Staying true to your readers

A good way to be a good writer is to also be an avid reader. Learning from other authors in how they write, tell their stories, describe scenes and keep a reader entuned to the story is what makes us better. It is one thing to write, but another to write in a way that makes others want to read it. It is no mystery that not everyone likes the same things. With this in mind I try to stay true to my stories, and therefor, hopefully, true to those who read my books and likes them.

I am not the type of reader who likes extensive details in a story. In this I mean where a writer shows their knowledge within something where they dive into everyone aspect of it. This could be in how a nuclear bomb is made, the fine details in how a hyperdrive might drive a ship along, or perhaps describing a location in such detail that it stalls the story for pages at a time. This is not my style, so I avoid it.

I remember when I was younger and tried to read sci-fi, it was the highly detailed descriptions of science that would excite Sheldon Cooper, but it sure bored the heck out of me and tuned me off to reading it. When more books came out that flowed more like Star Wars, I was drawn back into sci-fi reading, and turned me on in writing in that genre.

So, in reading constantly, I tuned my writing to be more in line with what I like to read, and that is stories that flow, describe details where it is appropriate to my style, and to introduce things in a subtle way. This is why you will seldom see me describe what a person looks like or has on in every scene because I prefer to let the reader use their own imagination and insert things along the way. Is that right or wrong? Who knows, but it works for me and I hope for those who read my style.