Good Book Breakdown #1
(Day Forty-Four)
During my morning commute today, I was thinking about what kind of book I'd like to write, with thoughts of my most recent disappointment over Allegiant in my head. There's no reason I couldn't write a series at least as good as the Divergent books, if I really put my mind to it. It would be hard and take a lot of painstaking hours (yes, even a bad book can be a lot of work), but I could do it.
That led me to think about the books I read as a kid and as an adult that I really just loved -- the ones I couldn't put down, and which stayed with me days after I finished them. Those books aren't always the bestsellers or great literature, but they pull you in and make you care.
Good writers are good readers -- I'm sure you've heard that -- so I'd like to start a new blog series on here where I look at what makes the books I love great, both from a reader's perspective and as a writer. The English Major in me will want to break out the post its and thesis statements, and I might do that occasionally (it's really a lot of fun, and I miss it), but since it's already 11:58 pm and I have to be at work before 8 tomorrow morning, I'll trust my memory on this first one.
The Secret Garden
I loved this book as a little girl, even though a part of me hated it at the same time. It left me feeling so alone and sad about the passage of time, which really isn't something a ten year old girl (or however old I was) should be feeling. But I loved the secret garden and the fact that the girl coaxed it back to life, and that she went from a sad, grumpy, spoiled girl to someone who had a positive impact on people. So that brings me to my first point:
1. Good books often (always?) have a character that changes. Mary (I had to look up her name) becomes someone you like. Not only does she change, but her life gets better because she works to make it better, so you feel proud of her for that change. Colin (I'm pretty proud I didn't have to look up his name) changes, as well, and his change is even more drastic.
During my morning commute today, I was thinking about what kind of book I'd like to write, with thoughts of my most recent disappointment over Allegiant in my head. There's no reason I couldn't write a series at least as good as the Divergent books, if I really put my mind to it. It would be hard and take a lot of painstaking hours (yes, even a bad book can be a lot of work), but I could do it.
That led me to think about the books I read as a kid and as an adult that I really just loved -- the ones I couldn't put down, and which stayed with me days after I finished them. Those books aren't always the bestsellers or great literature, but they pull you in and make you care.
Good writers are good readers -- I'm sure you've heard that -- so I'd like to start a new blog series on here where I look at what makes the books I love great, both from a reader's perspective and as a writer. The English Major in me will want to break out the post its and thesis statements, and I might do that occasionally (it's really a lot of fun, and I miss it), but since it's already 11:58 pm and I have to be at work before 8 tomorrow morning, I'll trust my memory on this first one.
The Secret Garden
I loved this book as a little girl, even though a part of me hated it at the same time. It left me feeling so alone and sad about the passage of time, which really isn't something a ten year old girl (or however old I was) should be feeling. But I loved the secret garden and the fact that the girl coaxed it back to life, and that she went from a sad, grumpy, spoiled girl to someone who had a positive impact on people. So that brings me to my first point:
1. Good books often (always?) have a character that changes. Mary (I had to look up her name) becomes someone you like. Not only does she change, but her life gets better because she works to make it better, so you feel proud of her for that change. Colin (I'm pretty proud I didn't have to look up his name) changes, as well, and his change is even more drastic.
Of course, the change wouldn't have been as striking or impactful if not for #2...
2. Things have to be bad at some point. Mary's family all dies, leaving her alone, and Colin has been essentially abandoned by his father and left to wither away as a cripple. If things weren't bad, they couldn't get better -- or at least you wouldn't care as much when they finally did.
3. There's some unknown. It never hurts to have a little mystery -- it's the good old "build suspense" literary device. Colin's house is a dark, musty, creepy castle. The garden is, of course, a SECRET, and even once Mary finds it, it's still mysterious and filled with the unknown, with new plants coming up, and birds and the tragic, lingering sense that it once belonged to Colin's mother, but you don't know exactly who she was and how she felt about it.
4. I think the best books reflect the complicated mess of humanity. The garden is secret for a reason, and it's such a human reason -- Colin's dad is sad about his wife's death and can't stand to be around the garden she loved. Colin really isn't as crippled as he seems -- he's been taught that he can't do things, and so he believes it. He has to work hard to become stronger. People are messy.
5. The book creates a world and pulls you in. When Mary gets into the secret garden, you feel like you're discovering a secret with her, so you feel like you're inside the story. You're her cohort.
6. An ending that makes you feel good. Endings don't always have to be good -- in fact, I often kinda like sad endings, because at least they're true. But there's always something great about that satisfying, "feel-good-about-life" feeling you get when a book ends well.
I feel like I'm too tired and my thoughts aren't making as much sense as I'd like, but there was my first go at it. Maybe I'll do another sometime. We'll see.