AUTHOR’S GAB, READER TALK.
A LETTER TO YOU, THE READER, SO THAT YOU CAN FINALLY FIGURE OUT WHAT I’M THINKING.
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THIS MONTH: Reading Danielle Steel
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“There is always a LOT to be grateful for, if you take a good look. And I can already see lessons that I’ve learned as a result of the challenges we face in the pandemic, not necessarily lessons I wanted to learn or volunteered for, but lessons that will serve me well in future. If we can find things to be grateful for, the time will go faster, and the end result will be a lot more pleasant. So I’m grateful for my many blessings. And thank YOU for reading my books during these challenging times.”
— Danielle Steel, “Grateful”, 8/17/2020
Dear Reader,
I’ve always thought it was the best practice to read before you write. It’s good practice because then you have something to write about when you write. Similarly, it’s also really good practice to read other writers, so you know other writing styles. There are some books I can’t get in to, as I’m sure you also find. But, some books I do. And, this summer, I got into reading “Matters of the Heart” by Danielle Steel, an author my grandmother loved.
I found the book at the grocery store, saw it was $5 and decided, “You know what? Why not.” I wanted to know what my grandma found so intriguing about these books. She read them like my dad reads Karen Kingsbury: she couldn’t put them down. Plus, the book was about a bad relationship that leads to a breakup, and I was going through something like that personally in my own life. So, I bought the book and started reading it.
It was an emotional read.
First of all, my dad said he didn’t like her books because she always wrote about wealthy people. Well, that was exactly why I loved it. I had been reading about so many ordinary people that it was nice to read about an author humanizing a wealthy person — two wealthy and famous people, in fact. So often we are caught up by celebrity status that we forget even wealthy people are human and have personal lives just like us. Even personal lives of wealthy people are spewn all over the tabloids to sell magazines, so that we ask ourselves if people have any decency to respect other people’s privacy. But, this book just talked about someone who wasn’t in the tabloids like she was an ordinary person living an ordinary life, even though she had inherited a lot of money. I appreciated getting to know Hope’s heart and practicality, wherein she had no need for her fame or money. She was just looking for a good life, and I think that’s all anyone wants.
Steel’s writing was layered. I appreciate a book that can hook you and drive a plot from the first chapter, but this book was backwards. It was the kind of writing style where details and events were built up from Chapter 1 that had all kinds of significance later, much like life. So, I was in the middle of the book and asking myself, “When is the plot going to happen? When do we find out this guy is a psycho, as promised on the book sleeve? When does he take everything from her?” At the end, in the last few chapters, we finally hit the punch line.
But, the thing is that I was willing to get there. Steel coaxes the reader along a breadcrumb trail, offering the next nibble of information if you just keep reading. And, before you know it, she has built up so many tiers and layers of breadcrumbs that you’re in the middle of the book wondering how you got there. For this reason, her writing was only digestible by a chapter or two. I don’t think I would have been able to truly appreciate this book or the depth of her writing had I gone through this book any way but slowly. It ate up your emotions with mini cliffhangers at the end of each chapter, too. There were a few times I started reading the next chapter and then re-read it again later, because I wanted to know what happened next.
And, it was emotional because it was generational. I was doing what my grandmother did before me. I was carrying on the torch of Danielle Steel in our family. I was rediscovering what had been discovered before. That sort of curiosity kept me reading.
It was also emotional because I could identify with the main character in my personal life. In many ways, this book pushed me through my breakup with my ex, Luke. It was like a road map, with my feelings echoing Hope’s and her experiences. There was that emotional connection a writer strives to establish with his/her readers. My favorite part of the book ended up being when she is recovering in India, getting over her ex, Finn, and the death of her ex-husband, Paul, which echoed so many of my own feelings in my own life:
“They had passed several ancient temples on the way to the ashram, and just being there filled her soul. She fasted that night to purify herself, and did yoga in the early morning, and as she stood at the edge of the river afterward, she told her heart to let Finn go. She sent him with her love and prayers down the Holy River Ganga. She released him. And the following day she did the same with Paul, and she wasn’t afraid to be alone anymore.”
