Last week I had a blog post about what readers want and now I’m pondering this question:
What do writers want?
I’ve been thinking about this lately ever since reading Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins.
While I won’t be discussing spoilers here, I’m still not quite sure how I feel about the book. There have been many discussions about it though. Some heated discussions about the dark turn of the last book in the Hunger Games trilogy and how some readers are disappointed in the ending. There’s even an interesting Mockingjay Poll over at the Adventures in Children’s Publishing blog.
All of this has me wondering about what Suzanne Collins wanted for her trilogy. I personally think she was going to go there all along but when the book became so commercially successful, the readers became very invested in the story, its characters and the ending that it became no longer the author’s book but also the reader’s book. And when that happens, expectations get really high and there isn’t a way to satisfy everyone.
Most writers say that they want to tell a story that they would want to read, which may or may not match the reader’s expectations.
I often wonder when working on my own novel project how much I should write for the reader and how much I should write for myself. We are our first audience right? When does a book — especially a trilogy or a series — start to have expectations and obligations to readers?
Is it always the writer’s book first? Or should the writer always try to figure out what the reader wants?
I’m thinking it may be a mixture but then comes the catch-22. Can we really satisfy all of our readers completely? Is it even possible?
Or should writers just tell the story that they want to tell?
What Writers Want
September 8, 2010 Read Comments
Filed Under: Authors, Books Tagged With: Mockingjay, Suzanne Collins
Karen, what a thought-provoking post! So far, I think I mostly write the story I want to tell. I do keep the reader in mind when I’m writing, in terms of thinking about what feelings I want to create, what needs to be clearer so the reader understands, creating characters the reader can connect with. But I start with the story I want to tell.
I want to write what I like to read or close to it. My problem with Mockingjay was that it was so different from the first book. I liked the first book the most and then after that my enjoyment level dropped with each book. I felt with the last book it became more of an issue book – an author trying to get her point of view across. Ya know? But I think adults analyze books like that way more than the kids reading it who love it.
The more I write, the more I trust the author to take the characters where they need to go. It must be difficult to write under the expectations of fans while remaining true to the essence of the characters’ journeys.
Before I started writing, I wanted it to be more for the reader. Now that I’m writing more, I definitely think that a writer should take it wherever the story needs to go. Readers can always put down the book and find something else that suits their fancy, but as an author, you have to publish something with your name attached, and if you aren’t happy with it, then it shouldn’t go out.
Andrea: I do this as well. Maybe we should start thinking of our novel projects for ourselves first and then hoping the readers who share that same notion find our books.
Laura: You might be right about MOCKINGJAY. I haven’t yet talked to any teens about how they feel about the trilogy as a whole. Most of the comments are coming from adult readers — the book has a HUGE crossover audience and we adults tends to be more focused on the structure of the story and most of the time kids just want to be entertained. The poll results were interesting though. HUNGER GAMES remains my favorite book of the trilogy.
Caroline: Yes, while writing we must find the heart of the story first. Thinking about the reader may stifle our creativity. And really, can we satisfy every reader? Probably not.
Tiana: Yes, I think when readers become writers they start to see what has to go into the creation of the novel and that’s when we may start to write what’s coming from within us and not necessarily what’s outside of us. Writing the story we need to tell and hope that it finds readers who will appreciate it.
I think a book needs to be written for the author, not the readers. If the writer is constantly thinking about how the readers will take a certain aspect of the story how can it grow organicly?
As to Mockingjay, I absolutely loved the story, in fact it is my favorite book in the trilogy. Part of that comes from realizing how brave it was for Suzanne Collins to tell the story she wanted to tell, to make it as real and sad as it needed to be. I wish more readers would understand that this is her story to tell, and just because expectations are not met, does not make the story “bad.” None of what I thought was going to happen did, except maybe 2 things, and I’m still thrilled with the story.
Theresa: Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment.
Good point on the writer growing a story organically. It would be hard to do if you are writing for other people. As a writer you should try to write from within. That’s why I think it’s not a good idea to write to trends or the market. You can do it but if it’s not truly what you want to write, I think you lose some of your story’s authenticity.
As for MOCKINGJAY, I really do think it was the author’s intention to go there. And the result the book had on me was pretty strong and immediate. Was it what I thought it was going to be? No. But the writing was phenomenal and it left an emotional impact on me. I think part of the disappointment that I’m hearing from some readers is that what they *wanted* to happen didn’t and there was a letdown since they had invested so much into the characters.
But I guess that’s what fan-fiction is for right? Ha.
I agree that the author needs to write the story that is inside him or her. The minute any artist attempts to “appeal to the masses,” there’s a certain fierceness that is compromised (not always, but often enough). All we CAN do is tell the story that is inside us. Hopefully that will connect with readers, but who can ever guarantee that?
What an excellent question. I think your last statement is ultimately the truest: We can’t please everyone all of the time. But in the end, maybe we can at least please ourselves. And hopefully more than a few readers will be happy too. ;)
Vicky: Love when you say that a writer can lose a “certain fierceness.” I see that in your work. You definitely have written something from inside you based on your passion for certain historical subjects. And I’m sure that you have readers who love it.
Ali: Yes, pleasing others is a difficult path to take. I think back to when I first started writing and it was always something that I was *really* interested in. Something that came from inside me.
Like most things in life, I think you have to strike a balance between the two. I write a story for me, but I always keep the reader in mind (in my case, kids). I will never compromise myself in search of the ever-elusive mass appeal. Be true to thine self.
Hey Athena: So glad to have connected with you. :)
You are right about the ever-elusive mass appeal. If you look back on all of the books that started mega-trends like TWILIGHT, HARRY POTTER, HUNGER GAMES — those authors probably wrote the story that they wanted to tell. It also just happened all these books struck a chord with a lot of readers.
Hey Karen, I gave you a gift on my blog today. http://alicross.blogspot.com/2010/09/you-like-me-you-really-like-me.html
I really love your blog and promise to do better at commenting so you KNOW I’m here and loving it, lol!
Aw, thanks Ali. :)
I’m really bad with commenting too especially when life gets hectic! I do appreciate it when you do stop by though.
I’ll head over and check it out. Thanks for the gift.
I agree that the story must come from inside the writer. After all, isn’t the reason we write because we have stories that need to be told? Trying to write for a reader seems to lose its authenticity because the writer isn’t filling the story with his or her passion, it’s just filled with words.
I may get things thrown at me for this but here goes: I don’t think it’s the writer’s book or the reader’s. I think it’s the character’s book. It’s their story.
Gail: I think the problem when thinking of the reader first is that unless you know for sure the *reader* you’re trying to reach, it can be hard to know what you’re looking for.
Heather: Ha, there is NO violence on my blog. :)
An interesting concept you bring up — that it should be the character’s book. Tying this in to MOCKINGJAY, maybe Collins knew something about Katniss that we as readers weren’t privy to. We all know as writers how when we want a story to go one way, the characters take it somewhere totally different — usually comes out better too. Hmm…something to think about. Thanks!