Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Let Me Dream

by Janis Susan May/Janis Patterson

It is both an honor and a privilege to be one of the lead bloggers on this brave new experiment called Classic and Cozy. And part of my delight is purely selfish. For years I have preferred to read traditionally – love stories without explicit or highly descriptive sex. For the same reason I love cozy mysteries – no hard-boiled police procedurals, no graphic descriptions of blood, gore or other assorted horrors, just brain-teasing puzzles of ordinary people dealing with extraordinary events. I had begun to worry that I was alone in my likes and prejudices, that the reading world had abandoned me just because I like my books to focus on the story’s action rather than sometimes far-too-graphic details.

None of that means, however, as some people seem to think, such books are bland or boring. I personally think it takes a great deal of skill for a writer to convey an idea or emotion without necessarily resorting to such erotic or gory lengths.

Now I am a grown-up, most of the time at least, and I know that falling  in love  will sooner or later involve sex,  and that murder in itself is a ghastly and usually messy crime. I don’t  have to be shown every splash and touch to get the idea. In fact, the visuals in my head -  for me, at least – may be more moving than the author intended. Murder is an inherently terrible thing; we don’t have to be shown every blow and blood spatter to know that. Sex is intensely romantic and personal, and what is inside my mind is so much more intense for me than any author could ever write.

I guess I just just don’t believe in showing the monster. As I’ve blogged and spoken about in several places, I once worked on a  rather cheesy horror movie. When the crew was putting a rather ghastly rubber monster suit  on a poor actor, an old gaffer snorted and said they were making a bad mistake. When I asked why, he responded that everyone was frightened by something different. To show this rubber-suited actor would  take their worst fears away. The best way to scare the most  people, he said wisely, was to suggest the monster, to show what it could do, and let the viewer fill in the blanks with what was most frightening to them. Instead of the film trying to scare the viewer, create an atmosphere where the viewer could scare himself.

It’s the same for books. Obviously we don’t have monsters in cozies or romance, but the idea is the same. We read books for many reasons – for escape, for pleasure, for learning, for just about anything.  Why should our reactions be shaped and confined  by the author’s vision  of what is scary or sexy? I know that no romance I’ve ever read, erotic or not, has ever come close to my imagination… or my memories.

As a reader I say, lead me, don’t force me. Let my mind be free to imagine my own perception of your path. Let me personalize the story in my head. Let me become a partner, an active participant in my mind. Let me dream.


Janis Susan May/Janis Patterson is a 7th-generation Texan and a 3rd-generation wordsmith who writes mystery, romance, horror, children’s and scholarly. Once an actress and a singer Janis has also been editor-in-chief of two multi-magazine publishing groups as well as many other things, including an enthusiastic amateur Egyptologist. Janis’ husband even proposed in a moonlit garden near the Pyramids of Giza. Janis and her husband live in Texas with an assortment of rescued furbabies. She can be reached through www.JanisSusanMay.com or www.JanisPattersonMysteries.com


10 comments:

  1. Love the quote by the old gaffer, Janis! I'll will take that golden chestnut and run with it!

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  2. Janis, I agree that letting the reader use his imagination when it comes to love or violence is a great tool. Thanks for the great blog entry.

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  3. Oh, I do so agree, Janis! I don't necessarily want to see the bloody bodies, and I don't feel comfortable in other people's bedrooms.

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  4. I don't like graphic descriptions of murder and mayhem, but I have to admit, I do go more deeply into lovemaking for some of my other publishers. But I am proud than we here can write great stories for family reading. Let's make sure that there are plenty more of them!

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  5. There should be and is reading types for every reader. That's what's so great about books and writers. Something for everyone. I write erotic romance but don't necessarily have to write so hot. I like to. But horror and evil? Not my cup of tea. I can read a mystery or suspense but something like the TV show Criminal Minds? Nope! ;-)

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  6. I tend to avoid mysteries that are heavy on grue. I also don't read serial killer novels. Just not to my personal taste. I enjoy mysteries that have humor, entertaining characters and dialogue. So we are in agreement.

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  7. Well said. I enjoy both the cozy and the procedural type, with graphic. I think it just depends on my mood, but I do pick my authors based on my expectations.

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  8. I love to let my imagination fill in the details.. so I'm glad to find writers who let me do that! Good post!

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  9. Great article, Janis. I'm for the genteel cozy any day, and have come to agree that I prefer leaving "all that" to the imagination.

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