Today’s Round Robin topic: What glues you to a story start to finish? And/Or what hooks do you use to capture your readers?
This is an interesting question because I don’t generally think in terms of what keeps me reading, but rather in terms of what will turn me off. So, thinking in terms of what keeps me reading is a bit of a switch. I know what I like, but defining it is new. What am I looking for? In essence, good storytelling. But what is good storytelling? My list may be different from yours, but this is mine.
- The protagonists are sympathetic and likable. I want to root for them to win, to overcome, to escape, to do whatever it is that they need to do.
- I want to see a character arc. There doesn’t have to be a huge amount of growth, but a realistic amount for the story line. Some characters will grow more than others, and that’s fine.
- The characters stay true to the personality the author has established. If they do something out of character, there better be a good reason for it that is germane to the story line and character.
- The story is somewhat unpredictable. I like happy endings, but I don’t want to be able to predict how I am going to get to that happy ending. I think this is why I am a pantser rather than a plotter. Once I start plotting out my entire story, I lose all interest in it. Of course, my characters will often change my plans anyway. For instance, in my upcoming release The Whispering House, I had planned on writing this one scene, but my characters decided that they wanted to have sex at that time. Or the opposite happens. I thought it was time for a sex scene, but the characters completely disagreed. Part of why I find my stories fun to write is because I never quite know what I’m going to write.
- Grammar and punctuation. I know there will be errors no matter how hard you try to eradicate them, but I expect well-written prose. If there are errors and a lot of them, I will be lost.
- Correct facts, especially in historical or science fiction novels. Well, in any, really.
- A good blend between description and action. No data dumps.
- Regardless of the genre, I want the story to be believable. Even if it’s fantasy, the author must build their world, and their story, in such a way that I can suspend belief, if that’s necessary, to be able to accept that this story is possible.
- I also like a mood to be set. It can be eerie, tense, blissful, but I want it set up and continued.
- Oh, and action up front.
Apparently, I have a lot more criteria than I realized. LOL It’s good to know. Ultimately, it comes down to good storytelling.
So, what hooks you? What do you look for in a story?
Authors participating in this month’s Round Robin:
Loved your list of ‘good storytelling.’
Thanks, Robin. I really had to sit down and think about it. It’s easy to say what I don’t like, but not as easy to think of what is good.
By the way, I want happy endings, but that doesn’t mean someone isn’t good at it if it’s a tragedy. It just means I probably am not going to read it. LOL
I so agree with your #5. I don’t know if I’m blessed with a sharp eye for typos or just a plain picky reader, but a missing or double period point – or any other punctuation mark for that matter – will drive me crazy and pull me out of the story right away. And yes, this month’s subject tested the little grey cells!
What I look for in a story is a writing style that exceeds mine. It gives me opportunity to grow. I find no pleasure in reading anything written by a person whose finished product betrays to me that they do not perceive story telling as an artform to wallow in, to colorfully paint their life with. I appreciate tight adherance to grammar, but I tolerate it should it be slack for sake of smooth reading by the masses. Overall, genre matters. Even the best writing style will lose me as a audience if it is outside my boundaries of lifestyle. As for what you say, Marci, about the need for accuracy in history? Yeah, I’m not sure I could get into a story that puts Napoleon in lederhosen on the Alps.
That would be a great list for any author to post beside the computer monitor. We sometimes get so involved in our stories we forget that we are writing it for a reader, not for ourselves.
It’s so easy to see the mistakes in someone else’s writing, Victoria. In my own? Not so much. LOL
Stephen, you are such a talented write I imagine it’s hard to find an author with writing style that exceeds yours.
Thanks, Skye!
Hi Marci, yes, sympathetic and likeable are very important. anne stenhouse
Marci, great points. I agree a must post beside my computer.
It seems like all of us agree about character, Anne. Without interesting characters, none of us will read.
Thanks, Connie. 🙂
Great list, Marci. I agree about typos and research errors throwing me out of a story. It’s disappointed when a great read has been poorly edited. And I’m also with you on the importance of well-drawn characters to draw you in. Enjoyed your post!
Thanks, Helen!
Thank you, Marci. Very kind compliment.
The “character dump” is something I avoid when I write my series novels. Hopefully the reader has read the other books, so I can jump right in to the action of this book. I try to insert stuff gradually for those who are reading me for the first time. But I try to avoid stopping the action just to explain something. I give my readers credit for being smarter than that would imply.
Great post, but then I always enjoy myself at your site!
It’s easy to do. That’s why we have editors. LOL
Good post and good reasons. I think, predominantly, it comes down to characters we care about and their growth.
Characters are paramount, but they can’t overcome bad writing for me. LOL Of course, neither can good/excellent writing overcome boring, unlikable characters.