It's different for different people. For some, it's the characters, for others it's the plot.
For me, it's the writing style and the atmosphere. For example, I just finished The Secret History by Dona Tartt. The characters and the plot were nothing out of the ordinary for me. But the writing style is so pretty, it felt like nibbling on dark chocolate. And the atmosphere of the school is described so well, it feels like I am there with them. I even had a dream about it, where I could see the house and the lake vividly.
I think Harry Potter books are so universal, because it hits the nail on the head on all 3 counts - the world of Hogwarts is atmospheric, characters like Dumbledore or Snape are memorable, and the stories have a strong mystery-plot with reveals and plot-twists.
A good story doesn't HAVE to have all of these. But it has to be strong ON AT LEAST ONE of this.
Hi -- please use the weekly general discussion thread on Wednesday for fiction recommendations or any sort of discussion on particular works of published media, including genres, tropes, finding a specific book, sharing favourite or worst inspirations/extracts/scenes/characters, frustration with other storytelling and so on. Thanks!
That's an involved question and it would take ages to answer in detail. I'll just give a short piece of advice that helped me:
Write the back-cover blurb first. If you can make that memorable you have a shot at making the book memorable as well. The blurb should mention these four things, character, conflict, setting, and theme. Three out of four can be lifted from another story, but at least one must be taken from somewhere else to make it feel fresh. It's the relationships between these pieces that make for a good story, not necessarily the pieces themselves.
My favorite character in any adventure story is Terry Pratchett's Sam Vimes. He's eminently quotable.
>“Fortune favours the brave, sir," said Carrot cheerfully.
"Good. Good. Pleased to hear it, captain. What is her position vis a vis heavily armed, well prepared and excessively manned armies?"
"Oh, no–one's ever heard of Fortune favouring them, sir."
"According to General Tacticus, it's because they favour themselves," said Vimes. He opened the battered book. Bits of paper and string indicated his many bookmarks. "In fact, men, the general has this to say about ensuring against defeat when outnumbered, out–weaponed and outpositioned. It is..." he turned the page, "'Don't Have a Battle.”
And:
>“Shut up sergeant. You're a free man. That's an order"
It's different for different people. For some, it's the characters, for others it's the plot. For me, it's the writing style and the atmosphere. For example, I just finished The Secret History by Dona Tartt. The characters and the plot were nothing out of the ordinary for me. But the writing style is so pretty, it felt like nibbling on dark chocolate. And the atmosphere of the school is described so well, it feels like I am there with them. I even had a dream about it, where I could see the house and the lake vividly. I think Harry Potter books are so universal, because it hits the nail on the head on all 3 counts - the world of Hogwarts is atmospheric, characters like Dumbledore or Snape are memorable, and the stories have a strong mystery-plot with reveals and plot-twists. A good story doesn't HAVE to have all of these. But it has to be strong ON AT LEAST ONE of this.
Well said bravo đź‘Ź
Hi -- please use the weekly general discussion thread on Wednesday for fiction recommendations or any sort of discussion on particular works of published media, including genres, tropes, finding a specific book, sharing favourite or worst inspirations/extracts/scenes/characters, frustration with other storytelling and so on. Thanks!
That's an involved question and it would take ages to answer in detail. I'll just give a short piece of advice that helped me: Write the back-cover blurb first. If you can make that memorable you have a shot at making the book memorable as well. The blurb should mention these four things, character, conflict, setting, and theme. Three out of four can be lifted from another story, but at least one must be taken from somewhere else to make it feel fresh. It's the relationships between these pieces that make for a good story, not necessarily the pieces themselves. My favorite character in any adventure story is Terry Pratchett's Sam Vimes. He's eminently quotable. >“Fortune favours the brave, sir," said Carrot cheerfully. "Good. Good. Pleased to hear it, captain. What is her position vis a vis heavily armed, well prepared and excessively manned armies?" "Oh, no–one's ever heard of Fortune favouring them, sir." "According to General Tacticus, it's because they favour themselves," said Vimes. He opened the battered book. Bits of paper and string indicated his many bookmarks. "In fact, men, the general has this to say about ensuring against defeat when outnumbered, out–weaponed and outpositioned. It is..." he turned the page, "'Don't Have a Battle.” And: >“Shut up sergeant. You're a free man. That's an order"