My book club selection last month was a book I loved and hated. I loved the writing. It was brilliant. Word choice, syntax, voice, clarity, emotion . . . they were all there in shining splendour. But the story! Oh my goodness. The story was horrible. The main characters were depraved, the weak were exploited and the innocent defiled. Even the ending felt hopeless. I searched and searched for one redeeming quality in the MC’s — after all the “experts” say even a villain should have a soft spot somewhere. Not in this case. I tried to find a better tomorrow from the sacrifice of the ‘good’ characters, but couldn’t find it. The story left me depressed and feeling besmirched. 

I’ve turned to one of my favourite “gentle” reads as a palette cleanser. I need to read about moral people. Characters who act on high principles. Story-lines that encourage and enlighten. A book that lets me sleep at night without bad dreams.

But, the experience made me wonder how authors chose their stories. How does a person sit down with a pen and a blank sheet of paper and decide I want to write “this” story. In genre fiction there are certain reader expectations that must be met. e.g. romance needs a “happily-ever-after,” mystery needs a solution, murderers must be brought to justice . .  . But, even within those parameters there are millions of stories that can be told. What makes an author choose the one that goes onto the page? Or what makes a reader decide to enter the world of “that” story?

Author’s are often advised to “write what you know,” but the author of the book I hated is not a bad person. He has not killed, he has not unleased immorality on a town, he has not exercised unbridled power to destroy his rivals. In fact, when asked why he’d written this book, he answered that “it just came to him.” And once he had the idea, he went with it.

In my own books, I wanted to tell a story about my country and it’s history. I also wanted to write a romance, so the Prospect Series was born. Jane Austen must have taken delight in exposing the foibles of her society. But Emily Brontë? What made her want to explore the darkness in Heathcliff’s soul? She was the daughter of a clergyman, brought up in gentile circles and surrounded by loving siblings. Was it the wildness of the moors that inspired her to write Wuthering Heights? By the way, the book was ill-received upon first publication. It was considered too wild and savage. Only years later was it added to the list of great English novels. 

Readers have diverse tastes, and I rejoice that there are books to meet every need. I’m glad my book club presses me to explore different books. And I’m really happy that I have the freedom to read the books I like and set aside those I don’t. What a sad and straight-jacketed world it would be if everyone had to conform to my idea of a good book. 

The Frankfurt Book Fair, the largest book fair in the world,  just wrapped up. The five day event included 1000 authors from 92 different countries and around 200,000 visitors. Three cheers for authors and publishers! May we all continue to thrive and find our happy place between the covers of a good book.

How do you choose a story? Drop a comment here.

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