What Do You Look For?

A place to discuss what you're reading, your favourite authors and books etc. Everything from the Classics to Shakespeare and Non-Narnian Fantasy works.

Moderators: Ariel.of.Narnia, Tenethia, White Rose

Post Reply
kristi
Site Admin
Posts: 211
Joined: Sat Aug 17, 2013 10:29 pm

What Do You Look For?

Post by kristi » Fri Jan 08, 2016 9:36 pm

This almost belongs in the writing thread, but I'll put it here anyway.

As I look into starting another novel, I've been thinking about what it is that makes me want to read a certain book, or, conversely, turns me off of one.

Things that attract me to a story:

Interesting characters: Not necessarily the main character. For example, the Pevensies are a little light on personality traits. They are more portrayed as Everyman characters, and it works. We live vicariously through them. I think even Frodo is a little more like this than other members of the Fellowship, but he works as the hero anyway. Mind you, surrounding characters make up for the relative blandness of the POV character: Puddleglum, Reepicheep, Aslan, Jadis, Gimli, Boromir, Sam...

An interesting premise: Jurassic Park the book gets by on the strength of its concept, because honestly, none of the characters are pleasant enough that we much care if they survive, though we are nominally rooting for Grant (And wish Rexie would eat Lex).

Those two features of a story are probably universally recognized, but I'd add another few that I've been missing lately:

Honor: What happened to this? What happened to characters like Aragorn and Faramir who do something because it's the right thing to do, without making a great fuss about it? I don't see this in the latest crop of dystopian, humanistic fiction. (But I'd love some recommendations of contemporary stories where it can be found.) What happened to Jim Hawkins giving his word to Long John not to run away and KEEPING it when Dr. Livesay encouraged him to flee? (Let's be honest, we'd all run, and we'd probably tell our kids to run, but...it's just so refreshing.)

Thought-provoking: Not always required. Sometimes it's enough to just sit back and enjoy an adventure. the Ranger's Apprentice books and the YA Jedi Apprentice books weren't gonna make you think, but sometimes it's nice when a book does. (Conversely, sometimes a book can make you think almost too hard. Lawhead is great, be he demands a lot.) I felt the Wingfeather Saga really missed the opportunity to explore the nature of its four or five sibling relationships, which would have added depth to the story.

What do you guys think? What makes or breaks a story for you?
User avatar
hobbit_of_narnia
Knight
Posts: 6529
Joined: Sat May 31, 2014 9:13 pm
Location: ♫ What's this holding me? I'm not where I'm supposed to be! ♪♫

Re: What Do You Look For?

Post by hobbit_of_narnia » Fri Jan 08, 2016 11:39 pm

For me, the characters are the most important. A so-so storyline can be redeemed if it's populated by worthy characters, but a fantastic storyline can be ruined if the characters aren't any good. I like characters who are believable and truly good guys, and if they're going to stray from the straight-and-narrow for a scene or two, there had better be a good reason! And the relationships between the characters are a big part of it, too.
Something else I like in a story is a good proportion of emotional scenes (not the sappy kind, but the real, solid kind) and action scenes.
Image
If somebody has an idea for a Narnia comic that they weren't planning on making themselves, I <------ This offer still
would be so grateful if they would send it to me in a PM. I am running appallingly low on ideas...! <-- stands. :)
kristi
Site Admin
Posts: 211
Joined: Sat Aug 17, 2013 10:29 pm

Re: What Do You Look For?

Post by kristi » Sat Jan 09, 2016 12:05 am

Agreed on the emotional scenes. You need the gravitas every now and then. Beregond at trial, Sam weeping over Frodo's body (My poor heart!) The Sacrifice of Aslan. His talk with Shasta ("Tell Me your sorrows.")

The Ranger's Apprentice series isn't heavy on making you think, but it is good at making you feel for the characters. In one scene in book three, one of the characters slanders the king in order to lose his job because he can't get time off from his job to go rescue his apprentice from the Skandians who kidnapped him. You honestly feel for King Duncan as he's forced to hand down a sentence of death or banishment to a man who's served him faithfully for years. (Really wish they'd explored Duncan's character more in the prequel that just came out. Totally skipped over his journey with the Rangers once he was rescued. We're always told that Duncan is popular and good and noble and I WANT TO KNOW WHY, DARNIT!)
kristi
Site Admin
Posts: 211
Joined: Sat Aug 17, 2013 10:29 pm

Re: What Do You Look For?

Post by kristi » Sat Jan 09, 2016 12:07 am

And maybe that's part of what I'm saying. I can enjoy a book that doesn't make me feel much (Jurassic Park), but I want to WRITE something that DOES. Hence, my research question.
User avatar
Ariel.of.Narnia
Site Admin
Posts: 11696
Joined: Thu Aug 22, 2013 7:21 pm
Location: hiding in a wardrobe
Contact:

Re: What Do You Look For?

Post by Ariel.of.Narnia » Sat Jan 09, 2016 4:22 am

Characters are king for me. I have made myself sit through things I would have otherwise quit, simply because I love the characters (Agents of SHIELD being the primary example of this for me: season one, so far as story and structure, bored me and made me wonder why I was wasting my time; however, I loved the characters enough to want to know what happened). I will follow a story, explore a world, embark on a quest that has memorable characters (one with depth are a definite bonus). A book has a greater chance of getting me to turn the page if it's got me to invest in the characters than if it simply relied on the plot.

