{"id":463,"date":"2015-09-12T16:36:14","date_gmt":"2015-09-12T16:36:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/willbly.com\/?p=463"},"modified":"2015-09-12T16:41:54","modified_gmt":"2015-09-12T16:41:54","slug":"fantastic-journey-a-fantasy-writer-and-reader-prompt-amreading","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/willbly.com\/?p=463","title":{"rendered":"Fantastic journey (A Fantasy Writer and Reader Prompt) #amreading (Michelle Reads)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"book-863418_1280\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Fantasy Readers and Writers Group challenged me with a question:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What do you like about \/ look for the most in fantasy books?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This prompt made me realize something: I haven’t read many fantasy books at all (a problem I am working to remedy). For now, I’ll be answering this question more generally: What do I look for in speculative fiction books?<\/span><\/p>\n

I read from many points of view: a reader, an editor, and now a budding writer. I have read a long list of books. However, I’m finding it difficult to put into words what I actually like in <\/span>my favorite books<\/span><\/a> — what catches and keeps my interest. But here goes:<\/span><\/p>\n

1) <\/span>Feel the Story.<\/b> I don’t like when the narrator tells me a story. Or tells me what happened without explaining how “it” happened. Instead, I want to be a part of the story. I want to experience the story as the characters experienced it. I want to be engulfed in all their senses. I want the story to evoke emotion like I am the one experiencing it. I want to <\/span>feel <\/span><\/i>the story.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

2) <\/span>Clean Writing. <\/b>I understand in a long novel a typo here and there will slip through the cracks. Even the best of authors have them. However, when the typos and misspellings become the norm rather than the exception, I have to call it quits. There’s nothing worse than a sloppy manuscript to pull you out of a good story.<\/span><\/p>\n

3) <\/span>Flow. <\/b>There needs to be ease of flow; words need to dance across my mind without tripping over each other. A story that jumps around too much gets me off track.<\/span><\/p>\n

4) <\/span>World creation<\/b>. Speculative fiction is about drawing a reader into a whole new world; a world unlike our own; a world where the impossible is made possible. Details of a world need to be sprinkled throughout the story, and rules of the world consistent. Rules of a world force the character to resolve a problem in a certain way. For example, societal rules in The Giver forced the character to take drastic measures.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

5) <\/span>Wanting more<\/b>. I love authors that end their chapters with intrigue. A story needs to draw me in and keep me there. I don’t have the best attention span (ask my husband), so if a story can keep me turning the page and wanting more, you’re golden.<\/span><\/p>\n

6) Psychological Themes<\/strong>. When an\u00a0author can delve deep into the depths of the human psyche and show me what they find, I know I’m hooked. Questions of authority, existence, what the future can hold or take away, what it means to be human, the strength of the human will.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This blog post was written as part of a Fantasy Writers and Readers writing prompt. Please contact me for an invite if you are an avid fantasy writer and\/or reader and would like to participate in this closed Facebook group.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  The Fantasy Readers and Writers Group challenged me with a question:\u00a0 What do you like about \/ look for the most in fantasy books?   This prompt made me realize something: I haven’t read many fantasy books at all (a problem I am working … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1,10],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6aT9B-7t","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":422,"url":"https:\/\/willbly.com\/?p=422","url_meta":{"origin":463,"position":0},"title":"Don't Feed the Trolls! (A Fantasy Writer and Reader Prompt) #amwriting #trolls #writingadvice","date":"September 2, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"\"Do not engage reviewers who leave a bad review. Accept it and move on.\" Dani-Lyn Alexander I have had mixed luck engaging critics with thoughtful discussion. Many will appreciate the author considering their gripes and suggestions. Others -- many others -- will treat any engagement with their critical view as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Books, Novellas, and Stories"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":719,"url":"https:\/\/willbly.com\/?p=719","url_meta":{"origin":463,"position":1},"title":"Enjoying a better book diet.","date":"February 27, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"I fear a world where everyone reads the same stuff. A new year just turned and with it came troves of book lists telling us all about the most best and\/or most popular reads of 2015. Gaggles of readers are now catching up with what the previous year's \"books that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":507,"url":"https:\/\/willbly.com\/?p=507","url_meta":{"origin":463,"position":2},"title":"Review of Ravens in the Sky by Will Bly (Michelle Reads)","date":"November 21, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I wrote this review awhile back, but as a family member I am unable to post it to amazon. At the time, I had just got finished reading the final proof of RITS and I was super excited about its completion. I had fun interpreting the story and sharing my\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":949,"url":"https:\/\/willbly.com\/?p=949","url_meta":{"origin":463,"position":3},"title":"5 Questions with Author Robert Mullin","date":"June 27, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"I recently had the pleasure of asking Robert Mullin a few questions. Robert is an author of Science Fiction and Fantasy, and is also a cryptozoologist who has been featured on the History Channel. A search for a living dinosaur has taken Robert to Africa multiple times. I actually have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Author Interviews"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1017,"url":"https:\/\/willbly.com\/?p=1017","url_meta":{"origin":463,"position":4},"title":"5 Questions with Fantasy Reader and Hobbyist Writer John Blenkinsop","date":"July 16, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"I think the real fun thing about this interview is that John writes for children he knows in the same way that Tolkien did. Stories written for specific children tend to resonate with others, and the same can be said about the Worlds of\u00a0Yifan books. Prince Yifan and Princess Yifan\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Author Interviews"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":867,"url":"https:\/\/willbly.com\/?p=867","url_meta":{"origin":463,"position":5},"title":"Eff it! Why I (Sometimes) Write with Bad Words #Amwriting","date":"June 7, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Recently a conversation sparked up in the Fantasy Writers and Readers group. As with any such group, many people hold strong personal convictions about swearing and the use of bad words when writing fiction. Suffice it to say, as I am a writer who tends to get a little naughty\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/willbly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/463"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/willbly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/willbly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willbly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willbly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=463"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/willbly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/463\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":471,"href":"https:\/\/willbly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/463\/revisions\/471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/willbly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=463"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willbly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=463"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willbly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=463"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}