The book that propelled me into writing was This Present Darkness, by Frank Peretti. The dark demons no one could see battling the humans and the angels **sigh**
I’ve read that book a few times.
But, I have to say, the books I’ve read the most are the Twilight Series
*ducks, dodging objects rushing my face*
I know. I know.
As much as it pains me to say, I’ve read them several times each. Yes, I am in my mid-thirties. Don’t judge me.
**wink**
It brings forth the question about selling novels to publishers. Character driven stories or well-crafted, super clean stories.
I’ve heard both sides.
“Have a compelling story with fantastic characters and publishers will fight to buy your book.”
or
“Don’t bother sending anything out until it’s super clean and full of craft perfection.”
~~~
Most writers know there were flaws in the novel, Twilight, which I won’t go into here. But I’ve always said, and I will stand by this, if I love the story and characters enough, I’ll overlook craft errors.
And I loved Twilight’s characters and story.
Granted, I’m getting a bit tired of sparkly, vegetarian vampires, but still, we’re talking about books we’ve read a bunch of times on the blog this week, and so far, this one wins.
How ‘bout you guys? Whether you’re a reader or writer—will you continue reading a poorly written book if you love the characters and story or do craft issues stop you cold?
Have a great Friday, everyone.
Your Friday Fox,
Lynn Rush
Angela Schroeder
Patricia Kiyono
Elaine Cantrell
Jeff Salter
Joselyn
Tonette Joyce
Four Foxes, One Hound 
Embarrassingly enough I completely agree. I too am a thirty-something addict of the twlight phenomenon and am more than happy to continue reading poorly written books and clearly from book sales, so is the rest of the world. Publishers are looking for the perfectly composed and edited novel, often choosing to publish stories so multifaceted and verbose that they are unable to appeal to the general public. Give me a good story and good characters any day of the week. As an unpublished author nothing is more frustrating.
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Jody, we’ll start our own support group, k? LOL.
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I’ll agree with you, Lynn. The characters in Twilight were compelling and for me, that’s what makes me need to read a book. I have overlooked serious flaws in books because the story was good.
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Thanks, Danica. I think there are quite a few who would agree with us.
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I did like the story as well until book four when I felt the characters had changed so much that I didn’t recognize them- the girl who fainted in biology class with the blood from the finger prick suddenly is sucking blood from a straw like a milkshake, the vamp that was so jealous of the werewolf that he hated him, is suddenly buds with the dog and lets him be involved with his daughter, to say nothing of the ick factor there- I just kept thinking about pedophiles there. So, to sum it up, 1-3 were great reads, 4 not at all.
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LOL!! I wasn’t so much into #4 as I was into #1, that’s for sure.
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Okay, Twilight aside — which I’ve still not read — I don’t look for any particular set of rigid ‘rules’. So I don’t mind POV shifts and don’t care if it’s first person or third. And — shudder — I actually LIKE it when the narrator checks in every now and then to let me know something which the character might not know.
All that said, I do NOT like a book with typographical errors — though I’ll let one slide — and I don’t like a story with little attention to continuity.
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I hear ya on the continuity, Jeff 🙂 You like when the narrator checks in? Really? Say it ain’t so. **LOL**
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No objects thrown from over here! I am 60-something and read the first Twilight book to see what the hub-bub was with the kids. The characters and story pulled me in after the first two chapters and I couldn’t get my hands on the next book fast enough! Haven’t had that feeling since I read LOTR when I was 27! I was far too busy being pulled along by the relationships to stop, analyze or even notice any ‘poor’ writing. I keep going back because Meyer creates an atmosphere that pulls me in over and over. My take on book 4 is that over time, people change, relationships change and sometimes what was objectionable in someone becomes a non-issue as the perceiver matures.
The characters and story win out with me every time.
P.S. I used to hate onions. Now I think there’s nothing better than big chunks in my tuna salad or a thick, juicy slice on a burger. It ain’t blood but…
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Honestly, I have been in both situations I have continued to read a badly written book because I had fallen in love with the characters and there have been books that have Ibeen raved over that I absolutely hated and didn’t finish. I also don’t read books more than once. I have never really felt compelled to pick up a book and read it again when I have so many other choices to choose from and new worlds to explore.
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Just give me a story that pulls me in and characters I like and I’m off and running. What made the Twilight series hot was here is a man saying no, we’ll be married before we have sex. 99% of books have the girl saying no. What a change! More copies were sold to adults than teens, but the adults felt embarrassed by reading them. I’ve read them and enjoyed them but I did think Meyer’s The Host was a better read. I keep hoping she’ll come out with a sequel to it. Plus I don’t care what others think about what I read. I read for fun!
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