I write romance. There's a very direct and obvious (mostly) connection between the author and the reader in romance. A writer of romance wants to connect to a single, very specific emotion of the romance reader--true love.
I also write science fiction with the hope of connecting to wonder.
And thrillers, hoping to connect to adventure and thrills.
And...
I sometimes think as romance writers that we lose a clear view of the range and scope of the ways we connect ourselves to readers. The little list above is far too narrow. Too simple.
An example: I started a new short story series recently, US Coast Guard #1 Crossing the Bar. This story is set in what is generally acknowledged as the most dangerous section of ocean there is for shipping: the Columbia River Bar (the area where the Pacific meets the Columbia River just west of Portland, Oregon). Yes, I connected to fans through the love story. But I also connected to a fan who has an absolute fascination about the Bar itself. I connected to their sense of danger of a place while I telling a romance story.I'm left to consider how I can connect to a fan's heart in ways that I didn't previously understand.
Within the love story, there is the happy ever after, of course. But what comes before that? What engages the reader? Let me turn that question around: What engages me?
I'm fascinated by inner conflict. By the discovery of self as separate and distinct from our pasts. I've written of orphans and happy families. I just finished the first draft of a story about a family who loves their daughter, but never understood her and still doesn't.
Curiously, I write very little about the healing of those families. Yes, I'm focused on the heroine and the hero finding their own future, but the healing of the family is not something I almost ever deal with beyond the most superficial way. Why? Because of my own separation from my birth family? The Buchman clan was never a close one. They were dysfunctional enough that I didn't want peace and reconciliation, I wanted distance and learned self-reliance.
That is a story I've been telling through well over a hundred romance titles.
But I must ask: Have I distanced myself from other fans by not plunging into family reconciliation? I love watching the movies where that happens--even when the resolution is brilliantly dysfunctional yet good. Is it because that isn't my type of story to tell? Or that I simply haven't told it yet?
I write military romantic suspense. I'm trying to connect to the reader's heart through their adrenal gland. As funny as that sentence sounds, "And...He goes for the hand off, folks. The adrenal gland has it. Open field to the right, but he cuts left. Oh! A hard hit! A stumble, but the gland releases a fresh blast of hormones--look at the cortisol flow--and he's in the clear again..."
Okay, maybe I killed the metaphor there, but I couldn't really resist. Why? Hmmm... Now that I look back, I see that I was actually going after the reader's humor gland. (Yes, I know there is no humor gland, but there bloody well should be. How else are we supposed to get through the day? I'd appreciate it if someone could design me one soon.)
I write thrillers. Which isn't just an adrenal gland thing. Sure, a thriller is the roller coaster ride of fiction. But it also brings in a mental excitement (connecting to the readers' heart through their brains). "What's going to happen next? How will they survive? Oh, cool, I never saw that coming. Ha! Neither did the hero. That'll humble the dude for bit. No, it's James Bond. Nothing puts him in his place. Oh, but that did."
How do I find my heart-to-heart connection with the fans? What do I write better than anyone else?
MY point of view. My slice of the world. By connecting more deeply to my heart, that's how I touch the readers'. Not by overthinking which link I can build between us.
Why would I think about the setting of the Columbia River Bar would build a connection to a reader? I should have, because it's so obvious. I wrote about it because I, me, I'm the one who found that setting fascinating and brought it to life for my fan.
I'm the one who loves a good romance. Cares about present family more than past family. Thinks thrillers are a great ride. Is fascinated by the capabilities of technology whether it's a Black Hawk helicopter, a Formula One race car, a Glock 19 handgun, or a spaceship (even though I've never touched any of them). And wants nothing more than to pass on the feeling of the Happy Ever After heart connection that I found with my wife.
For that reason, connecting my heart to my fans, I write romance. I write science fiction. I write thrillers.
M.L.
"Matt" Buchman has over 60 novels, 70 short stories, and a
fast-growing pile of audiobooks out in the world. M.L. writes romance,
thrillers, and SF&F…so far. Three-times Booklist "Top-10 Romance Novel
of the Year." NPR and B&N "Best 5 Romance of the Year." RITA
finalist. As a 30-year project manager with a geophysics degree who has:
designed and built houses, flown and jumped out of planes, and bicycled solo
around the world, he is awed by what's possible. More at: www.mlbuchman.com.
