To be any sort of writer, you have to be a reader. When I'm reading, I get lost in the story and characters. But sometimes it goes deeper than that...
To me, a great story lives on long after I have closed the book, not just because of it's plot or characters, but because of those little moments that come back to you days later. It's those moments that turn random books into cherished favorites.
To me, a great story lives on long after I have closed the book, not just because of it's plot or characters, but because of those little moments that come back to you days later. It's those moments that turn random books into cherished favorites.
The Scene with the Jars in The Witching Hour: Now everyone knows that I'm a huge Anne Rice fan, so it shouldn't be much of a surprise that one of her books would make my list. In The Witching Hour, Rowan and Michael are exploring the first street house and they come across the jars holding the heads and babies. To me, that scene, describing the contents of the jars and how the seal of some is broken so there are worms inside, sums up the creepy WTF sort of reaction to the whole book. Add to that Michael breaking open the jars to touch the slimy things....Yuck!
The Playground Scene from The Shining: Stephen King is well known for creating books filled with moments that send chills up your spine, but the one that sticks out to me is the playground scene from The Shining. Danny is playing outside and he gets that "you are not alone"-it's too quiet to be safe sort of feeling. As kids, how many of us had felt that?
Scarlet's Homecoming Scene in Gone with the Wind: This is a classic novel, full of amazing action and heartbreak, but the scene I identify with most is when Scarlet goes home to Tara. She traveled all this way, starving and afraid, hoping to just make it home where her mother will take care of everything. She gets home and her mother is dead, her father is mad, her sisters sick, and everyone is starving. They all look to her for guidance and she just wishes they'd all go away. To me that summed up the forced changes that were all through Gone with the Wind.
Perhaps it's the instant connection to a familar feeling that does it. Perhaps it's that feeling of, for just one moment, totally forgetting that it's fiction. Maybe it's something different for everyone.
What is a moment from a book that you will never forget?
What is a moment from a book that you will never forget?
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