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How Does a Writer Make a Fictional World Seem So Real You Feel Like You're Really There?
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I so agree with you. A good vacation, whether in the mind or physically, can refresh my whole outlook on life. M.C.Beaton's Death of a series with Hamish MacBeth send me to Lochdubh in the highlands of Scotland, Anne McCaffrey and her Dragon Riders series to Pern. Where ever I end up, it is nice just to get away from my everyday life.
Thanks, Rhonda. I love going to Scotland in both mind and body... it's one of my favorite places in the world.
You and me both Sherrie! I have been a few times and it keeps drawing me back. Now I just need to get higher than Inverness. Would love to explore the highlands :)
Sherrie--I like your question. It's difficult to find an author who does transport me into the scene--to feel and see the scenery and area as if I'm there. Too many authors skip over this or do not have the ability to give us a visual of the overall picture. LaVyrle Spencer--a long-ago retired romance author--had such a way with words, you knew exactly how each character looked and you could place yourself right there in the muddy street, or the orchard where the old car rusted away, or the locomotive barreling down on the unsuspecting woman in the car. I always feel as if I found a jewel when I find such an author.Celia
Since I am a wrier I try to emulate my favorite authors and bring in the senses into my scenes. Sight is easy, but we mustn't forget scent which can evoke strong memories and emotions, touch, hearing, & taste. I like Debbie Macomber for her strong use of the senses in her work. She has great visuals, btu she doesn't forget the background noise, or the scents we catch as we read through her stories.
I know exactly what you mean - LaVyrle Spencer is one of my absolute favorite authors... I was so sad when she retired. She has a real gift.
I'm an author, and the most common comment I get is that the reader can "see" everything, the characters, and setting. That is the best compliment I get.Readers say such things as, Oh, it was so good! I really liked it! You really know how to put a story together! But the comment I look for and listen for is: "I thought I was right there in the book." Now, that's a wonderful thing.Yes, I actually cried when I learned there would be no more LaVryle Spencer books.I went about finding each one to keep. Most had the old covers, then I went about buying the same books, updated with new covers. My book shelves are stuffed! Her books are the only ones I have collected. Okay, so I'm crazy. Celia
I also love it when people tell me they're so into my books that they feel like they were right there, in the book, living and feeling whatever the characters were experiencing. That's the best compliment an author can get. LaVryle did that to me - I have all her books, too, and reread them periodically. Not crazy at all.
I know what you mean, Linzi. For me, the best authors are the ones who engage me with just a few, carefully chosen words and leave me to fill in the blanks.
LINZI and SHERRIE--A few years ago, an author friend asked me to read the first four chapters of her WIP. I did, and she asked, "So, what did you think?" I complimented her and added, "I like your heroine--she's a strong woman, very slender, tall and lithe, and blonde. Nice work."
"NO, NO, NO!", she said. "MY heroine is short, dark, voluptuous with dark, curly hair. But she never said and I used my imagination. She wrote that the girl "ran like a gazelle through the swamps, her long strides clearing fallen logs, her fine hair flying about her face." See--the thing is, she "showed" me extremely well what her heroine looked like, she just didn't realize it. Now, reading what I did, how would you picture this girl? To resemble my description, or the author's? (this still makes me laugh every time I think of it.) Celia
"NO, NO, NO!", she said. "MY heroine is short, dark, voluptuous with dark, curly hair. But she never said and I used my imagination. She wrote that the girl "ran like a gazelle through the swamps, her long strides clearing fallen logs, her fine hair flying about her face." See--the thing is, she "showed" me extremely well what her heroine looked like, she just didn't realize it. Now, reading what I did, how would you picture this girl? To resemble my description, or the author's? (this still makes me laugh every time I think of it.) Celia
Smiling, Celia. I would picture her just as you did. The passage is actually a very good example (even though she didn't intend it) of how a person can show so much with action, without telling us with exposition.
Sherrie--And so, there you go. Celia
Great question!This is one reason I read. The stories transport me to vast worlds across the galaxy!
I believe a lot of it has to do with the reader. A reader must have a good imagination to get the full effect, but a truly great writer can transport you whether you do have an imagination or can't visualize a rock!
There are several authors who have sent me roaming. Some have been good enough that when I put the book down, it takes some time to reacquaint myself with MY reality!
Edgar Rice Burroughs was a great writer. Not the Tarzan books so much, simply because I don't care for them, but his John Carter of Mars or Carson of Venus, those sent me planet hopping as a kid.