7 comments:
Love this, Matt. In the end it's all about the heart of the author's voice that connects with readers (and sometimes, that voice doesn't connect with some readers at all). Authors have to write from the heart, no matter the genre. And...hope they connect with more readers than not :-)
Exactly!
Great post , Matt! This is the heart of the old saying,"Write what you know."
I'm so glad you are writing about Coast Guardsmen and women. My husband had a career in the Coast Guard. Talk about a job that brings out the hero in a person!
I had the extreme good luck to get a chance to ride on a big (40-ft.?) sailboat that sailed across the Columbia River Bar. It was truly one of the most thrilling adventures of my life. Love that you wrote a military romance in that setting!
You are right about finding your voice and connecting with your readers.
You've hit on something that authors with many books discover about themselves. No matter the genre, they tend to write the same themes because those themes are the ones pressing on their own consciousness and bring the emotion to the page.
In many ways I write coming-of-age stories. Not just for young adults, but also for young parents, grandparents, and elderly. It seems to me that our life is a continuous coming-of-age story where each step of the way we have to rediscover ourselves and our place in the world.
I've always enjoyed your heroic stories. Given your own life of adventure I can see how you would be attracted to those self-sufficient characters who make the "now" matter and don't spend too much time in the past or seeking what was lost. Keep it up!
Writing a story that I would enjoy reading is why I began writing romance stories. It wasn't until my fourth or fifth novel that I recognized the underlying theme of every book - redemption. I'd wager that 99.9% of people have done something in the past of which they are embarrassed or remorseful or feel guilty. The heroes and heroines in my stories aren't criminals but nor are they perfect and so have demons to slay before they can find their "happily ever after".
Enjoyed this post as usual, Matt. I'm sure your stories set in the world of out Coast Guard will have thrills and maybe some chills. I've not gone across the Columbia Bar myself although I was offered the opportunity...turned it down. Didn't think there was enough Dramamine I could safely take that would either keep my innards intact and/or keep me awake. I'm like Luanna Stewart, I was writing my 4th or 5th book when I realized what I thought my theme might be. (Prior to that I would tell people who asked I didn't have one). With the theme perched on the edge of my consciousness, the more difficult scenes are easier to write. Did you ever talk to the Coast Guard members stationed near where you used to live?
Ha! Two more of you who I connected to just because of cool setting. I love it. And, nope, I'm kicking myself but I never went to interview the Coast Guardspeople of either Newport, Oregon or Cape Disappointment, WA...and I'm kicking myself. Of course, I'm generally far to shy to do such a thing. And, by the time I thought to write a USCG series, I was already moved away. Of course there is a USCG station less than a mile from where I now live...but I haven't talked to them either.
I think discovering theme is a fascinating adventure in itself. (You're right, Maggie, even my terminology is about facing the challenges and going off-piste [off the beaten track]. Not something I really see in myself as I'm not an adventurous person at heart...when it has to do with people. Sailing a 50' boat single-handed or riding a bicycle around the world, sure. Talking to a stranger at a USCG station? Eeek!)
In the beginning, I knew that my writing was "To Champion the Human Spirit." Being a wordsmith, that soon expanded to the far more awkward "To Champion the Human Spirit, the Power of Joy, and the Wonder of Love." It took me a while longer to realize that all (except 2 or 3) of my stories start with the women. That was about 10 books in. Fairly quickly I realized they were all about strong women. A little more tinkering and I came up with: "Strong women, and the men they deserve." (With the ever so crucial comma.)
Now, as I launch into writing more thrillers (which while have SRE--strong romantic elements, but may not have a love story), I'm curious what the next evolution of that writing motto will be. Maybe cycling back to some version of "To Champion..."
As to the underlying story that drives me, I've never worked on a neater way to say it. "Becoming our best self despite our past."??? That's certainly the thing I've worked hardest at since a friend gave me a harsh wake-up call at 17 about the fact that the only person in charge of my life and my feelings was...me?!?! A hard lesson for a guilt-ridden Jew. (Um...kinda still working on it. :)
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