All of us have picked up a novel to read where for one reason of another we just couldn’t finish it. Grant Snider, an illustrator and cartoonist, has created this wonderful The Story Coaster about what can go WRONG in a story and make it into something that readers don’t want to or can’t read. As you can see below, there’s plenty that can go right and wrong. This is what developing craft is all about.
(The Story Coaster was originally published on July 12, 2013 in the The New York Times.)
Story Coaster Cartoon could be used as a tool in a writing class. A lengthy prologue can stop me from reading. Also, critical reaction. If a book has too many bad reviews on Amazon or Goodreads, I will usually steer clear. What about you? What will stop you from reading a novel?
(If for some reason the illustration doesn’t show up, you can go to Grant Snider’s blog to see it.)
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Dear Susan–I love this cartoon.
Bad reviews for a book definitely turn me away from it. Good reviews get me interested, and great reviews make me buy. I ALWAYS read a few reviews of the book I am interested in. The subject of the novel must grab me and not let go. Reading is such a personal experience for every individual. I find it almost impossible to put down a book once I start reading it, good or not so good. The latter I tend to skim through but I feel guilty when I do that. What would the author think, maybe it will get better, how do I justify spending 12 dollars on this and then not read it?
Wishing you only good reading experiences,
Mary
Oh, Susan I love this cartoon!
As for reviews, I am skeptical of books that get all good reviews. The best-reviewed books tend to be shallow to me: Twilight, 50 Shades, Sideways, Freedom, Beginner’s Greek, Big Love, etc. Some of my favorite books of the last decade–Netherland, Umbrella, Remainder, C, The Collected Stories of Deborah Eisenberg, James Salter, etc. Of course this changes once a book achieves “classic” status, but what kind of reviews do you think Virginia Woolf would be getting on Amazon if she were brand new today?
However, I find I often learn a lot even reading “bad” fiction. Not bad where I already know why and how it’s going to be bad (50 Shades) but material that tries hard to be good and fails somehow. Then it’s a lot like your New York Times chart.
Clever illustration, Susan! I hope I can borrow it.
I read the back cover or inside flap, that might stop me. I’ll also give a book a couple of chapters, if no interest I stop reading. My husband on the other hand will continue thinking it will get better. I’ll check the reviews on Amazon
I’ve read there are places where you can pay people to write good comments about a book. I’m sure that doesn’t happen much.
Susan Bernhardt
http://www.susanbernhardt.com
Hi Susan,
I borrowed it from the New York Times Book Review.
In a bookstore or library, I read back covers, too, and if the first page doesn’t grab me I put it down. There are books written about how important the first five pages are in a novel, but I give it a page.
I’ve heard about writers buying reviews, too. Big deal writers, not just the small, struggling ones. But I don’t think it happens much, either. The truth floats to the top, I guess eventually.
Thanks for reading!
Susan
Hi John,
Great question about what reviews Virginia Woolf would get on Amazon if she were writing today. My guess is they’d say her work was “quiet.” Or at least that’s what the agents and editors would say before they rejected her work as unsellable.
I learn a lot from reading “bad” fiction, too, I just prefer to check it out of the library, instead of spending my hard earned $ for it.
Hi Mary,
I love your thoughtful comments. I am a person who likes to start what I finish, so it is hard for me to give up on a book, too, especially if I’ve paid for it. It is a really “bad” book, if I bail after only a chapter or two. I read reviews, too, and use the Search Inside feature on Amazon, even if I don’t buy the book from them. I can tell very quickly whether the writing is something I will enjoy or not. And as a writer, I am always, always, always, studying the writing for what works and what doesn’t work.
I loved this so much I had to reblog!
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Darlene. Thanks for stopping by to let me know!
All the best,
Susan
What was so great about Secret Sense is you had me at the first sentence. So real and it set the stage. If I had NOT known you I would not have been able to put it down either. A long prologue will shut the book for me. I hear so many stories (as you well know as a therapist) that a book must be more interesting than work:).
I rarely read novels and more of a non-fiction person.
Your book kept me on the edge of my seat. Few authors do that. Stephen Whyte, Jonathan Kellerman and Sue Monk Kidd and Susan Gabriel:)
Missy
Thanks, Missy. I am humbled by the comparison to the other authors and I love hearing when someone can’t put a book of mine down. In author-world, that is a very big compliment. 🙂
> There are books written about how important the first five pages are in a novel,
> but I give it a page.
Wow, you’re tough, especially for a writer! If I’d put down the last book I’d read after one page, or even one chapter, I wouldn’t have read a terrific book, one of the best I’ve read in years, despite the slow beginning. I actually go very far with a book, especially if it has an excellent reputation. Can’t imagine getting hooked on Dostoyevsky after “one page.”
And when I do reject a book, I almost always feel bad for it.
Hi John,
People rarely describe me as “tough,” but maybe I should claim it.
To clarify, when I peruse library shelves and bookstores I’ll read the back cover, inside flap and first page. If it doesn’t grab me I move on. i.e. Too many books, too little time. If I’ve heard about a book or an author from a friend or a reader, then I’ll download a sample from Kindle or I’ll check it out of the library.
If I respect the person who recommended it, I’ll give it more than 5 pages and sometimes I’ll read the entire book, even if it isn’t exactly my cup of tea, just because I want to know more about the person recommending it, and/or I want to connect with that person.
It’s true I am picky when it comes to fiction. I set a high bar and expect the same from my own writing. If that makes me “tough,” then so be it. At least my daughters will get a kick out of it when I tell them.:)
I agree about setting a high bar, but you can’t judge from a page…or even five. I’ve hated many a novel (or movie, or piece of music) for a long time in, until it all came together. And then it realized it had to be that way. The first time I read Saramago’s The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis I was ready to slam it against the wall till I got through it. Then I “got” it.
You are a rare bird, John. That’s one of the things I love about you. While I love a good challenge, I don’t have the time or patience to decipher hidden messages in literature at this point in my life, I am too busy creating my own work. Like all of us, I have an expiration date, and I have things that are mine to complete. I hope you can forgive me that fault.
Love this cartoon. It effectively shows the dangers.
What turns me off are too many characters with too many unpronounceable names. Oh, there are other things but this is a major one.
Hi Leanne,
I agree. Unpronounceable names are a bear, or too many names that are alike! But if the writing is amazing, I can forgive these things….
Thanks for stopping by, Leanne. I just subscribed to your blog, so I look forward to getting to know you better!
All the best,
Susan
Susan – Every time I look up at the rows of unread books in my house, or the unlistened to CDs, I understand the concept of expiration date, so I hear you.