What Do Readers Want?
I don't mean tropes, like, hot cowboys in kilts. I mean, what do you want from a story? What do you want it to do for you? Feelz? Surprise? Do you want to learn something? Do you want to be a better person? Do you want a story that's like your favorite sweats from college that are worn to a nub but they never let you down, even if they're starting to get holes?
I'm working on an essay--will you tell me what you think?
I'm working on an essay--will you tell me what you think?
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Lady*M wrote: "1. Fascinating characters - when they reflect the complexity of human condition - good, bad and all shades of grey. I've just read the book where all the character made so much sense from their uni..."
thanks for sharing your ideas- totally agree about the unexpected--I love being surprised
thanks for sharing your ideas- totally agree about the unexpected--I love being surprised
I'm a sucker for exquisite writing, a unique vision, and fully realized characters. What do I get from those? Escape. Satisfaction. Inspiration.
K.Z. wrote: "I'm a sucker for exquisite writing, a unique vision, and fully realized characters. What do I get from those? Escape. Satisfaction. Inspiration."
I wonder how writers develop that unique vision--through their own reading? Through work or art?
I wonder how writers develop that unique vision--through their own reading? Through work or art?
I want characters who feel like real people. Beyond that? Anything goes. :)I admit, I personally prefer to read about characters in their 30s, 40s, and older, and that's one thing that draws me to your writing, Sarah. You write about people falling in love and making a life together at an age where their choices are believable. I love that.
Vanessa wrote: "I want characters who feel like real people. Beyond that? Anything goes. :)
I admit, I personally prefer to read about characters in their 30s, 40s, and older, and that's one thing that draws me t..."
I love Robert Boswell's writing about character work- about the way we know people less and less as times goes by, because real people are so deep and unfathomable-- I've been thinking about my characters when they were boys--those are lovely scenes to write.
And today at the store I started picking out their Christmas Cards! Gabriel wanted a card with a helicopter on the front, carrying Santa, and Kim and Billy are going to draw it; and Raine and Johnny picked out a landscape with snow on the Sangre de Cristos, and a bright star. At which point I decided I was losing it, and found the beer and went home and took a nap!
I admit, I personally prefer to read about characters in their 30s, 40s, and older, and that's one thing that draws me t..."
I love Robert Boswell's writing about character work- about the way we know people less and less as times goes by, because real people are so deep and unfathomable-- I've been thinking about my characters when they were boys--those are lovely scenes to write.
And today at the store I started picking out their Christmas Cards! Gabriel wanted a card with a helicopter on the front, carrying Santa, and Kim and Billy are going to draw it; and Raine and Johnny picked out a landscape with snow on the Sangre de Cristos, and a bright star. At which point I decided I was losing it, and found the beer and went home and took a nap!
See, knowing which christmas cards your characters would pick convinces me they are real people! *toasts with own cheap american pilsner*
I'm another reader who puts characters first. I can handle a lot of flaws in a book, if I love and believe in the characters. And that's what I want most from reading for pleasure - characters I empathize with and care about, whose emotions I feel. I like realism, but prefer sympathetic to fascinatingly unusual, if it comes to the MCs. I like a plot that keeps me engaged. Twists and surprises are great, as long as they have some grounding in plausible reality ( or consistent world-building)... Ye canna change the laws of physics, Jim.
I adore good use of language, especially if there is wit and humor. Clever rejoinders, smart banter, not just swearing at each other. And lovely descriptive passages are a plus. I like a story that makes me laugh in the middle of some other emotion - the character who can deal with disaster with humor.
Most of the time, I'll take an emotional rollercoaster over the cozy favorite sweats. I like getting sucked into hurt-comfort stories. But once in a while, those sweats, in the form of a nice, soft, sweet story, hits the spot.
Kaje wrote: "I'm another reader who puts characters first. I can handle a lot of flaws in a book, if I love and believe in the characters. And that's what I want most from reading for pleasure - characters I em..."
thanks for responding, K--
I'm starting to think that we read to meet new friends!
thanks for responding, K--
I'm starting to think that we read to meet new friends!
You know, that sounds exactly right. "Most of my friends are imaginary"
Vanessa wrote: "See, knowing which christmas cards your characters would pick convinces me they are real people! *toasts with own cheap american pilsner*"
Cheers to that! *raises mug of freshly brewed Ethiopian*
I echo basically every point already made here....Real, believable characters who have to work a bit for their HEA or HFN. I don't like gratuitous angst but darker, thoughtful and fascinating or new over fluffy, sweet and lite any day. I love beautiful language and being fully immersed in the writer's world.
