an escapism from all of that.
Character -v- Plot
It’s no secret I am firmly on the side of character in this debate. A great character can help a weak plot. I’ve never known a weak character do anything useful for a great plot. Indeed, for me, such a character would scupper the plot. I want to find out what happens to the character so if I don’t care about them, I am unlikely to read on.
Naturally all writers want great characters and great plots. My way in though is to focus on the character. I do have to know what drives them. I have to know what would push them to their limits. I need to know some attributes such as their level of education (and through that the language they are likely to use). I have to know what it is about them readers are likely to get behind (whether it is to cheer them on to succeed or fervently hope they fail. Readers like “good” villains”!).
So the best stories for me then have characters who are memorable, make mistakes, overcome them, go on to fulfil their quest etc but I have to see those characters struggle to get there. Nothing worthwhile comes easy in life. Fiction should reflect this, otherwise nobody would willingly suspend their disbelief ahead of reading a book.
Short or Long Form Fiction or Both?
No surprises here. I go for both. I’ve written both (though my novel remains unpublished to date). Naturally I will always have a soft spot for the short fictional forms as they gave me my way into being published.
The advantages of the short forms are they make for a good gripping read and you can read more of them in the time available for reading! Short stories and flash fiction can have huge emotional impacts on readers (and the authors!) simply because the word count is smaller. Undiluted fiction in a way, if you like.
For a novel, while writing and reading it takes far longer, writer and reader have the advantages of being able to dig deeper into characterisation and there is far more room for subplots which can add such depth to a book. Series books (such as Terry Pratchett’s magnificent Discworld) can show the development of favourite characters over many volumes. I love that aspect to series novels.
Both forms, however, can follow themes. Short story and flash fiction collections can be held together by a single theme yet have a wonderful variety of tales within them. I know. I’ve edited some of them (published through Chapeltown Books).
Memorable characters stay with you regardless of what form of fiction they’re in and films can be made from short stories just as well as from the more obvious choice, the novel. Think of The Birds based on Daphne du Maurier’s short story. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens is a novella, as we know it. Novellas bridge the gap between the short forms of fiction and the novel.
Sometimes a story does work better when it is wrapped up in 1000 words or fewer. Sometimes it works best at 2000 words. Sometimes you need the whole 80000 – 100,000 words of the novel. Sometimes you need around the 20,000 to 40,000 mark. So much does depend on the characters and their situation. You could never wrap up The Lord of the Rings in anything less than Tolkien did for it – it does need the trilogy.
Conclusion
A great story is just that when all is said and done. I think the literary world is stronger for having both forms of fiction in it. Often short stories are the way in to being published for many writers (who may or may not then go on to have novels out there).
There is a discipline to writing the tighter shorter forms of fiction which can be applied to the longer forms. Working out just what you need and what you don’t in a story is precisely what writers need, regardless of what they write. Understanding your characters and their motivations is vital across the writing board here. Thinking of what your readers need to get from your stories again applies across the board.
And just to finish this post off, I thought I would leave you with a recent flash story of mine, which I hope you enjoy. I wrote this one as one of my Flash NANO pieces this year and love my characters in this one. I can just picture and hear them. I hope you can too.
We Do Like to Be Beside the Seaside by Allison Symes
‘Those gulls still can’t hold a tune, Betty.’
‘They’re not God’s gift to bird song, I admit, Wilma.’
‘I do like hearing the waves crash though. So dramatic especially on a windy day like today.’
‘True but you like hearing the sound only because we’re in a lovely warm cafe enjoying fish and chips and are nowhere near the water itself, Wilma.’
‘The music in here is nice. Just our era. Elvis at his best.’
‘They know their clientele. I like to hear the sound of their coffee machine in full flow!’
‘Do you think it will be all right when we get back, Betty? Do you think the fuss will have died down? I just couldn’t face all that. So much noise. So much screaming. At least the gulls are doing what comes naturally. But Mrs Wilcox – did you hear her go on so?’
‘I suspect the county heard her, Wilma. But then it’s not everyday Mrs Wilcox finds a massive plastic spider in her soup and then that big fake squeaky frog in her sandwich.’
‘True but it gave us our chance to get out for a while, live a bit the way we used to do. It’s great you kept the sleight of hand tricks up! Ah, here come the police, Betty. Our escort has arrived.’
‘For a plastic spider and frog we put in as a joke?’
‘No, ladies, we are here to escort you back to your home. The manager said you would be here. Apparently it’s the place you always escape to when you fancy some time out.’
‘It is, officer. Just sometimes Mrs Wilcox with all her complaints at the staff and at fellow residents like us gets a bit much so we arrange something to distract her and get out while the going is good. We know you will find us. Will we be going in the police car again, officer?’
‘Yes. This way, please, ladies. Strictly I should have a word with you about wasting police time.’
‘But we haven’t wasted your time, officer. You knew where to find us. You came straight here.’
‘Good point, Betty! After you, love. If we’re quick, we’ll be back for afternoon tea. I doubt if Mrs Wilcox will want any. She will be fretting about what might be in the Victoria sponge! What a lovely day it has been!’Ends
Allison Symes – November 2024
Related Posts:-
Read interviews with Chandler’s Ford writer Allison Symes: Part 1 and Part 2.
Read blog posts by Allison Symes published on Chandler’s Ford Today.
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