This book has, I think, 38 chapters? And this bomb went off in the middle of Chapter 9...
NINE. 9!!
Okay. Ill tell you about the bomb. The main character met a boy and she saw him and she liked him, he saw her and he liked her.
THAT WAS IT.
There was no working for it, there was nothing. Nothing. I didn't have to work for anything. I didn't long for anything. I didn't guess what the other was thinking or feeling. It was just given to me in a matter of three pages.
I was disappointed as the love story's are my favorites part of the book.
Then after that, she gave me more. She made all the hard decisions to me with ease, the shocking story lines and the conclusions were like nothing. To the main character all of these issues were like water droplets on a duck. Impenetrable and un worrisome.
I was like whaaaaaaat? She's just okay with that? They just said that?
IS THAT IT?
So the moral of my rant is...
Make the reader work for it. Get them involved. Make them want it and long for it and feel the sweet satisfaction when it happens. Don't give the reader every emotion that you have. Let them feel disappointed or excited. Let them feel it, don't make them feel it!
End rant here!
3 comments:
You got that right! Well said!
It makes me realize that they're looking for a good hook more than ANYTHING else.
I have a book that's been turned down (ok, only twice) but for the SAME reason - they said - LOVE the writing, LOVE the characters, LOVE the story, but we're not sure how to sell it, we're worried there's not enough of a commercial hook.
SO - it took me a while, but I found someone willing to pub it as-is. But it just makes me mad to read books that are crap because they have a great hook, and then read a really amazing book that hardly got any Kudos at all. It's a bummer, and I really really do see how much depends on that one-sentence hook.
I think the combo Great story, great character and great writing is just what writing is all about. Its so important to give it your all. Make it perfect. I think a lot of people who are self publishers want to keep people thinking aobut them so they write and write not taking the time to make it perfect and I think quality over quantity is essential!
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