So, remember what I said about having my new project all outlined on Tuesday? We (that would be the royal we, or the crazy we...and I’m going with royal) have already deviated from it. Yesterday was a 6K word day, and in those 6K words I found out a ton about my protagonist.
This is a quieter (and creepier) story than the PD novels or the one I just turned in to my agent. Consequently, it’s one of the most character driven novels I’ve ever written. The deeper I get into my protagonist, and the more of her hopes and dreams she shows me, the more my heart breaks for her. I’m about 9K into the project and she’s already had me crying twice.
So, my question of the day. What are some of your favorite character driven novels? What about the novel made it one of your favorites? You all already know my answer, because I’ve been obsessing about the book all month, but in addition to Gayle Forman’s Where She Went, I love Sarah Dessen’s Dreamland,
Jay Asher’s 13 Reasons Why and Courtney Summer’s Cracked Up To Be. What makes all of these character driven novels great is the spare prose and the raw emotional charge that crackles over the pages.So, now for the Original Sin teaser of the day!
We all know by now that Frannie struggles with her feelings toward the celestial and infernal boys in her life. From the beginning, both drew her in and made her feel completely different things. In Original Sin, she’s finally starting to come to terms with her feelings for the boys, and here’s how she sums it up:
I think I'm part robot, because I've only ever cried ONCE while reading. I read Sarah Dessen's Dreamland when I was about 12, and it kind of gave me a panic attack. Haha!
ReplyDeleteBut other than that, I'm not a crier. I'll feel sad/emotional, but I'll never shed a tear. =/
(I totally agree with all the books you listed--they all really moved me.)
Isabel Allende's PAULA had me sobbing in an airport all alone.
ReplyDeleteBoth Frostbite by Richelle Mead and Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink had me blubbering by the end of both books and that's cause the main characters lost someone close to them. Thirteen Reasons Why definitely had me crying and I haven't read Dreamland by Sarah Dessen's Just Listen and Lock & Key got me to cry. I think I just get softer with age...like a banana boohoo :P.
ReplyDeleteI'm a total wimp and cry a lot while reading. I completely lost it for Delirium and Forbidden... oh and If I Stay and 13 Reasons Why. See I told ya I was a wimp! haha! :)
ReplyDeleteI love character-driven books as a general rule...as for books that left me a wet, snotty mess, well, the list is long. I get insanely sucked into the books I'm reading.
ReplyDeleteI bawled like a baby when I read Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer, Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater, and Falling Under by Gwen Hayes!
ReplyDeleteIt's just the way how the author builds up to that ONE moment and when it gets there all it takes is one word that will leave me a wet snotty mess all over the page!
It's weird crying over books. Like I'll be sitting on my bed in my room and then all of a sudden that HUGE rock settles in my throat and my tears blur my reading..and I just tell myself - let it out! JUST CRY. No one's looking at you! LOL....I'm weird.
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"Luc is my heart and my soul, but Gabe is my anchor." One of my MOST favorite line from Original Sin. It's just so....perfect how she describes both of them! Lisa...you're amazing!