Writers’ quirks…
Some writers eschew semicolons. Others split infinitives, use dangling participles, or mix past and present tenses in one sentence. Some will use a comma before “and” ending in series—the Oxford comma—while others adamantly refuse to do so. Some writers are strict followers of the rules about point of view (POV); others mangle them.
Following rules is neither a sufficient nor necessary condition for having a successful fiction book. Telling a good story isn’t a sufficient one, but it’s absolutely necessary. Any reader might raise her or his eyebrows when a critic says, “This novel is great because the author followed all the rules.” (I’ve only seen that opinion expressed by some high school English teachers.) Good fiction writers tell good stories. They might follow all the rules; they might not. They might not be successful writers—that depends on an increasingly fickle market—but no reader will finish a book if it doesn’t seem like a good story.
I’m currently rereading Frank Herbert’s Dune. It’s a very good story, and it shared the first Hugo. Maybe Herbert improved as he wrote the other books in the series, but his handling of POV in Dune is abysmal. He jumps from one character’s POV to another’s within paragraphs. Somehow it works, though, and he spins a great futuristic yarn (and it’s a bit current too, as the main character, Paul, struggles to avoid creating a movement that could become a jihad).
Some authors carefully research the names of their characters. Joe Smith, if not an alias, sounds American or English; it hardly sounds Greek or Hispanic. Herbert went to great lengths to create Arabic-sounding names (the ancestors of the Fremen of the story were Sunnis), but one secondary character is called Duncan Idaho. (I smiled at that because it immediately called to mind Indiana Jones). Paul Atreides is the messianic protagonist, and his last name sounds Greek. The Arabic-sounding names were probably suggested by the desert environment on the planet Arrakis where most of the action takes place. There’s no consistency with the names, though, but Herbert doesn’t care—he just tells a great sci-fi story.
Given two writers, each one will have different quirks. Do they make a difference? Not much if the story is good. Sensitivity to quirks is all correlated to the experiences of the reader. When I first read Dune in my first year of college, I didn’t even notice the quirks. Now I notice, but I don’t care. This sci-fi novel is a classic for that reason.
I know some authors will disagree with me. But they should always follow this guideline: just tell the story in your own voice, no one else’s. If you break a few rules along the way, who cares? (Well, maybe high school English teachers!)
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Rembrandt’s Angel. To what lengths would you go to recover a stolen masterpiece? Scotland Yard’s Arts and Antiques Inspector Esther Brookstone goes the extra mile. She and paramour/sidekick Bastiann van Coevorden, an Interpol agent, set out to outwit the dealers of stolen art and recover “An Angel with Titus’ Features,” a Rembrandt painting stolen by the Nazis in World War Two. Their efforts lead to much more, as they uncover an international conspiracy that threatens Europe. During their dangerous adventures, their relationship solidifies and becomes a full-blown romance. Published by Penmore Press, this novel is available in ebook format at Amazon, Smashwords, Kobo, B&N, and Apple, and in print through Amazon, B&N, or your local bookstore (if they don’t have it, ask them to order it). Great summer reading!
In libris libertas…