Well written dialogue is also a wonderful thing ...Kaje wrote:...."Clever rejoinders, smart banter, not just swearing at each other. I like a story that makes me laugh in the middle of some other emotion - the character who can deal with disaster with humor." Yes, this!!
I hardly ever reread, does that mean I like surprises more than the comfy sweats? Probably. :)
I'll raise my mug as well! Constant Comment tea, since it's November.
I really believe that language and great dialogue is the work of a writer who cares about craft- going back over a manuscript to make sure the rhythm is in sync and the words roll like they should and all clichés are banned, deleted without mercy. We tend to write the same thing over and over and we have to be really careful, and on our guard--
Writing poetry and flash is a good way to keep the ink warm and flowing in our magical pens--just playing with language. Then we've got the best words already in our pockets when we need them.
I used to love to read stories set in other lands--those Mrs. Pollifax mysteries by Dorothy Gillman, remember those? When I was feeling particularly antsy and wanting to travel, I could always find a story with a character who travelled. But the books I picked had the idea that the more we seemed different on the surface, the more we were all alike. I wonder now if I picked those books because at their heart, they were saying something that I also believed.
I wish we had more stories with people my age dealing with life- I've always used the knowledge gained from stories to help me navigate the world- like having friends who could tell me about their experiences. But I haven't read as many books about the changes that people in their 50's go through- dealing with the realization that there are some things we aren't going to get to- realizing that illness is something real and personal and probably in our reality--that's weird, and hard. Dealing with our kids becoming adults, and not the adults we thought they were going to be! Not ourselves being the adults we thought we would be. This is a really complex time--I wish we had more good stories to help us out.
I really believe that language and great dialogue is the work of a writer who cares about craft- going back over a manuscript to make sure the rhythm is in sync and the words roll like they should and all clichés are banned, deleted without mercy. We tend to write the same thing over and over and we have to be really careful, and on our guard--
Writing poetry and flash is a good way to keep the ink warm and flowing in our magical pens--just playing with language. Then we've got the best words already in our pockets when we need them.
I used to love to read stories set in other lands--those Mrs. Pollifax mysteries by Dorothy Gillman, remember those? When I was feeling particularly antsy and wanting to travel, I could always find a story with a character who travelled. But the books I picked had the idea that the more we seemed different on the surface, the more we were all alike. I wonder now if I picked those books because at their heart, they were saying something that I also believed.
I wish we had more stories with people my age dealing with life- I've always used the knowledge gained from stories to help me navigate the world- like having friends who could tell me about their experiences. But I haven't read as many books about the changes that people in their 50's go through- dealing with the realization that there are some things we aren't going to get to- realizing that illness is something real and personal and probably in our reality--that's weird, and hard. Dealing with our kids becoming adults, and not the adults we thought they were going to be! Not ourselves being the adults we thought we would be. This is a really complex time--I wish we had more good stories to help us out.
I agree so much on the wishing for more books with characters older than twenties and thirties. I remember reading a Lavyrle Spencer romance decades ago where the heroine had a college-age daughter, and the layers that added to the story were wonderful.
Vanessa wrote: "I agree so much on the wishing for more books with characters older than twenties and thirties. I remember reading a Lavyrle Spencer romance decades ago where the heroine had a college-age daughter..."
I read somewhere that romances were the exclusive property of those who were still in childbearing range, because having children was in our psyche as the culmination of attachment- we fall in love, pair up, commit, have kids.
Of course we have them forever--or maybe some days it just seems like forever! hee hee. Maybe having older protags who do things outside the usual pattern gives us leave to let them fly out of the usual patterns of behavior in other ways. Hmmm.
I think we will just have to write these stories, my dear!
I read somewhere that romances were the exclusive property of those who were still in childbearing range, because having children was in our psyche as the culmination of attachment- we fall in love, pair up, commit, have kids.
Of course we have them forever--or maybe some days it just seems like forever! hee hee. Maybe having older protags who do things outside the usual pattern gives us leave to let them fly out of the usual patterns of behavior in other ways. Hmmm.
I think we will just have to write these stories, my dear!
I recently heard that most readers of contemporary gay romance like photo covers rather than drawn covers. Is this your experience as well? Is there something with covers that's a real turn on or off?
Sarah wrote: "I recently heard that most readers of contemporary gay romance like photo covers rather than drawn covers. Is this your experience as well? Is there something with covers that's a real turn on or off?"I personally like to see something other than the traditional decapitated head or two stock photos smooshed together to make it look like they are the MCs. My personal favorites are the cover photos of Laura Harner's Willow Springs Ranch series. That is so much more of a turn on than a simple torso any day.
Sarah wrote: "I wonder how writers develop that unique vision..."Or a taste for avocados. They're both part of that mysterious evolution called personal development. I'm sure countless factors come into play.
