Ever Get That Not So Fresh Feeling?

Posted by CFmom Lisa in Lisa's Laundry List | 3 comments

How many of you enjoy reading a series only to find several books into it that the stories all start to sound the same? Sure, the character names are different, and maybe the catalyst for the plot has changed, but basically it’s the same story you read three books back. Anyone? Why are you all looking at me like that? Whoa – wait a minute. You thought…? Oh my. That’s embarrassing. I can assure you that I’m not trying to resurrect an old tagline from the 1980’s about feminine hygiene. Those commercials were absolutely awful.

So getting back to what I really meant by the title: How do authors keep the writing fresh?

Hi, I’m Lisa and I’m a bibliophile. I truly love reading books. I read anything, well except horror because I read for the adventure and escape – not the terror. Anyway, because I read so much and so often I have collected quite a few series that I read with enthusiasm. I’m always excited when the next in the series is coming out and devour it on the first read through usually within twenty fours or less. My love for reading goes back to my early teens when Danielle Steel was the “be all” for romance fiction. I will gladly admit that I’m a total sap for romance so of course I loved her books, and I still have some of my favorite “Steele Stories” in hardcover on my bookshelves. As the years passed, I wasn’t sure if it was because I was expanding my reading repertoire, or if I was just growing up, but suddenly Danielle Steel’s books seemed to all sound the same. Now I carry a sneaking suspicion that she doesn’t even write them herself anymore but uses a ghost writer who follows her tried and true formula that worked so splendidly in the past and sold millions of books. I could be totally wrong, but when I read them now they just aren’t the same. The excitement of a new and fresh storyline was gone, at least for me. I know a lot of people that still love her books and read them with as much enthusiasm as the first ones she cranked out way back when, and hey, I’m happy for them. Please understand that I’m not knocking Ms. Steel because clearly she’s made millions with her stories, and honestly, she was the author that turned me onto reading in the first place so I’ll always carry a torch for her.

I put down Ms. Steel’s books and moved on. I found other genres and other authors, and I fell in love all over again. The euphoria of something new and exciting was back! Christine Feehan’s Dark Series, Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dark Hunters, and Karen Marie Moning’s Highlanders took over my reading time, and that was just for starters. The list of the series I now read is long and exciting, but those were the firsts. Of those three only one series has reached a conclusion and that’s KMM’s Highlanders. I miss them, but comfort myself with her other books (Fever Series, anyone?). I have found that with Feehan’s Dark series and even my beloved Dark Hunter’s by SK – there is that pesky staying fresh problem. Each book, while unique in characters, basically all follow the same premise and formula. They have become that dreaded word: predictable. It is disheartening, but I guess not uncommon.

Thankfully, I must not be the only one that has noticed this unfortunate problem because I’ve started to see a change. In recent books, not just in the two series listed above but across the board of the series I read, I’ve noticed the authors injecting a new story arc into the series which is bringing that newness back to the books. How wonderful it is again to not know what to expect when I turn a page. Another perk is seeing some of my favorite characters being revitalized by a fresh new spin in their series of events. The characters seem to really thrive on the new plotlines and story arcs as well. Yes, I realize that I’m talking about characters like they’re real people, but climb inside a book with me and they are 100% real for those couple of hundred pages, and every time they make a reappearance thereafter. The realness of the world created is why I love reading so much, and that’s why it’s a huge letdown when the story starts to seem stale.

Now, I’m not a published author making oodles of money, but I have to think that my observation is valid. Some stories get stale and predictable. So how do authors find a way to keep the story fresh? Is it hard? Part of me feels that if they were able to create this entire world then how can anything they write into it not be fresh and new? But clearly, that’s not the way it works. It must be harder than that. It must be difficult to find a new way to make a “happily ever after” (if that’s the goal) because let’s face it – is there any uncharted territory left out there? And this is where the devil’s advocate in me rears its head: If a series starts to run out of new material then why does an author keep it going? They have to see what the reader sees, don’t they?

Some authors seem to know when enough is enough. Look again at Karen Marie Moning. Her Highlander Series ended at the perfect time before things became stale. Those books will always be among my favorites, but they ran their course and reached a satisfying conclusion. When Adam’s book ended I was sad it was over, but I was also happy with the way everything ended. Her Fever Series on the other hand? Holy Cannoli that’s a different story! The books had built such an amazing and detailed world that the final book had a lot to live up to and it did. However, it also left so many us overloaded by all the new revelations that happened in the final book that we would’ve definitely been happy to read on and on and on.

So how does an author know when to stop? Do they just write until they run out of ideas or do they struggle – just like the rest of us – to keep the ideas flowing and not regurgitate earlier stories with a new name slapped on it? Is there any way to avoid the predictable story pitfall, especially if the story is a part of series? If anyone knows the answer to this, please let me in on it. I’d love to know how to avoid it myself when the time comes.

Until next time,

~Lisa