As did Andre Norton, the Grand Dame of Science Fiction & Fantasy. NO ONE could write like her. No one. Her Time Trader series or Witch World, Hosteen Storm, Solar Queen and on and on. Her stories are clear, well-written and easy to read. they scoop you up and take you away so very easily.
Mercedes Lackey - She has a few series but the one that made me love the woman is her Valdemar series. There are so many books involved but these the first three.
Valdemar: Heralds of Valdemar
1. Arrows of the Queen (1987)
2. Arrow's Flight (1987)
3. Arrow's Fall (1988)
David & Leigh Eddings - They created a world that has never been matched. They too have several series but this, this is the masterpiece. Thirteen THICK novels of such rich writing. I have read and read again. So many times I have had to replace my books three times now.
Belgariad
1. Pawn of Prophecy (1982)
2. Queen of Sorcery (1982)
3. Magician's Gambit (1983)
4. Castle of Wizardry (1984)
5. Enchanters' End Game (1984)
6. Belgarath the Sorcerer (1995) (with Leigh Eddings)
7. Polgara the Sorceress (1997) (with Leigh Eddings)
8. The Rivan Codex (1998) (with Leigh Eddings)
Malloreon
1. Guardians of the West (1985)
2. King of the Murgos (1988)
3. Demon Lord of Karanda (1988)
4. The Sorceress of Darshiva (1989)
5. The Seeress of Kell (1991)
Then in Science Fiction there is Arthur C Clarke and his many, many books. One of my favorites is Rendezvous With Rama and the ones that follow. This series is exceptionally well written. You are out there when they discover Rama and when they explore. Oh man, oh man! What a fantastic series.
In Horror, there is no better than HP Lovecraft. His stories of the Cthulhu Mythos will not only take you places you don't care to go, they will terrify you during the trip.
There are so many, many more of course and this list is highly subjective. To each his or her own taste. But the truly great writers will affect each and every reader the same. They will transport and awe the reader to the point of when you reach the last page, it is a very sad moment.
Thanks for sharing your faves, Brett! Very well said.
Sherrie wrote: "Two days ago (it seems like an eternity), my husband and I returned from a wonderful vacation to California. Not quite two weeks ago, we left northern Iowa a day early to narrowly escape a good, ol..."Lisa Kleypas. She writes descriptions that are so beautiful and seductive, you feel you're there in the surroundings in her books. You can hear the rustle of silk in the character's dresses, the clatter of a spoon against a saucer. You can smell the fresh scent of Spring flowers as the characters walk through the garden. It's so vivid and so real.
Thanks, Danielle. You make me want to go buy one of her books right now.
Oh, I highly recommend her, Sherrie.
I remember when I learned to draw I would try to create something as close as possible as what I really saw. Then my brother complained that I'd do better just to use a camera.Sometimes I think the advantage that books have over films is that they don't use a camera. Readers aren't limited to just seeing what's there, but they can feel and imagine - and miss things too - just as if they were really there.
The great juxtaposition between reality (but not too much) and imagination... I've tried my hand at painting, too, and my paintings are stiff, exact, and very lifelike. I'd love to be able to do an impressionistic interpretations, or have the loose, flowing strokes I so admire in others' work.
I could picture you on your vacation with your descriptions, Sherrie. I currently tend to read more mystery thrillers than any other genre and a few authors that put me in scenes of their books and the lives of their characters are John Sandford, the Scarpetta novels of Patricia Cornwell, Tami Hoag. Sue Monk Kidd--"Secret Lives of Bees"--writes beautifully with great description, but gets a little bogged down in details at times. The same with Jodi Picoult--at least in "Nineteen Minutes"--that could have been cut by a fourth, or so. My all time favorite is "Thorn Birds" by Colleen McCollough. I was right there in every scene, with every character.Some great suggestions here for authors and books to read--thanks, everyone!
Sherrie, you have a real talent for bringing your characters to life and providing rich details. "Night and Day" was wonderful and I'm looking forward to reading "Stormy Weather".
I agree. A well written book should be a vacation for your brain. I have read a few good books that gave me that feeling fantasy if it is well written can do that for me. The Earths children series by Jean Auel can do that for me. Heck Stefanie Phum series can do that for me.
I like the Stephanie Plum series, too. I think the reason her books are such an escape for me is that Stephanie's New Jersey world is pretty much the exact opposite of my life in rural Iowa.
Brett wrote: "Great question!This is one reason I read. The stories transport me to vast worlds across the galaxy!
I believe a lot of it has to do with the reader. A reader must have a good imagination to get t..."
