I’ve started walking away from a lot more books than I finish. At bare minimum, I’m looking for heart in a story — for big problems, and the people willing to take risks and suffer setbacks to solve them.
If a book has heart, chances are I’ll finish reading it.
But for me to consider a book a keeper, or recommend it to someone else, it has to move past heart. It has to have a soul.
Most books don’t. There are some cute books out there that have spunky heroines and great heroes, and I read them and like them well enough. But when I’m done, I put them down and never think about them again. They might have cost the author time and effort and sweat of brow, but during the writing, the author never ripped out her heart and bled.
You think vampire fiction is hot? Well, think of me as the vampire reader.
I’m looking for a story that is about more than its plot, more than its characters, more than its throughline. I want to be moved. I want to have the way I see the world changed. I want to find out things that I didn’t know, of course — but much more than that, I want to find the writer in her words.
The best fiction comes from a writer fighting to make sense of the universe, of life and death, love and hate, war and peace in all their mysterious forms. Writers can do this in any genre — there is no class of books that is by its nature immune to the potential for greatness.
Nor are there writers who are immune to greatness, though the search has its price, and we try far more than we succeed.
But the hope of transmitting soul across the pages, across space and time through the magic of words printed on paper, is the essence of why most would-be writers start to write in the first place. Humans are so very temporary, so fragile, so ephemeral. The most valuable thing we as human beings can give to each other is ourselves — our time, our experiences, our hurts and heartbreaks and the rare moments when we broke through pain to the wonder beyond. Books are magical because we can touch the hearts and souls, the thoughts and hopes and dreams, of other human beings, from every age and every place in the world. We breathe with writers who are still living, and with those who are long dead — and when their words touch our minds, their thoughts live on us.
Fragile, middle-aged, watching a clock whose hands turn faster every day, I yearn for immortality — to leave something behind that matters. As a writer, I believe I owe more than a good story to my readers — at least to those readers looking for more. I owe my mistakes, my failures, my discoveries, my contribution to finding order within the chaos of existence. I owe something that the careful reader can take away after the story is done: a new view of old pain; a shard of hope found somewhere unexpected; a bit of beauty discovered among the mundane. A drop of my blood, a piece of my soul. This has to be hidden; the storyteller can’t preach. The magic I hope to convey has to be visible only if the reader searches for it. Otherwise it isn’t magic. The soul you see is not the true soul.
I seek as a reader the same things I seek as a writer. Passion, heart, faith, hope, courage, and soul, tucked within a framework of strong characters, a tight story, and from time to time, a good laugh.
I ask a lot. But for the writer who can deliver what I seek, I offer myself as one stone in the path to immortality. Your thoughts will live again in my mind, I will see the world through your eyes, I will believe with your heart, and I will walk away touched, forever changed — and carrying your words with me, to pass on to the next person who will live for a while as you, long after you are dust.
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Ditto Holly, I’ve found myself purchasing fewer and fewer books as a result of the lack of heart and soul. Yes, I know first hand how much effort goes into creating a readable novel, but I’ll read and re-read a book, rave about the book and never shut up about the book if it clutched me heart and soul.
I think that having heart and soul in a book has been misinterpreted as forcing characters through horrendous trials, or writing a “dark” book. Sure reading a good book where love and acceptance triumphs over heartache and disappointment can tug at your heartstrings quicker than a book with a lighter touch, but any type of book, whether it be “light” or “dark” or “humorous” or “biting”,etc can be a heart-soul clutcher.
I too believe that I owe my reader something more than just a good book–a darn good book that has been crafted from my pains,frustrations,laughter and joy, agendaless, but created as a sort of touch of something inspiring for the reader to be left with when they close the book.
I had a writer friend recently state that “it’s not like we’re writing romances for it to mean anything” and that caused me to pause and think–maybe we aren’t writing romances with this huge,world wide agenda(ie: laywer fiction or terrorist fiction), but isn’t love and acceptance something that everyone craves? Shouldn’t our written expression of the most basic and most complicated emotion mean something, perhaps even more, than what genre-detractor, and even us ourselves give credit to?
Angela, whenever I hear statements like your friend’s, it floors me. Isn’t what Holly said why we do this? If you don’t value it, why do it?
Holly, beautifully put.
Passion, heart, faith, hope, courage, and soul, tucked within a framework of strong characters, a tight story, and from time to time, a good laugh.
Doesn’t this sum-up in one sentence what we as readers are constantly searching for? Well said and thank you.
Unlike Angela, I find myself buying more and more books searching for the perfect fit, but I’ve also stopped struggling to finish books that don’t work for me, too many books and too little time to waste on something not readable.
Excellent post! I completely agree – tons of books have been published and many, if not most, have only skimmed the human condition – the writers haven’t dug deep to plumb the depths of their souls and that shows through in their characters. It’s something I agonize a lot about in my own writing.
Writers like Penelope Lively, Nalo Hopkinson and the woman who wrote “We Need to Talk About Kevin” do it and do it well. And, yes, it definitely can be done in romance. Isn’t that why Flowers From the Storm is such an enduring classic?
I know this blog is all about romance, but those of you who also enjoy fantasy can see one of the results of Holly’s words. I’ve been shamelessly promoting her latest book, Talyn, anywhere and everywhere because it’s haunted me since I read it. It’s the best book I’ve read this year. I’d be proud if I could ever write anything this good.
And I agree with Holly about what I look for in a keeper book. But it seems we’re a rare breed. Look at the bestseller lists. Many on there are a good, entertaining read, but I never think about them again. I like good, entertaining reads. Sometimes that’s what I need. But when I want to “curl up with a good book”, I want more.
What a terrific post — and a good reminder for all of us who write. Thank you, Holly.
Holly, this is a great post! You’ve verbalized the dissatisfaction I’ve been feeling about so many books. Luckily, there are still some terrific ones that speak to my heart and soul.
What a great post. I think one problem for writers is that first book they write, the one that convinces them they want to be an author, is filled with heart and soul. Unfortunately it is also rife with awkwardness and flaws that make it unreadable. Writers start learning “the rules,” worrying about their POV’s, GMC’s and whatever other acronyms you can think of, producing a slicker product but quite often sacrificing their creativity. It’s like cheesecake, very good on its own, but then someone gets the great idea to cover it with strawberries, or add chocolate, nuts or anything else until it really doesn’t taste like cheesecake. Writing quite often goes the same path.
Great post. I agree. While there is a place for what I call, “satisfying, quick reads,” it’s the deeper books that I remember and savor long after I put them down. I just finished Tess Gerritsen’s VANISH and this is one of those memorable books. She’s not afraid to tackle difficult subject matter in a frank and compelling manner, and her characters are so rich and alive I expect to feel their breath on my neck.
What many of us yearn and strive for but few reach – the book that moves, even exalts, a reader’s mind and soul.
A perfect expression. Thank you.