Into the Fire

Standing back from all the instructions in books about the craft of writing, even stepping away from basic grammar and the use of action/passive verbs, adverbs, and adjectives, let’s talk about novels from a reader’s viewpoint.

Readers who have little time but love to read . . . It would figure that these types of readers might prefer a novel that zips along, maybe a book that runs around 300 pages in a smaller trim size. After all, they’re sacrificing every minute they spend between those pages, and they want to be rewarded for it. There’s a little bit of instant gratification involved.

Readers who have enough time to read novels but are impatient with stories that don’t grab them and make them hang on . . . Thrillers are really the best genre for these readers, although a fast moving fantasy might take them away quickly. No one in Christian fiction does thrillers better than Robert Liparulo. Or perhaps some of the female readers in this group might like the lits for their quick-moving plots and sometimes sardonic wit and humor.

Readers who want to read a good mystery but like to be catapulted into the action . . . Brandilyn Collins or Colleen Coble or James Scott Bell can facilitate those readers who don’t want to spend too much time with a book. For those readers who are willing to invest any amount of time relaxing—or not so much depending on the story—might like the Randy Alcorn series Deadline, Dominion, and Deception or Randy Singer’s books.

I used to read a lot of Karen Kingsbury’s work. Not so much anymore. Has her writing diminished in quality? No. I just prefer longer stories with more character development and longer, more complex situations revealed in detail. I think two of her best books were One Tuesday Morning and Beyond Tuesday Morning. No one can argue with Karen’s success, and I think it’s because her stories resonate with huge volumes of ordinary people who’ve found themselves and their circumstances revealed in the pages of Karen’s novels where hope and redemption are offered for even the darkest of experiences.

Perhaps I’m among a dying breed of readers. Reading a novel is like going on a trip for me. (No comments, please, on what “trip” meant in the “good ol’ days” of my rebellious past.) I start out on the adventure and am willing to go wherever the author leads me, hoping once I board the train of his words, he won’t make me get off at the first stop. I want to ride that book all the way to the end of the line and hope I get to see a lot of city, countryside, and all different kinds of people along the way. Kind of like when I went to Europe so long ago. Every day was an adventure filled with new people, places, smells, sights, images, and sounds. Almost too much to take in but so exhilarating to try.

Reverting back for a moment to instructions for writing novels, every agent, editor, and writing instructor mimics each other with this mantra: If it doesn’t contribute to the story, get it out of there. For readers and writers like me, this is an ambiguous statement. Multiple things contribute to the story for me. The color of someone’s shoes, the ring of a distant doorbell, the smirk of a stranger—few things seem out of place for me if the author’s writing is intriguing. Fiction has its basis in truth. Life plays on in sight, sound, touch, feeling, emotion, spiritual occurrences seen and unseen, and the compositions of varying levels of thoughts and perceptions. That’s real life for me, and I want to “see” it on the pages of the novels I read. Nearly everything contributes to the story for me if it’s well done. Every means and method to portray the different lives of characters is A-okay with me because not every story should be told the same way.

How do you define yourself as a reader? Have you narrowed down your preferences in genres to read? Do you read all kinds of fiction? What are your favorites? Why?

Father, thank you for all the incredible differences and variety in your creation of people, places, and things. You are amazing in your never ending imagination. Thank you for Truth. Thank you for ears to hear, eyes to see. Thank you for my desire to use and experience all the senses when writing. Thank you, Lord. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

*PLEASE PRAY FOR KRISTY DYKES*