I love Eddings--don't forget the series featuring Sparhawk--The Elenium and the triloghy after that--and the name escapes me--due to a brain freeze.
Sherrie wrote: "I like the Stephanie Plum series, too. I think the reason her books are such an escape for me is that Stephanie's New Jersey world is pretty much the exact opposite of my life in rural Iowa."
nothing like Peterborough, Ontario either. I should include my writing to around where I live.
Good idea! Write what you know... both of my current releases are set in small towns in north Iowa, where I live, or southern Minnesota where I grew up. Not the most exciting places in the world, but there is a lot of local color and many, many great characters.
Good questions, Sherrie. A good writer can make me feel like I am really there by creating characters that are so real that I feel like I know them and am looking at their world through their eyes. While details and descriptions are important, it's getting to know the characters that bring their world alive for me.
You make an excellent point, Melinda. I agree!
Hi Sheri,Another published author here, LOL!
For me, my characters are what make the atmosphere and overall feel of the story real to me. The more I write, the more connected I become to the characters. They take their own form. After a while I don't even feel like I'm writing the story but like an observer who's watching them. So I'd have to say that it doesn't always have to be that the writer created the world so realistically on purpose, I think it's something that can come from within a writer through their characters. The more realistic and the more I connect with characters, not just in my own books but in ones I read, the more realistic and interesting the story is to me. This is why there is so much emphasis put on "showing" vs. "telling" in books. There is a time and place for both but showing is what connects a reader or anyone to the characters through action, emotions, conflict, you name it. Showing is what makes you feel like you're really there. Telling sort of pushes you out of the story and reminds you that you're reading. Telling puts you at a distance. That's why authors have to be careful about how much they "tell" and when and how to do it.
Best Wishes!
http://www.stacy-deanne.net
Stacy - Deanne said: "Showing is what makes you feel like you're really there. Telling sort of pushes you out of the story and reminds you that you're reading." This is a great line. I agree 100%. Thanks for stopping by!
Lilly wrote: "Since I am a wrier I try to emulate my favorite authors and bring in the senses into my scenes. Sight is easy, but we mustn't forget scent which can evoke strong memories and emotions, touch, heari..."Hi Lilly. I agree about bringing in the senses, and as you say sight is easy, but scent never occurred to me. I do not have a sense of smell (and before anyone tells me how lucky I am, since I can't even smell skunk, I can't tell when I'm burning toast until I see the smoke, you get the idea...). I know this is a big part of memories and I'm wondering how I would handle that. Just a curious thought that flew into my mind as I read... ;-)
I recall once hearing that one should draw an architectural home that they plan to use in their book. It helps keep the rooms straight, and probably influences what the decor would be in your story.
Betty, I'm sure being without the sense of smell beings about its own unique set of challenges. Just curious - can your imagination take you there - perhaps with the help of a little research? We all write about places we've never been and things we've never seen or experienced - is it the same for you? Just curious...
I can do that with sights, and even sounds and imagination, but on the rare occasions that I might happen to think I've caught a whiff of something I have no idea what it can be. I don't know how a person would describe scent other than good or bad, spicy or bland, no smell probably has some effect on taste as well, but I wouldn't know. I suppose if I researched the scents of the area I'm writing in (or might be, haven't yet) I could get some picture of it. But then, when my brother was about 5 he picked a bouquet for my Mom and was upset when my uncle said, you don't want to take her that. He has no sense of smell either (2 out of the 5 of us kids) but he thought that bouquet of skunk cabbage was really pretty... ;-)
A few hours later, we were walking around in short-sleeved shirts and sandals plucking fresh oranges, tangerines and lemons right from the tree, peeling them, and popping them into our mouths. A couple of days later, we were on the beach, walking barefoot along the shoreline and picking up shells while the sun set over the Pacific.
Whether a brief escapade in Star Trek, Next Generation's holodeck or a week or two at the beach, a good vacation can pick you up from one place and set you down in another, relieving stress, providing laughter and relaxation, and giving you a much need change of scenery.
So can a good book.
Although the current trend in writing is not to write lengthy descriptions, I love a book where I can picture the characters and surroundings in such detail that I feel like I’m magically transported to their corner of the universe, feeling what they feel, seeing the world, whether it be Victorian, modern, or futuristic, through their eyes... a vacation from my own troubles without the frustration of lengthy waits at airports, lost suitcases, and expensive room reservations.
Is there a writer whose words have such a strong impact on your senses that you literally feel like you’re transported to another time and place when you’re reading their books? If so, what is it about their style of writing that makes the fictional world in their books seem so real?