So What Makes A Great Paranormal Story?
Search for 'paranormal' on Amazon and you'll be presented with just under 50,000 titles to choose from. But what makes a paranormal story great? What keeps you reading well into the night because you just can't bring yourself to put it down?
Webster's defines paranormal as 'events or phenomena outside the possibilities defined by natural or scientific laws' - that should provide any author with enough scope for a story!
Now I'm not going to name any books - but I've read quite a few that are... let's not be unkind... not very good :0) I'm not putting myself up as a master of the craft - I really am a beginner - but I know what I like and I certainly now what I don't like.
For me, a great paranormal story has to have (and not in any particular order)-
1) Characters you care about - if you don't give a fig what happens to them, why keep reading! You have to feel their fear, share their dilemmas and root for them in their battles against the bad guys.
2) Conflict - if there's no threat or some force preventing the hero reaching their goal ( love, power, fame, survival etc.) there isn't really much of a story. Of course it doesn't have to be physical - an internal conflict of conscience as our hero descends into the murky world of vampires but enjoys the power it brings, makes for a great clash of moralities.
3) Scary monsters/ creatures/ bad guys - they have to be something that could, with a stretch of the imagination, exist out there. If a creature is so far removed from the realms of fantasy and paranormal, it's just not scary because it would never be a threat to us.
4) Mystery - a plot that ignites our curiosity will keep us glued to its pages. A plot that slowly unravels the big questions by dropping in hints and small nuggets of information is far superior to one that blurts it all out in a lengthy monologue. Arrrhh... the dreaded backstory and how to get it all in there :0)
5) A love/ lust interest - it's the most powerful motivator and one we can all empathize with - see number 1. And it inevitably leads to conflict - especially if you have a love triangle!
I can think of more, but for now, what do you think? What must a story have that stops you putting it down or deleting it from your ereader?
I look forward to your views.
Webster's defines paranormal as 'events or phenomena outside the possibilities defined by natural or scientific laws' - that should provide any author with enough scope for a story!
Now I'm not going to name any books - but I've read quite a few that are... let's not be unkind... not very good :0) I'm not putting myself up as a master of the craft - I really am a beginner - but I know what I like and I certainly now what I don't like.
For me, a great paranormal story has to have (and not in any particular order)-
1) Characters you care about - if you don't give a fig what happens to them, why keep reading! You have to feel their fear, share their dilemmas and root for them in their battles against the bad guys.
2) Conflict - if there's no threat or some force preventing the hero reaching their goal ( love, power, fame, survival etc.) there isn't really much of a story. Of course it doesn't have to be physical - an internal conflict of conscience as our hero descends into the murky world of vampires but enjoys the power it brings, makes for a great clash of moralities.
3) Scary monsters/ creatures/ bad guys - they have to be something that could, with a stretch of the imagination, exist out there. If a creature is so far removed from the realms of fantasy and paranormal, it's just not scary because it would never be a threat to us.
4) Mystery - a plot that ignites our curiosity will keep us glued to its pages. A plot that slowly unravels the big questions by dropping in hints and small nuggets of information is far superior to one that blurts it all out in a lengthy monologue. Arrrhh... the dreaded backstory and how to get it all in there :0)
5) A love/ lust interest - it's the most powerful motivator and one we can all empathize with - see number 1. And it inevitably leads to conflict - especially if you have a love triangle!
I can think of more, but for now, what do you think? What must a story have that stops you putting it down or deleting it from your ereader?
I look forward to your views.
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