One 'key' to readability

“Good fiction must be entertaining, but what makes fiction special - and true - is that the realness of a novel allows it to carry a larger message.” – Jerry B. Jenkins

Born on this date in 1949, American novelist and biographer Jenkins is best known as co-author of the Left Behind series of books with Tim LaHaye (also made into a movie).  To say that he’s been a prolific writer would be quite an understatement, since he’s authored or co-authored more than 150 books, including romance novels, mysteries, children's adventures, and non-fiction.

 

Jerry Jenkins

Jenkins, who lives in Colorado, said he finds it ironic that in today’s marketplace successful nonfiction has to be “unbelievable,” while successful fiction must be “believable.”  Toward that end, he said he loves inventing worlds, characters and scenarios.

As far as for what makes his books “readable,” Jenkins said he leaves that up to each reader and hopes that people form their own images as they go along.  “The theater of the mind is impossible to compete with, and I like the idea that with a few suggestions, each reader forms in his or her own mind what a character or a place looks like.”

 Not an easy door to open, but Jenkins seems to have located the right key.

  

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