No, I don't mean genre. When I say identity, I mean, what type of books do you write?

Let me explain.

I'll begin with C.S. Lewis. In his essay On Stories, he postulated that there are basically two kinds of books and subsequently two kinds of readers. One style of story is the fast-paced page-turner with ceaseless excitement and a constant rush of nerves, yet there is little depth to give it any meat or substance. To paraphrase Lewis, this sort of book leaves readers breathless and touseled but it lacks an underlying tone and mood, and gives no impression that London is different than Paris.

The second type of book is exactly the opposite, less concerned about the action and more about the setting and environment. It, as Lewis said, "lays a hushing spell."

So with that in mind, which type of book do you write?

(I suspect that Lewis is oversimplifying significantly---there are other categories of stories, and other axes by which to divide them.)

When I've written as the mood takes me---basically like traditional NaNoWriMo, but before I'd ever heard of that---I've found I tend to write the first category, rushing breathlessly from one adventure to another in hopes that neither I nor the reader will catch up quickly enough to notice that there's never any real dramatic tension because the obstacles never pose any real difficulty to the protagonist.

On the other hand, the story I feel called to tell is certainly in the second category, which makes my task a difficult one.

In my opinion, the best kind of book is the one that manages to bring the two elements together in a harmonious balance that keeps the pace exciting but pauses for needed rests and explanations along the way. LOTR is the best example of this that I know of.

Yes I was just thinking, it's good to find a happy medium somewhere between the two.

I think that I err toward the 2nd category a bit too much by nature, though I've tried to write my novels more in the direction of the 1st category seeing as that's the type of book our culture seems drawn to nowadays.

Exactly, Aratrea.

Hmm, it's an interesting question. I always want to write a story which not only grips the reader with its action and intrigue, but with its heart. Usually, however, my stories end up leaning toward the 2nd category.

They tend to be a bit slow and peaceful, which makes them feel downright boring to me, the writer. It's something I'm always fighting--such as this year's NaNo, where I spent the entire three fourths of the novel setting up characters and telling histories and then had to cram everything else into the last fourth of the book. The worst part is, I didn't get anywhere near building the depth of the world and the characters as I had planned...

That sounds familiar, Vav.

...I'm not sure my books really quite manage to fit either category...I feel like they're not action-packed enough for the first category, but I don't think I pay enough attention to setting and environment for it to fit the second category. Although if characters fall into setting and environment, I might be able to slip into the second category. Not sure.