"I wish we had more stories with people my age dealing with life..."
They're out there, just not (with a few exceptions) in our genre. 'Cause let's face it, the issues central to advancing age are often depressing and hardly the stuff of romance fiction.
"...readers of contemporary gay romance like photo covers..."
I've heard the same thing. Maybe it's because drawn covers always have a slight air of unreality about them. They can easily go awry, too, and make characters look less than appealing.
Sarah wrote: "I recently heard that most readers of contemporary gay romance like photo covers rather than drawn covers. Is this your experience as well? Is there something with covers that's a real turn on or off?"I personally prefer (well) illustrated covers or covers with a lot of design work, no shirtless men needed.
(My opinion might be a bit bias since I'm a designer)
In books I read, I like to want. I like tension of any kind. Emotional, physical, sexual. I want to be left wanting more. I like when most of the issues are resolved, but I'm left wondering about certain things left unsaid or undone (doesn't mean it has to lead to second book).
Sexual tension is great in stories, and some of the best stories I've read have had little to no sex, and sometimes I could've even lived without the romance.
As long as I'm left without ALL the answers (including what the characters ate for dinner on a Thursday night six years after the story concludes) then I'm a happy camper!
Hope this helped even somewhat! :D
Sarah wrote: "I recently heard that most readers of contemporary gay romance like photo covers rather than drawn covers. Is this your experience as well? Is there something with covers that's a real turn on or off?"I love good art covers (like
.) But the art has to work with the story. Too many of the drawn covers in M/M seem to be influenced by Manga, for my tastes, resulting in guys who are ethereal/stylized and not real-looking. Since I like real in my M/M, those don't appeal as much as a photo (although preferably not the generic naked torsos.)
Jenni Lea wrote: "Sarah wrote: "I recently heard that most readers of contemporary gay romance like photo covers rather than drawn covers. Is this your experience as well? Is there something with covers that's a rea..."
Those really are beautiful, so atmospheric
Those really are beautiful, so atmospheric
They're out there, just not (with a few exceptions) in our genre. 'Cause let's face it, the issues central to advancing age are often depressing and hardly the stuff of romance fiction.
Oh, God--it's true! If only I could remember the romance stuff-- Something about Southern Comfort and Virginia Slims, but I might have blacked out after that--or have I just forgotten? Ah, well, good times. These kids today with their safe sex, they don't know what they're missing...
Oh, God--it's true! If only I could remember the romance stuff-- Something about Southern Comfort and Virginia Slims, but I might have blacked out after that--or have I just forgotten? Ah, well, good times. These kids today with their safe sex, they don't know what they're missing...
Natasha wrote: "Sarah wrote: "I recently heard that most readers of contemporary gay romance like photo covers rather than drawn covers. Is this your experience as well? Is there something with covers that's a rea..."
thank you- that tension really makes for an exciting story, doesn't it? I used to love those romantic suspense stories where the hero was either the love of her life, or was going to kill her- you just never knew--
thank you- that tension really makes for an exciting story, doesn't it? I used to love those romantic suspense stories where the hero was either the love of her life, or was going to kill her- you just never knew--
Kaje wrote: "Sarah wrote: "I recently heard that most readers of contemporary gay romance like photo covers rather than drawn covers. Is this your experience as well? Is there something with covers that's a rea..."
I love the colors on that one- the landscape colors, blues and yellows, seem very happy to me, morning and the sun's rising, I guess. I don't pay much attention to covers when I'm looking for a book to read. I'm more of a blurb-nerd.
I love the colors on that one- the landscape colors, blues and yellows, seem very happy to me, morning and the sun's rising, I guess. I don't pay much attention to covers when I'm looking for a book to read. I'm more of a blurb-nerd.
Kat wrote: "I like drawn covers, my favorite is 
..."
that's a good-looking raven- I have a tee shirt with a raven on the front and it says RAVEN LUNATIC.
My son is not amused when I wear it in company.
..."that's a good-looking raven- I have a tee shirt with a raven on the front and it says RAVEN LUNATIC.
My son is not amused when I wear it in company.
Book Report
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2. Surprise is always good, especially when it comes in the package of 'your favorite sweats from college'. I'm tired of hearing how all the stories are already written. Bullshit. It's like saying all the people are the same because they have skin. When author takes all the worn out tropes and turns them on their heads - some great things happen. Also, when the author takes the story in the most unexpected direction and it ends up being the only direction that makes sense, that is also great.
3. Feelz - well it depends. I hate angst for the sake of angst with the passion. But, see 1.
4. It's always good to learn something new. As long it's not boring. XD
If I come up with more, I'll come back. :)