Harry the Pirate Captain

I think different people have different answers. For me, one important aspect is a world I can imagine. Reading different stories by different authors I’ve found that if I can’t see in my mind’s eye the world the story takes place in I can’t get into the story. I finally realized how important the setting was when I read a story by an author that did not take place in their normal world. Normally I could not put down his books, but that story I couldn’t really get into. That was when I figured out what, for me, separated a good story from a great story. After that, I thought back about all the stories that really drew me in. The authors that had their whole world understood were the ones that really drew me in.

Currently, I’ve been reading/listening to stories by Michael Connelly. He bases most of his stories in the Los Angeles area. He lives there and knows the city and surrounding cities intimately. When I’m reading or listening to his stories I can’t put them down. He is an incredible storyteller in general but his stories that are centered in the LA area are the best. When I’m reading one of his stories I can see, feel, and hear the city. He had one story that was in Hong Kong, thinking back on that one now, I couldn’t see the details of the city. I could see the big picture of the city but not the details.

J.R.R Tolkien was another author who drew me in, he had created a whole world and had file cabinets full of supporting material. As the story moved across the Middle Earth he already knew what was there and could simply move the story along in the new location.

I based the Harry story in the Caribbean area, partly because that’s where most pirate stories take place but also because I’ve spent some time in the area and can envision that world. When I’m telling the Harry story I want the reader to feel the wood of the ship’s wheel in his hands and the sea breeze on his face. When the ship is sailing and they encounter land I want the reader to see the low palm trees of the hammock forests.

To be fair other readers have other priorities. I listened to a vlog by Kiri Jorgensen of Chicken Scratch books she prioritizes character-driven plots. She is right a character that the story happens to does not draw me in either but still for me the world the story takes place in is more important to me.