Years ago I
watched a movie, “The Naked Jungle” with Charlton Heston and Eleanor Parker. It
had everything a romance should; a man who has carved an empire out of the
South American jungle but hasn’t had time for anything else including women or
relationships (read, virgin) and the caring but feisty widow he ends up with
who is surprised to find he’d requested a virgin. Something their go-between
very wisely decided not to tell either of them.
Heston’s
character was hungry for what he wasn’t getting, a wife and a glimpse of a
world so outside his own realm that he literally wanted to devour them both. In
the process of achieving his goal, he builds a house and furnishes it expensive
furniture and an entire library of books that he’s bought by the pound.
I realize that
as readers, we are all hungry for a good story and thanks to progress and the
internet I don’t have to buy books by the pound to appease my appetite because
trust me, it would take more than one boatload. I can be selective and choose
what story I want to read, whether it’s a five or ten-thousand word
short story or a full-length novel. When I buy a story, no matter what length,
I have a good idea of what to expect.
To paraphrase a
quote I once heard and can’t remember who to attribute it to, “Every story
should have a beginning, middle and an end.” I have always assumed that this
would be true for any length of story and have been surprised to find many
short stories given low marks on reader sites because they found them “too
short” and wanted more.
I have to admit
my confusion. Do some readers feel cheated monetarily because the story was so
short or were they so in love with the engaging characters that they didn’t
want the story to end? This is rarely explained and I’m surprised when I see
them admit they would have given the story a better rating if it had been
longer.
Hmmmm…did the
story fall short when it came to setting up the premise? Were the characters
introduced somehow lacking in dimension? Did they not have a clear goal and/or
was that goal not met or revised to suit the story being told? Was the ending
abrupt or did it actually answer all of the questions presented and/or resolve
any conflict in a satisfactory manner? Did it deliver the story that was promised
according to the blurb or excerpt, which I’m assuming was the reason they’d
purchased the story?
If the reader’s
problem was with loving the story and not wanting the story to end then I
believe that the author did their job and have to wonder why a reader would penalize
it with a lowered rating because of its length. I admit that I am perhaps
slightly prejudiced in favor of giving full marks to the author who has managed
to capture and express a small slice of life in the difficult medium of the
short story.
I am truly
interested in how readers determine their rating for a story/book. What is your
first consideration when deciding how to rate a book/story? Do you have an
automatic expectation in relation to the price you pay? How do you determine
whether or not the story has met your expectations?
Thanks, and
until next month
Happy Reading,
Paris Brandon
Website: http://parisbrandon.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ParisBrandon
Pinterest:
https://www.pinterest.com/parisbrandonaut/
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00N3M7EEM
USA
Today bestselling author Paris Brandon writes contemporary, paranormal, erotic
and historical romance, throwing in a little mystery and suspense for good
measure. She can be found most days bent over her keyboard creating worlds
where sleeping beauty turns out to be a cursed bootlegger or an outlaw shifter is
forced to go on the run with the assassin tasked with killing her.
When not
dreaming up stories featuring heroes who aren’t intimidated by strong heroines,
she can be found searching through antique and thrift stores for vintage
treasures, or communing with nature, which is code for sitting on the patio
with a cup of tea and a good book. And as with any activity, chocolate is
usually involved.
No comments:
Post a Comment