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What entertains you?
Ian Nathaniel Cohen
Posted: Wednesday, September 3, 2014 6:49 PM

Whether it's particular genres, writing styles, character archetypes and tropes, or something else, what in a written work do you personally find entertaining enough to make you want to read it all the way through?  (Or not entertaining to the point where you want to stop reading for good?)

 

For me, I'm open to a wide variety of genres and I enjoy a balanced pace - not too rushed with exposition and details, but not too ponderous.  I like characters that feel like fully-developed characters - I not only want them to have a range of emotions, but also interests, hobbies, or likes and dislikes outside the scope of their quest or cause.  (For instance, my protagonist in The Brotherhood of the Black Flag enjoys playing card games, simply because he thinks it's fun and it gives him an opportunity to be social - although it does have some payoff in that it wins him an important ally.)  Good snarky banter, high stakes, sword fights, a really good whodunnit in the case of a mystery, and strong relationships also help keep me engaged.

 

Anyone else? 

 


Mimi Speike
Posted: Thursday, September 4, 2014 12:36 PM
Joined: 11/17/2011
Posts: 1016


For me, story does not exist independently of style. Sure, I love action, fantasy, all of that, if driven by verbal agility and acuity. I’m deep into a series of occasionally tedious sea sagas because it is so beautifully written.

.

I value linguistic foofaraw (like that word? I pinched it from Mr. Pynchon) over that of plot any day. Double dip, serve up both, and you’re golden.



Lucy Silag - Book Country Community Manager
Posted: Thursday, September 4, 2014 2:05 PM
Joined: 6/7/2013
Posts: 1356


This might sound odd, but small chunks of details about character's everyday lives really entertain me. In historical fiction, I love it when I find out how people used to do stuff like brush their teeth or clean their houses. In memoir, I love reading about people's daily routines--what subway they take to work or how often they go to the gym. I just love getting a peep into other people's lives!
Ian Nathaniel Cohen
Posted: Friday, September 5, 2014 12:19 PM
Mimi Speike wrote:

For me, story does not exist independently of style. Sure, I love action, fantasy, all of that, if driven by verbal agility and acuity. I’m deep into a series of occasionally tedious sea sagas because it is so beautifully written.

.

I value linguistic foofaraw (like that word? I pinched it from Mr. Pynchon) over that of plot any day. Double dip, serve up both, and you’re golden.


Interesting. I can definitely think of some books where the writing was more engaging than the actual plot of the story.  Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep is like that, with all of its delicious snarky banter, and so are some of Elmore Leonard's works.


Ian Nathaniel Cohen
Posted: Friday, September 5, 2014 12:21 PM
@Lucy: That doesn't sound odd to me at all.  I like throwing that stuff in as a historical fiction writer because I enjoy seeing it so much as a reader.  It's nice to know I'm not the only one who likes stuff like that. 

 

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