Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Interview With a Reader


Interview With a Reader

In New Zealand I was able to track down and speak a member of a highly desirable and rarely interviewed class — a reader. I approached with caution so as to not frighten the woman sitting on the couch in my living room and asked what she was reading. From there I was able to skillfully deflect the conversation into what she does and does not like to read. In the interest of avoiding the paparazzi, my niece, the said reader, shall remain anonymous. No matter what you do to me I will not tell you it was Jenny I spoke with.

Speaking of mysteries she told me she does not like a book ending where there is no clear conclusion: the experience left her frustrated. She also said she does not like plot complications that seem tossed in for suspense and do not advance the story. Her example was a woman character who knew she is being stalked and who head a strange noise in a dark parking garage. The charter went to investigate unarmed and without calling anyone for assistance. My reader added that she does not like plots where all the interesting characters get killed off before the end of the book. (I admitted that is a pet peeve of mine also.) She mentioned in some books the dialog seems stilted and the problems seem too trivial to warrant being in a book.

She said she did not like authors who essentially write the same book over and over again although she understood that some readers do.

On the positive side Jenny liked multiple viewpoints and books that shift back and forth from the past to the present. She said she enjoys interesting characters and did not mind if the characters sometimes do something, “stupid” and, “human,” especially in a tense situation where it would be hard to think clearly.

She said she enjoys how seemingly unrelated events end up connecting elements of the plot. Along with humor, including dark humor. Jenny liked well-set-up surprises as long as there are not unbelievable cliffhangers and surprises every few pages.

She wants to like the characters and be entertained.

What do readers tell you?

17 comments:

  1. Congratulations on capturing one of the species! We authors can all learn from her preferences.

    Morgan Mandel
    http://morganmandel.blogspot.com

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  2. I agree with your niece, Jenny. T Whoops! I wasn't supposed to know who she was, was I. Her viewpoints of what she likes and dislikes pretty much mirror myt own. I belong to two book clubs and read much more than their monthly choices, too. I can't imagine a life without reading.

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  3. I wish she would have been more specific in what she was reading, and gave examples of books who did the things she didn't like. That way we could really identify with her. I'm also a reader (and a reviewer), and the faults she mentioned are ones I see in books too. Hopefully, authors are getting better with each book!

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  4. Hi, Warren,

    Most of the people we writers are in contact with are fellow writers and I like to think discerning readers as well. It's very important for us to be in contact with readers.

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  5. I think Jenny might have attended one or two writing workshops. Like Jackie Houchin says, It would be good to know a few books titles.

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  6. Morgan,

    Yes I was fortunate to stumble across her.

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  7. Gloria, How did you find out? I cannot image a life without reading either.

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  8. Jackie,

    I hope writers get better over time.

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  9. Jacqueline, Discerning readers are worth their weight in gold.

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  10. Pauline, If I ever track this elusive person down again, I will ask her to name some of her favorite books.

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  11. Charming. Funny, accurate. good goin'

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  12. A reader: how exciting! I think I used to be one of them, before 24-hour-editor ate my reading-for-fun skills, lol.

    Great post, Lee, full of important reminders about who, those of us who write, are doing so in the first place!

    Thanks for sharing this and HNY to you and yours!

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  13. I share your anonymous reader's preferences and would love to see examples.

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  14. Yes, Jenny is an astute reader. I'd like critiques by professionals and readers. I stopped having friends read my stuff a few years ago when they drew erroneous conclusions about me from my writing. It was as if they were constructing my psychological profile based on my writing--quite annoying. Perhaps, I need to forget the personal comments and focus on what else readers can provide.

    Is there such a thing as an unbiased professional reader for hire?

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  15. I'm in full agreement with Jenny, your niece. Gee, I'd make a good writer based on figuring out who your reader is, right? LOL Great post, Warren.

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