I’ve
always enjoyed catching as much of the morning news as possible, but it feels
to me that recently it has become terribly chatty. The hosts seem more interested
in entertaining rather than educating, so much so that they talk over the top
of each other and laugh so loud (I’m a loud laugher, a bit of a nervous habit I
can’t seem to break) that it’s impossible to get the points they are trying to
make. Who knows, maybe they are nervous being put on the spot as well, but they
are paid the big bucks to get info to us, so they don’t get a pass from this
laugher.
But
what does this have to do with writing? Puh-lenty.
Are
you ever inclined to just write for the sake of writing? To let the words go
hither and yon…wow! did that ever date me, with no concern of a message being
spoken? And I’m not meaning inspirational versus secular, because every work
should have some kind of message. Do you get so caught up on the chattiness
that you forget you are on a mission?
When I
first started as an agent, I simply did not find the time to do any reading for
pure enjoyment. I felt my long hours each week were better spent digging into
clients’ works and looking at new submissions. And while I still do that, I
realize that at least some time has to be spent reading for the sake of
reading. How else do I compare submissions to novels that are selling well in
the market?
What I
found surprised me.
Some
stories seem to have been written simply for the author to be chatty with their
readers. No substance, no meat, nothing to sink the teeth into. Whether you
write the next great American novel or a sweet little romance where everyone
knows what the outcome will be, do you do your best to educate, entertain, and
offer at least a little bit of meat to your reader?
In a
sweet, historical romance do you give them actual facts about the time period
(education)? Do you do your best to develop strong characters who step off the
pages and make the reader want to know them on a more personal basis
(entertainment)? And do you push the limits of what your genre is meant to
accomplish by digging just a little deeper than the next guy who writes this
genre?
Weigh
in one hand being able to crank out a story, being chatty, and in the other,
your responsibility to give the reader something he can’t find anywhere else in
that genre. Are you measuring up?
3 comments:
Wow, That's something to think about. I appreciate this post.
Such an excellent point. I just wrote a review of a classic novel, "Airport," by Arthur Hailey. Every book he wrote made his readers experts on some new topic. "Wheels" was about the Detroit automotive industry; "Final Diagnosis" was brilliant in describing Big Pharma; "Hotel" dissected the inner workings of a major indy hotel during the last days of New Orleans segregation. At the same time, his novels were endlessly entertaining as well, with great plots and zesty characters.
David, I am with you all the way. I love to be entertained, but to be entertained in such a way that I also learn something, that is heaven on earth to me.
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