Can a story have a heartbeat? Of course it can.
I was trying to explain this to my 15 year old daughter who, initially after two years of telling me how she had no good ideas, was embarking on her second novel. I read her draft for the first seven chapters and told her what a nice heartbeat and pace I thought her story had. She gave me one of those teenage looks like she wasn't sure if her dad was an idiot, or whether there was really something to what he was saying. She decided to choose the 'idiot' option. I ask her to reconsider.
Like a person, a story's heartbeat keeps it alive. Now before you all start cracking wise (and I KNOW who reads this blog, OK?) ----no, a story doesn't also have a liver, a kidney and a spleen. But the heartbeat is what an author can never forget. It's the part of the story that gives it life, drives it, that keeps readers checking back in to see what happened--- or creating a situation where they can't put your book down.
In 'Hidden Legacy', to me, the heartbeat was always the murders. I love stories that battle the clock-- maybe that's why I'm such a huge football fan. It's a race against time--- you have to score more points than the other guys before time runs out. In 'Legacy', Murphy is faced with that same dilemma. Time is running out. He's got no more audibles to call. He's looking at losing the game. The heartbeat gets faster and faster and faster until it hits that climatic point----- and from there, the denouement, which sometimes can feel like a letdown. It's hard to make sure it doesn't.
The goal in 'Legacy' was, of course, to get you to feel the heartbeat, to give your pulse a jump start and feel the pressure Murph felt as he tried to beat the clock and catch a killer. It doesn't always have to be a frenetic pace--- and my daughter's is not a frenzy. But she's got the idea, and that makes me proud. And while I can't promise every book is clear as to what makes it tick, it doesn't mean the author isn't trying.
Did you feel my heartbeat when you read 'Legacy'?
We're talking about the book and the characters and anything of interest to you except plot spoilers.
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