Don't leave me hanging!

Even with a series, don’t leave me hanging! That’s my feeling. 

I expect the dollars, time and emotions I invest in reading a novel to buy a great story that includes a satisfactory ending. Nothing leaves me more disappointed that feeling the book I read was little more than an advertisement for the next in a series.

When I turn that last page or click off the eReader, I want all plots resolved and all characters to be in a comfortable, complete place.

Someone said the first page of a novel must entice people to read your book. The last page (whether in a series or not) must entice them to read your next book. Leaving the reader disappointed is not a good way to accomplish that. 

If cliff hangers aren’t the way to incite further interest, what is? Good writing is, of course. Also, especially for a series, insanely wonderful characters will do the trick.

If I’m intrigued by the way the characters did or did not handle life and circumstance, I’ll want to read more. If their imperfections drove their lives but I loved them anyways, I’ll want to see them through into their next adventures, hoping they’ll change for the better. If their wit or strength or spiritual natures are incredibly inspiring, I’ll crave more of their enlightenment and humour. If their pasts are a little hazy, their motives less than clear, their dreams and aspirations hidden—I’ll demand those secrets eventually be shared with me.

The best books for me contain characters that are so intensely real I fall in love with them. The best series are those where each novel wraps up the plot, consummates the relationships and leaves me wondering, given their strengths and foibles, their current place in life, their pasts and their promise, their tears and fears, how will the characters fare in the future?

When reading a series, I’m invested in the characters just as I was in my own children. I worry about them, hope for them, seek to understand them. I love them to bits. I don’t mind spending time with them, learning more about them, seeing them through trials, sharing their dreams.

And, always, always, always I’m pondering their futures.

Brought to you by THETRAZ Book 1 in the BackTracker Series 

“…can't wait to read the sequel...”

“Exciting, powerful, & tragic.”

“I came away wanting more!”

“The first of a series, igniting an appetite for the sequel…”

Entranced by the FIREWALLS characters

Amy Chris' review of FIREWALLS just went up on Amazon and on the Weet Weets Bookshelf site. It was a different review than the usual, with the reader relating her feelings towards each of the main characters. This got me thinking...
 
The characters are what people--from my editor, to my proofreader, to my beta readers and reviewers--most often mention about this book. They've all said that the FIREWALL characters haunted them long after the story was over.

Readers' opinions of my characters are often right on with I how I see them but sometimes I'm taken by surprise. Perhaps I shouldn't be, though, because just like in real life, people's views of others differ greatly. My best friend could be someone else's nemesis and the burly biker is undoubtedly some mama's baby.

I'm not sure what it is about my writing that resulted in such strong characters in FIREWALLS , or what I did differently than I did in THE TRAZ and FATAL ERROR (the first two book in the BackTracker series). 

It's not that people haven't commented in the past about my characters. However, this time it seems the characters have my readers mesmerized. Never mind the crimes they solve, the illegalities they commit, the undercover operations they pull off. Never mind the danger, the threats, the deaths, the exquisite police work and exceptionally clever investigation techniques. Never mind credibility and age differences and rough language. Never mind the plot--it's the characters, apparently, who are the story.

This doesn't dismay me. I'm very happy to have successfully brought Katrina, Chad, Shrug, Kevin, Debra and Sgt. Kindle to life for others to get to know. They have been a powerful influence over me for several years now and got me through some real rough times. It's a privilege to be able to repay them by giving them a chance to share their stories, their tears and fears, strengths, failures and inner-most hopes.

 FIREWALLS - Book III in the BackTracker Series

http://mybook.to/firewalls

"Firewall was a very interesting story."

" This is definitely an exciting action packed book."

"...left me wanting more."

"Chad is a sweetheart but a pain in the..."

"Shrug drove me nuts...But I admit I loved how he talked..."

"Kevin, I actually kinda liked..."

The power...

The grandbaby and mama were napping, snowflakes were falling, the dog was asleep and I had a chance to blog. I thought I ought to write about all the exciting things happening career-wise for me but  all I could think about was the lovely bright eyes of the baby. The way way her dark hair was a startling contrast to her pink outfits.

I thought about the little snorffly sounds she makes and the cute way her mouth bows, and how when she sleeps, her lips lift into a smile. About her tiny hands and wee toes and the fact she's named after my mother, me, and my daughter. And about how she was born on Mother's Day. And how my daughter's face lights up when she looks at her. How the son-in-law buys outfits and how the 2-year old loves his baby sister.

I thought about how powerful babies are--how they grab your emotions, steal your heart, alter your life. So powerful and yet so vulnerable. So wee. So fragile.

Ahhhhh....the power of the newborn...new life. Old genes. The hair like mine, the eyes like papa, the cheeks like the brother... Her own little frown.

Oh, to be able to create characters in my novels that are as moving, entrancing, emotionally-consuming...as powerful as a newborn. As vulnerable. Characters that knock the readers right out of reality and trap them in the story. Characters that make everyone care about what happens to them. Characters that make readers wonder what the future holds.

The granddaughter's papa said it struck him that someday he will be walking his baby girl down the aisle. Grandchildren take one both forward and back...back to my daughter's wedding, my daughter's birth, my wedding...my father, my baby pictures. Forward to weddings and descendents and stories and lore... Like the first book in a good series.

Except a thousand times better...

Eileen Schuh, Canadian Author
www.eileenschuh.com

Credibility Issues

Thanks to my readers, I’ve uncovered some wonderful ideas on how to integrate facts into fiction.

In regard to the credibility issue of my juvenile heroine in THE TRAZ opening a bank account on her own, one readers suggested Katrina could phone the bank to discuss account policies or she could pick up a brochure on juvenile accounts. Although this would satisfy some, I’m not sure it would work for everyone, since an astute reader would quickly realize that the phone call or the brochure was as fictional as all else in the story, i.e. not necessarily credible.

I had an idea of my own—have an old and wise character relay the information that juvenile accounts are easily opened. If readers view a character as wise as trustworthy, they will likely be willing to believe (at least in the context of the story) what he says.

I could have had Katrina's grandfather say, “Katrina, did you know you can open a bank account in your name and your parents wouldn’t be able to touch it?” However, I wove this information in more seamlessly by having the grandfather gift Katrina a sum of money and tell her to go to his bank and ask for a certain teller who was expecting her. He told Katrina that by opening an account of her own, her alcoholic mother wouldn’t be able to misspend the money on booze.

I was very happy with the way that turned out. It didn’t seem at all like I was forcing an issue, sticking in facts to make sure readers knew I’d done my research, or overworking a detail that, in the long run, has little to do with the plot.

Perhaps, if writers create credible characters that readers can bond with, that credibility will naturally spill over into the action, plot, and scenes. Perhaps?

For further discussion on credible characters, I invite you to read my article "Credible Crime Characters" at http://criminalmindsatwork.blogspot.com/


Eileen Schuh
Author, SCHRÖDINGER'S CAT
http://www.eileenschuh.com/