“Matters of the Heart”, by Danielle Steel, page 356
Not only that, her writing pushed me into the next book. I just started reading her new book, “The Numbers Game”, last night before bed. It feels so good to read again, where I had constantly been busy before, to go back to my first love when I was a kid of reading before bedtime, to get lost in the stories upon stories before dreams. There’s so much I have always loved about reading. My sister asked me if I had picked up a book recently, and now I have. But, when I read Mitch Albom this winter, it was hard to get into “Finding Chika” after finishing “The Next Person You Meet in Heaven”, maybe because I met him in between reading both books and he explained the book in a conference I went to. This one, though, the next mystery and intrigue was there. And, I credit that to a good author, who, just like her writing, knows how to put out the next breadcrumb for the reader to follow.
But, that wasn’t the most exciting part. The most exciting part happened last night when I discovered Steel’s blog, where she wrote a whole post about her writing style. And, she confirms, she doesn’t do funny business. She writes her own stuff and, she says, doesn’t do sequels (a bold move in the writing business these days):
“There is a question that none of you asked, but I’ll answer anyway. Some fans have written in the past asking who writes my books. I was stunned the first time I was asked that question. Who writes my books? Are you kidding? I do. Every word.”
— Danielle Steel, “Writing”
“Will I ever write a sequel? No. I’ve been asked a lot, even by my publisher. I think sequels are an invitation to disappointment. I don’t like comparisons, and would rather do something new every time. When I finish a book, that story is over for me.”
— Danielle Steel, “Writing”
And, she elaborates on how she puts emotions into her writing:
I like what happens between people, how we impact each other, good and bad, and how we respond to the stresses in our lives, whatever they are. And those experiences are universal, we have all dealt with people we care about, or difficult families, or children, or friends, or relationships, and we’ve either been hurt or blessed or helped by those experiences. I feel strongly about what I write, which I think is why you do too. And it rings real for you, because all the emotions in it are real, and some of the experiences, so it rings real for me as I write it, and for you when you read it.
— Danielle Steel, “Writing”
And, she emphasizes persistence:
“The next five books did not sell, ever, and never have… It was a good lesson for me though, because I had 5 unpublished books, and if I had given up before the 7th one, I would never have the career I do today; it was a great lesson in persistence!!!”
— Danielle Steel, “Writing”
The blog amounts to what can only be described as a treasure trove of writing tips for her readers and about her writing style. Her latest post just came through yesterday, announcing her new book, “Royal”, about a British royal family during World War II whose youngest daughter disappears. But, it also talks about relatable issues, like coronavirus, which is Steel also humanizing herself for her readers. I encourage you to take a read, if not just to learn about a different writing style than your own.
Because, ultimately, the experience of reading someone else’s writing is purely educational, if nothing else. Reading informs you as a writer and educates your own writing style. And, this summer, I think Danielle Steel was an education for mine. Her multiple layers and hooks, emotional connection to her readers and intrigue are a good lesson in how to draw readers in and connect to them well, which is something every writer has to do consistently in every piece, no matter what it is, when they write.
She was also a lesson in compact, concise stories, which is something long romance novelists or Hallmark movies or your favorite t.v. shows aren’t necessarily doing. She writes a story and is done with it. That’s it. This, I think, is so important to readers and you as a writer, to know when your story is finished and to switch focus, to know when one story is done and the next begins. For example, we are still fixated on Harry Potter, but J.K. Rowling, did write another books! They include Casual Vacancy (2012) and The Ickabog (2020), due out later this year. Yet, because of the popularity of the fandom, all we hear about is Harry Potter. Where does Harry Potter end and Casual Vacancy or The Ickabog begin? It’s hard to tell. But, with Steel, it’s clear cut. We can tell. Her books are clearly divided.
So, I can say I’ve learned something about myself and about my writing through reading Steel this summer. And it may sound trivial, but it’s definitely something I’ve been thinking about and to thing about. So, dear reader, I charge you to look up Danielle Steel, or another author, read them and educate yourself. I think you will find out more than you thought you knew about yourself and your writing, too.
Think about that.
Sincerely, Your Writer,
Jessica A. Mclean
The Rose 