|
Why do you fall in love?
It's different every time and for every one. And it's often the small things that make the difference.
Some of the common things, though they're not always present in every example of my favorite stories, and certainly to different degrees:
Character(s) I connect with
Ideas to think about
Well-crafted language suited to the story*
A plot that is just a little ahead of me and that presents some surprises, while at the same time fitting together in retrospect
*I love both Tolkien and Dashiell Hammett, but (other than for a lark) I'd hate to read LOTR written in Hammett's hard boiled style or the Maltese Falcon in Tolkien's epic prose.
|