Why Yes, Novels Do Have Souls

You've read those books. The writing is, well, fine. The characters are fine, sure. And the plot is, you guessed it, fine.

Then why don't you feel anything for it? Why don't you have one of those novel hang-overs (the ones where you're so enthralled with the world you just read, you can't possibly move on to any other book/movie/family gathering because it doesn't fit into that world)?

It's because the book you just read had no soul.

This is the term I've come up with to define those books that grab you. The ones you can't possible stop reading. The ones that you want everyone else in the world to read, but also want to keep for just you.

Lack of soul is why many popular, bestselling, novels just sometimes don't do it for you (or me).

So how do you make sure your novel has soul? I've thought long and hard about this. I used to think it was voice, but that didn't quite pin it. No, it's concrete details.

Details in and of themselves are everywhere in writing. She wore a red hat. He ate a cheeseburger. The dog was spunky.

But when you make a detail concrete, it cements the reader (<see what I did there?) into your story. It makes us feel. It gives the story soul. This is even scientifically proven. You've felt it. Details evoke a response from the upper part of the brain (if you want real medical terms, you might want to consult WebMD. I work with medical terms all day and looking them up at home too might kill me.). Whereas, when a concrete detail is presented, it activates the bottom part of the brain - the part that makes your heart race, your nose remember the smell of tomatoes, your soul ache. The part of you that we often call "the heart". It's where you feel the first time you fall in love, where grief makes your lungs squeeze.

So, when you want your story not only to sell, but to hold people in novel hang-over, remember to include concrete details. Make them laugh, make them obsess so much they will forget how long their lunch break is. Make it soulful.