Which author does the best job at really connecting the reader to the protagonist.
For example I would love to see an example of someone waiting on a court verdict. To where we actually experience the same nervousness and fear when the protagonist does.
But any other really great exampes would be appreciated.
Posted by Christine (Member # 1646) on :
This is a troublesome topic from the start. The truth is, what works empathically for one reader won't work for another. SO the most important question is what works for *you*? I assume that would be what you wanted to write.
Posted by JBSkaggs (Member # 2265) on :
Yes the question is subjective, but I would like to see who YOU as readers found to be the best at connecting YOU to the protagonist.
Posted by Phanto (Member # 1619) on :
Kafka. Card.
Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :
Well then, I'd have to say myself Posted by JBSkaggs (Member # 2265) on :
Ok...Ok, I see what I said. Just do what I mean not what I say!
Query take 3. Which published author's writing do you feel best connects you with the protagonist?
Posted by Jeraliey (Member # 2147) on :
Stephen King. Just about any of his stuff. His characters are just too real to avoid being sucked in.
[This message has been edited by Jeraliey (edited March 01, 2005).]
Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :
It still depends heavily on the book and the protagonist.
Posted by TaShaJaRo (Member # 2354) on :
These are the authors who have created the characters I loved the most and/or who took me on the biggest emotional roller coaster ride ever. I hope that's what you're looking for.
Melanie Rawn Janny Wurts Raymond E. Feist Dean Koontz Mary Higgins Clark
Posted by RavenStarr (Member # 2327) on :
I'd say Card, but that seems like a**kissing... so I'd have to with Asimov
Posted by Jsteg1210 (Member # 1993) on :
Stephan R Donaldson is very good at creating characters that act like human beings. That's a lot harder than it sounds.
Posted by rickfisher (Member # 1214) on :
OSC. In Lost Boys I found myself getting as tense over the possibility of the MC losing his job as if it were me losing my job. No other writer has gotten me to feel that way over such a mundane event, though plenty have produced a similar effect by way of greater hazards.
Posted by franc li (Member # 3850) on :
Grisham captures legally oriented stress quite well.
Posted by Robyn_Hood (Member # 2083) on :
James Fenimore Cooper's "Leatherstocking Tales".
I've felt emotions when reading and can easily get caught up in what is happening, but at the end of The Prairie, I bawled my eyes out. Even though I knew it was coming, when Nathaniel died it felt like my best friend had died. I think I cried for at least half an hour. It was so irrational - I knew he was just a fictional character - and still I cried.
I had been reading the series over the course of about four years. In that time it felt like I had developed a sort of relationship with the author and his characters.
Posted by EricJamesStone (Member # 1681) on :
Shaft!
Posted by dpatridge (Member # 2208) on :
One who has not yet been named was Frank Herbert. Forget his son and that Anderson dude, they aren't doing the Dune universe nor characters any good.
Frank Herbert on the other hand... he was a genius on both storycrafting and character development.
Posted by djvdakota (Member # 2002) on :
Knowing how many Harry Potter fans there are around here, I'm surprised no one's mentioned J.K. Rowling.
That has obviously been one of the reasons for her astounding success.
Posted by Isaiah13 (Member # 2283) on :
OSC and Robin Hobb.
Posted by franc li (Member # 3850) on :
I was pretty broken up by the end of A Farewell to Arms.
Posted by girfreak (Member # 2413) on :
Definatly Grisham, In <u>The King of Torts</u> I was pretty connected to the main charachter, and the killer in the first felt very developed and real, even though he was not overly developed. ^ ^ Sorry, HTML tags won't work, I tried to fix it, but I'm not getting any luck.
[This message has been edited by girfreak (edited March 02, 2005).]
Posted by Dude (Member # 1957) on :
Of the most recent books I have read, I would have to go with David Webber's Honor Harrington books. Or if you like, the original Horatio Hornblower by C.S. Forester.
Posted by Jeraliey (Member # 2147) on :
I always cry at the end of Where the Red Fern Grows...
And I think the truest characters ever created can be found in To Kill a Mockingbird.
Posted by DavidGill (Member # 1688) on :
Peter Taylor. Larry Brown. Clyde Edgerton. Gary Paulsen. Christopher Paul Curtis.
Posted by Pontifax (Member # 2414) on :
Pffffft on Rowling.
Martin all the way! All hail the Starks!
Posted by hoptoad (Member # 2145) on :
You may think this is stupid, RL Stevenson. In the 'Beach at Falesa' I don't know what it was but *POW* it got me.
It started with the mock-wedding scene.
[This message has been edited by hoptoad (edited March 07, 2005).]
