What's on My Shelf
In Progress
With over 100+ books (mostly) on my bookshelf, and many words to write about them, I still have some brainstorming to do on how I want to structure this project in the blog.
It's time to try something. Here I'll explain some of the sections I'll be writing about, trying not to overdue anything, and maybe I'll play around with them as I go. But here's how I currently envision this project.
Spoiler Free Zone
The following subjects I'll discuss the book without spoiling anything. And for my purposes, nothing on the front/back covers, or in the first chapter, will be considered spoilers.
Cover
They say 'don't judge a book by it's cover', but as to why certain things made it to my shelves, the cover was probably at least an influence to consider the book. Though I think other elements led to the books ending up, and staying, on my shelf over the cover.
But I'll ponder it for each book. Whether or not the cover helped catch my attention, or if I picked up a book despite the cover not catching my interest.
Blurbs
Whether on the back cover or an inside flap of the book, these blurbs were probably the deciding factor with many of the books I picked out myself at the bookstore. They should be exciting, enticing, and a sneak peek into the tone and style of the book.
It'll be fun to look back at the blurbs, and see what I liked about them, and hopefully be able to take those lessons to apply to my own writing.
How it came to my Shelf
This is where I take the deepest walk into my memories. I'll be looking for how each book came into my possession. Whether it was a gift or I bought it myself.
Some of them I might not have super clear memories, of exactly when, or where, or how, but for those that do, how is this memory part of why the book has managed to keep a place on my shelf.
This will likely be a major part of any nostalgic feelings around the book.
Table of Contents
Not all books have this, but I could always use some inspiration for my own chapter titles and when available, it makes it easy.
Spoilers Abound
With these categories I'm not going to worry about spoilers. Everything and anything can come up as I study the following as a way to keep growing the knowledge of my writing craft.
Plot
I wouldn't be able to discuss the books on my shelf without discussing the plots. It's an important part of any novel, it is the story, it is usually the reason people talk about and remember.
I'll study them, discuss well done twists, and plays on what a reader might expect. If the plot is a well designed roller coaster than I'm along for the ride.
Characters
Probably one of my favorite aspects of a story to talk about, sometimes even more than the plot. If the plot is what is happening, characters are the who is taking action and/or who is the plot happening too, depending.
Characters to me, can make or break even the most exciting plots. I want to create characters that can develop into the kind of characters that are beloved long after the story reaches an end. So to do just that, look at my favorites and try to see what they all have in common.
Senses
The special thing about reading is the most immersive novels can put you anywhere at any time. And one of the techniques for this is through engaging the reader's five senses: tough, sight, taste, smell, and hearing. There is nothing quite like feeling you are right there with the characters you have grown to love in the middle of the story.
Incorporating the senses well is more than just listing everything to be seen, heard, touched, tasted, or felt. I want to find when and how other authors have used the five senses to bring readers into their world so I can more effectively bring readers into mine.
Setting
Setting, the where everything and anything is happening. This is one of my weaknesses. I have touched on this during the 2022 Ugly Word Challenge and I hope to study the settings in some of my favorite novels in order to understand how to build the world around my characters.
I also want to better understand the choice between making a very detailed, exact location or when I can save the words and allow the location be a little more up to the reader imagination. Sometimes the setting matters a lot, at times it can even seem to embody its own character, but sometimes an office building needs no further explanation. Those words may be better applied to a different setting, or to the characters, or to the plot. This is something I tend to struggle with, and what better way to learn than by reading as much as I can.
These are some of the major aspects of any story, short or long, but by no means are these the only applicable building blocks to a story. These are what I'm going to start off focusing on, likely tweaking how I decide to discuss them. This isn't supposed to be a series of essays or a dissertation, this is just supposed to be a little bit more in depth study of what things differentiate a good story from an amazing story. This is supposed to be fun research.