That said, plot is also important. If there isn't enough with which to drive the characters, then there's a good chance you've lost me. Plus, I love to get lost in a story. As much as I love characters, it's the plot that takes me to other worlds.

Connected to both, the antagonist has to present enough of a problem for me to care, whether it's another character, an idea, or the physical setting. Depending on the story, the antagonist can be of great scale or of great personal importance... or both. The stakes must be high either way and be treated as such.

Jumping back to characters, a friend has jokingly accused me of loving "boring, lawful-good characters" ("lawful good" being a role-playing game term for a character that will always follow the rules to the letter no matter what; I gravitate toward these and the "lawful-neutral" sort (those that generally follow the rules, but may bend or break them on occasion)). I automatically give major points to realistic and well-written characters that are moral, noble, and honourable; extra points to those that build excellent relationships with other characters and/or are leaders and/or overcome a great struggle. Peter, Edmund, Caspian, Aragorn, Sam, Eomer, Faramir, Captain America, Aqualad (Kaldur'ahm, not Garth), so on. These are the characters that appeal to me the most because they (usually) live at a standard I want to see in myself.
That said, I do like a good, conflicted character from time to time. Ones that struggle, that sometimes do the right thing but other times do the wrong thing. Once Upon a Time is loaded with these guys and I like those characters' story arcs (particularly Rumpelstiltskin (who usually does wrong, but has made some efforts at right) and Regina (who believably went from good to bad and then slowly came back to good)). If done right, I like these characters because they reflect the daily struggle in our own lives.

Aaaaaaaand that's all I can think of for now. :)
knight and scribe
Image
lyrics from TobyMac's "New World"
hansgeorg
Fanatic: At the broken stone table
Posts: 548
Joined: Fri Jun 26, 2015 2:00 pm

Re: What Do You Look For?

Post by hansgeorg » Sat Jan 09, 2016 11:49 am

Thought provoking.
Good premise and working out of it.
Characters of non-villains (both main and side) should have normality - like Chesterton said : a fairy tale is a sane character in a world gone mad, a realistic novel is a sane world with characters gone mad.

By sane characters, I mean what I can relate to as sanity (not necessarily what a shrink would call such) including the fact of not committing suicide when having considered it. By world gone mad, I prefer it be not so depressingly mad as to drive characters otherwise sane mad (like the real world starts looking to me).

Of course, the fairy tale element of a world gone mad is not a requirement. Of Astrid Lindgren (a Lutheran parson's atheist daughter, who wrote as good a meditation on the Apocalypse as Akallabeth and Last Battle in Brothers Lionheart - except for the final suicide cum mercy killing), there are fairy tales with dragons or a knight with a heart of stone or harpies (Brothers Lionheart, Mio, Ronya the Robber's Daughter), but there are also humdrum tales set in humdrum countryside settings, like Bullerbyn or Saltkråkan. Nearly like realistic novels, except the characters stay sane.
User avatar
Shield Maiden
Knight
Posts: 523
Joined: Sun Aug 25, 2013 7:46 am
Location: Dutch Blitzing

Re: What Do You Look For?

Post by Shield Maiden » Tue Jan 12, 2016 4:27 pm

What ultimately makes or breaks a novel for me is how absorbed I get into it. Can I vividly picture everything in my head as I read it? Is it a book that I look forward to reading, instead of forcing myself to finish it?

Most of this links back to characters and plot. I'm not usually as concerned with the quality of the plot as by how well it flows and how well the characters adhere to it. With characters, I usually pay attention to how well they stick to their traits and how they're written - I like well-written characters over characters that I identify with.

I also tend to enjoy books that pull me out of reality (books that create an alternate world and don't reflect our current reality) more than ones that reflect current events.

That's all I can think of for now.
Image
Team Cap. Sig made by Ariel.
anunknownpevensie
Fanatic: At the broken stone table
Posts: 678
Joined: Sat Sep 26, 2015 8:55 pm
Location: Not where you think I am . . .
Contact:

Re: What Do You Look For?

Post by anunknownpevensie » Tue Jan 12, 2016 9:47 pm

I like what pulls me from reality into fiction. It must be a fiction with honour, good character, Respect, Integrity, and Treachery, War, basically LoTR, but other authors portray this as well. There are other traits, but these are the main. I tend to like Historically Correct fiction best, but there are many others that are touching for other reasons. Yes, identifiable with myself can bring me into a book well, as I think it does most people. Even if they don't like it, they still are touched. Good writing in important to the highest degree. If I cannot picture what I read, then It is just another textbook, slightly exaggerating. I would guess for me, is that the main character be good; Honest, Kind, Smart, all of those. But I think the change in the character's thoughts on something helps a lot. If a character is just always doing something and doesn't change, then it is just a "Hero", not exactly what I like.
Image


And if you want me to respond to anything, you will have to quote me I am afraid.
Post Reply

Return to “The Library (non-Narnian Literature)”