I've been reading a lot lately. Being sick (still!) gives me an excuse to catch up on some reading. Now I have to first say that I love reading. Always have, always will. But lately? I've grown a bit frustrated.
It seems every time I start a new book, I come to a point where I know exactly where the story is going. Or I see straight through a red herring. Or I know the new character being introduced is the villain. Does this happen to you?
I want to be surprised! I want a twist I didn't see coming. I want an ending that shocks me. Can that sill happen for me, or is this a byproduct of being a writer? Do we see the mechanics of the story more readily than other readers?
I do know that reading has changed for me since I started writing. I notice language more. I see flaws where I would have been too absorbed in the story before. It seems these days it takes an extraordinary book to sweep me away. But I so want to be swept!
What do you think?
2 hours ago
26 thoughts:
I know exactly what you're talking about. It's annoying. I go back and read some of my favorite books and occasionally find myself questioning word choice and stuff like that. (But I'm working REALLY hard at still allowing myself to turn that part of my brain off to fully enjoy/immerse myself in a book)
And as for predictability? I'm with you there too. I don't mind figuring that something's going to have a happy ending, but I would really like to be more surprised by twists/turns along the way. But I've always been that way. Especially with movies! My family/husband forbid me to talk during them because I always know what's gonna happen, ha.
If you check out Carol or Simon's blogs, go back a day or two and read the vampire short story that someone entered for their contest. It's a quick read and it's not predictable and it's SO original!!
Here's the link if you haven't read it already!
Shiver.
This happens to me all the time now. It takes an amazing book for me to be swept away, as you put it. I think it is because we're writers. Just something we have to deal with, I suppose.
Here's a totally off the wall suggestion AKA a challenge:
Swim the Fly by Don Calame.
Totally a boy book, I dare you to not like it.
I've had this happen before, and I find it best to just try and push through and then move onto the next. I also try new authors for a different style.
Promise Not to Tell by Jennifer McMahon is a new read for me, and I am hoping I love it! Also I've never read a Dean Koontz book but my husband insisted Watchers was the best so I am taking the leap of faith!
As for the book Jonathan mentioned, I'm going to have to try and read this book... I can't back down on a dare!
I love to be shocked and surprised too! There are still some books that can do that for me, but like you said, the majority are more and more predictable, because we have the writer's mind...
i think it's not that you can't be sruprised any more, it's just more that we can't be surprised easily. So with great stories and good writing, the surprise will be there. It's just not there on the easy stuff any more.
read special topics in calamity physics.. by marisha pessl.
youthful and full of surprise.
I hear you. I can't turn off the writer brain anymore. It's okay, though. It makes those rare, perfect books all the more precious.
I think you are right. It takes a lot to make say "I love it." I really have to have that awesome twist. I don't like it when I figure out the whole book at the beginning. So frustrating. Sorry for the short entry. I am holding a child.
I was in that same boat, too. I swear every time I went to the library, I was coming back with the same book, just wondering what the he** was going on. I mean, there can't be that many of those, but there are. And I think you are right, about paying more attention and looking and seeing. Have you read Shutter Island?
My husband is a musician, he has a good ear. Which means he really enjoys music when it's well done, and has a really hard time enjoying something more novice.
I, on the other hand, often can't tell the difference! I think it's the same with writing (or any craft you excel at or at least study), you are more aware of the flaws as well as the excellence.
That is so funny that you said that, because when I started figuring out what was going to happen before it happened (about a year ago, right around the time I started writing seriously) I was so excited. I felt like now I was starting to understand how storytelling worked, and it kind of became a game for me to see how much of it I could guess beforehand. I couldn't do that with the Hunger Games (probably the last book that swept me away)which made me really appreciate Suzanne Collins. But even if I can still see what's coming if the characters feel like friends to me, like real people that I care about I can still enjoy the book. Does that make me too sentimental?
Yes, I've been doing the same thing since I started writing. Like now, I'm reading Fallen and I really love it so far, but there has been a few places where I thought the word choice could have been better. It's hard to turn the editor off when I'm reading for fun now.
I definitely agree with you that I can see through characters more quickly and can guess surprise endings or twists. I do think it's definitely the "writer's mind".
Like Elle's musician husband, my Handsome Hubby teaches tv productions. We'll be watching tv or a movie and he'll say, "That was a horrible edit!" Or "What a cool transition" and I'm like, riiiiight.... Although, with him around, I have started to pick up on a lot more of that, too.
My fear in predictability is that now that I notice it more, does everybody? Lol... I am hoping that because (obviously) I know the twist ending to my own WIP, it won't be obvious to everyone else a mile away...!
PS - Tonight when the kiddies are in bed, I have to check out Sara's link and some of the books you guys have mentioned! :D
I know what you mean. The shock and awe of a book is the best element to me (and the kissing, of course). : )
I think that's the hazard of becoming a writer. The good news is that there are books that still surprise and delight. It usually just means that the quality is of a high caliber. ;)
Yep, this happens to me. But there are books that can still take us away! They're just harder to find. I hope you find a good one.
I've been fighting sickness too, so I'm hoping you feel better because being sick Stinks!
I just did a review on my blog for the book The Way He lived by Emily Wing Smith - loved it - it was so original I couldn't guess what was going to happen next and it was character driven not plot driven - very refreshing after the books I've been reading lately.
I know exactly what you're talking about. :) I think it's a symptom of reading a lot, too, as well as writing. I just got so mad at a book I yelled at it.
I agree. The more we write, the more flaws we notice in the books that we're reading - which is a really good thing, if you think about it! We're becoming more and more aware of story weaknesses, too-obvious plot points, etc. - basically what not to do in our own work. This happens to me not only in books, but also in the stories I see in movies and TV. It's getting harder to find a plot that doesn't sweep you off your feet!
You all make excellent points. It is as I feared, the writer's brain just can't be shut off. But like you all said, this is not a bad thing. Plus, it makes finding that incredible book all the sweeter.
Yes! The more I get into writing, the more I can predict a book. But I tend to find specific errors in novels depending on what part of revision I'm focusing on -- for example, I'm trying to cut 3K words currently, and I keep going -- "oh, that could be cut" in whatever I read! Sometimes I'm just in the mood to escape into a book, and that way I can read like a writer. But like Sara, I easily predict most TV shows and movies too. Plotting is plotting, I suppose. And that's why I watch Lost. I have no freakin clue what's going on.
On the flip side, reading like a writer makes me appreciate the true strengths of a book even more. My most recent love is Lauren Myracle's Peace, Love, and Baby Ducks -- the voice is INCREDIBLE.
I read mostly mysteries and thrillers, and it's been quite some time since I was really surprised by a plot twist or story development. That doesn't mean I still didn't enjoy the book. I won't give up the search though. The book is out there...I just have to find it.
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