posted
A page-turner that they can't put down from page one to the end? An interesting look at the world you've created? The fun rush when they realize that what they assumed would happen is turned on its head in a trick ending? A good, comfortable friend of a book that they can read over and over again, feeling like they know the characters like real people?
Me, I want my readers to get a book that looks and feels like a fun sf/fantasy book, that's fun to read, but leaves them uncomfortably in thought as they read and especially at the end. I want to change people's perceptions of the world and each other—and not necessarily to my worldview. I just want to make them ask questions. And those who don't, well, they still got a good story.
posted
Good question. But when I write I basically am looking for what I will get out of the story. Whether or not a romance works out, who ends up winning a battle, and the answer to a complex mystery all add up to playtime for me.
That's not to say I never think about what other people want. I sometimes find myself thinking about how to get published. (Yeah, yeah, don't pretend you don't want your stuff published too. )
Then, when I can finally make it past myself and the publishing step, I find myself dreaming about people just enjoying the book. I see some people discussing it on a philosphical or academic level, some people falling in love right along with my main character, and others peeling apart the mysteries held within. Whatever people end up getting out of a book is not something I can write into it, I just hope they do end up getting something.
posted
The first goal is to see a book that I have writen on the store shelves. That seems to be a prerequisit for people getting anything out of a book I write.
As for the content, I would like them to enjoy it. It would be nice to have people thinking about my story after they read it, but if they read it and enjoy it...that will be enough.
posted
Okay, let me be more specific about why I'm asking this.
In a writing class about a year and a half ago, the textbook (a little 200-page writing guide) stated that the #1 thing that keeps mediocre writers from becoming excellent writers (now, it wasn't talking about fiction, but I think it still applies) is that they don't think about their audience. Excellent writers treat their readers like guests, and are excellent hosts. They try to meet their readers' needs and desires before the readers even realize they have them.
I started thinking about that, and it reminds me of a party. Okay, yes, you should still be true to yourself and write what pleases you. Likewise, you would not be likely to throw a party you would not enjoy hosting. But once the party has begun, and the guests who would enjoy such a party are there, they are looking to you to make the party a blast.
So I guess what I'm asking is: what kind of party do you want to throw?
posted
I like this question! For me, I want to write something to life, not to death. I want to take my reader just over the threshold into the world I've created...just enough that what they find there speaks to *them* and not necessarily to whatever I intended. I want it to be a new journey for them (because it already has been for me).
Mostly, when I sit down to write, I feel the urge to honor the talents and gifts I've been given. I honestly don't feel I create anything, but that I *re*create what's already inside of me. I want to share it and pass it on. I want to inspire like I've been inspired. That's why I write. That's why I continue to write.
posted
You gave another question while I was responding to your first question. So I'll keep going because I like this thread of thought.
What kind of party do I want to throw with my writing? A "life" kind - full of adventure, with lots of highs and a few lows. Where dreams are born but not all goals are realized. Where heroes rise up out of the ashes and heroines can take care of themselves, but where even the "best of the best" have a moment or two of self doubt.
I want to write stories that speak of the ordinary but illustrate how we can *all* be extraordinary at times. And I want to write stories where even the villain(s) have a side to them that is soft, but skewed.
A "mixed" party is what I envision, I guess. A good story with a strong beginning, an energized middle and an ending that lingers long after the book is read.
posted
That’s an interesting thing to think about, Brinestone.
What I don’t want is readers hurling my story across the room when they’ve finished (or before), and tell everyone they met that a guinea pig could put together something better than that.
I want them to be intrigued by the characters and their problems and to feel satisfied with the story’s path when they are finished. I would like to touch an emotional chord with the reader by making them sink into the sights and sounds and drama of the story so that they help but feel caught up in what is going on.
Really what I want to give a reader is what I want as a reader. Something I’ll enjoy enough to read again, and would recommend to a friend, because the writer made me care as much about her fictional world as I do my own everyday one.
[This message has been edited by GZ (edited December 16, 2003).]
posted
I want the reader to get a sense of what I have created, hopefully and understanding of all the time and efoort put in to it. I want the reader to understand the no matter how average you may be, you can still accomplish something great.
Posts: 59 | Registered: Jan 2003
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