I dont want books about writing, just regular novels so I can get more inspiration for my own.
The best way to be a better writer is to be a better reader, but I have kinda hated (almost) every book I have ever read. Maybe i just really suck at finding good books, since i dont have a lot of money to buy them if I dont know I'll like it. I like the stories, but the way they are written just always leaves me wanting more. The only exceptions are more abstract stories/books like Vampires In The Lemon grove, What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours, We Have Always Lived In A Castle, Reincarnation Blues, and Gingerbread. Maybe you see a theme here… I also enjoy some works Samuel Becket and James Joyce.
The issue is that the books I enjoy writing are always set in/after the apocalypse…which is the type of tv shows i enjoy watching most…so the books I actaully enjoy reading dont help me much.
I'm trying to write something vaguely dystopian but not too much on the sci-fi side. Any science in the book is minimal and just related to real modern day diseases with very basic and limited technology. No space ships or new tech invented just for the story. I'm focusing more on survival, building society, and character relationships (romantic or otherwise). Not a romance novel, but with a good focus on some romance subplots.
Now I'm going to use a romance book as an example for things I dont like because its the most obvious example to me…the idea of show dont tell, I find many book lack this in the way that I enjoy it. If a book is describing a two characters kissing for the first time, sure it might say what their emotions are, or just say that they kiss, but I dont feel it. There is always just something missing for me, and I feel this in other types of books as well. Maybe its the length of the books not giving enough time to build up to these emotionial moments, maybe there could be more detail, idk.
Here are two parts from my first chapter to maybe get an idea of what I'm going for, and if anyone knows of books that might have a similar vibe. This is still the first draft…
"Evina runs almost effortlessly. An icy sweat falls down her back and pools at the edge of her jeans. Tears freeze in her eyes as the wind flies past, pulling her hair loose from its braids. The world grows quiet as the wind suddenly dies, and the sweet scent of rain rushes in. Evinas’ heavy breath echoes in her head, layered with the rhythmic sound of crunching leaves and snapping twigs beneath her feet.
The last light of the sun hides behind the clouds, but the air begins to glow a crisp orange as light glides between the trees and the dark grey clouds swim in shades of yellow and pink."
"The thunder claps again, followed by a crack of lighting, feathering through the sky. The blood from the man's mouth glistens as it gently falls through his lips, quickly being washed away by the rain. Though unconscious, he is not yet dead. His brain deprived of oxygen, his skin a soft, milky blue. His body begins to convulse. Writhing in the mud and the detritus of the forest, he loses all appearance of humanity. When he finally lays still, the expression forever sewn on his face is not one of fear or confusion, but of anger, contempt, and disappointment."
In this chapter it goes between the man dying and Evina running away from him, so her running and him dying are happening at the same time. There is also a tornado forming in the area. Still working on the order it should all be written in.
by Exquisite__Corpse