Well, I wanted to have a really good rant about finding dirty rancid coffee cups, and I even wrote a lovely big blog post about it, but then felt that it probably wasn’t appropriate for the public eye. (Sorry people – if you want to read it, you’ll have to email me.)

In other news, I have been reading some pretty amazing literature lately. But what exactly classes these books as amazing? I am going to highlight the main things that I consider as key aspects of good fiction. I know that there is so many more aspects out there that no doubt I have missed, but this will have to do for now.

Character:

Believable characters are a key factor in this great writing endeavour. This helps create a believable world for the reader. But you don’t want them to be so believable they are boring. Writing good characters does not mean that you have to give them boring day to day lives. It just means that you need to be realistic with them, and their emotions or how they will react in certain scenarios.

Setting the Scene:

The books that I have just read are both incredibly different to one another. One is an epic fantasy, while the other is a romantic comedy. While one is set in fictitious milieu, and the other is city based in the world as we know it, they both set a good scene. In the fantasy novel, the scene is relatively realistic to what humans know. (In fact, it reminded me a little of New Zealand with its extreme scenery, e.g. Mountains/Sea/Plains all in the same immediate area.) The other book is set in a city where I have spent a lot of time in my life, so I know it intimately.

Theme:

Understanding what the writer is actually trying to say in the midst of all this fiction is a great way to bring readers right into the story. With one of the books that I have just read, the main character works for the Family Violence Unit of the Police department. Reading this, really helped me to understand what people actually go through when they are engaged in family violence. Previously, I have always thought the ‘Oh yes, that’s terrible’ sort of thoughts… but by reading this book – it gave me a greater understanding of the dark problem that walks among our everyday lives.

The other book’s theme was about the clear divide between good and evil, and their own belief systems. If you are raised to believe something your entire life, without knowing anything else, then you actually just don’t know any better. This book really brought to the forefront of my mind that people’s beliefs are their own, and while we may think that it is up to us to educate them, they are the only ones who can open their minds.

Of course there are many other things that make up good fiction, like voice, writing style, and all that jazz, but I think for the moment I have probably said enough. In summary, I would probably say it is the author’s seamless ability to draw you right into their world with their characters.

Hmm… perhaps I should start assessing my own work with these things. Food for thought.

If you want to read these books that I have talked about, I have reviewed them over at Parchment Leaves and Just One More Page. One is Son of Ereubus, by J.S. Chancellor, and the other is Barefoot, by Michelle Holman. I highly recommend both books.

Happy reading and writing.