What All Writers Can Learn From Colleen Hoover
The romance novelist's books rule the NYT bestseller list for a reason. Three takeaways.
As we boarded the plane home from Costa Rica last week, I downloaded the audiobook Verity by Colleen Hoover. The 42-year-old author, who self-published her first novel in 2012 when she was living in a double-wide and working for social services, has become a force in publishing in recent years. According to The New York Times, her novels have sold over 8.6 million copies this year alone and they occupy six of the ten slots on the paperback best selling fiction list.
So I was all too curious: What is the fuss? Do these part suspense/part romance novels live up to the hype? Verity certainly does. If you can’t put a book down, the author is working magic in the pages. Here’s why I think Hoover’s novels are so addictive, and what writers can takeaway from her stories.
Surprise the reader. Then surprise them again.
First, a quick summary. Verity is about Lowen Ashleigh, a financially struggling writer who is offered what seems like a plum job: finishing the last three novels in a bestselling series by celebrity author Verity Crawford, who suffered a brain injury after a tragic car accident. But after arriving at the Crawford home to work. Lowen uncovers a secret autobiography written by Verity, a story with terrifying details about the famous writer’s villainous past. All of it is juicy from the start — to say the least.
But as I tore through the audiobook, here’s what I considered: What writing devices did Hoover use to keep me listening? One of her most effective is simple: the element of surprise. I don’t mean only plot twists either, even if Hoover employs plenty of those, too. I mean smaller surprises along the way that keep the reader engaged as the plot moves forward.
For example: At one shaky point, Lowen wakes up in a strange bedroom in Verity’s mansion, only to realize she’s sleeping next to the brain dead woman in the dark. At first, I thought it was a cheap thrill. Then Hoover goes on to develop the idea that Lowen has a sleepwalking problem, something that began in childhood. We learn that the sleepwalking is a secret Lowen is ashamed of, how her mother treated her like a leper as a result of it, and how Lowen nearly killed herself sleepwalking outside as a child. All VERY surprising. But what happens next continues to fascinate. After sharing her insecurities with Verity’s hunky husband, Jeremy, he suggests putting a lock on the outside of Lowen’s door so she doesn’t have to worry about it happening again. When Lowen says agrees, you understand but you’re also shocked.
But see how engaged I am as a reader? That one scene was packed full of surprises. All genres of fiction, even the most literary of pages, benefit from delighting the reader with something unexpected; it’s exactly why we read. Now I want to go through my current novel and slip in some more surprising elements to keep the reader engaged.
Hoover’s writing is confessional
I don’t write in first person, and I have to admit that I really dislike first person in many cases. (Exception: The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger.) But Hoover uses first person to give her narrators a confessional appeal. Even when I opened a few of her other novels to read the opening pages, I can see how she uses the first person to create characters who promise to tell you their deepest (sometimes darkest) secrets.
I write my novels in "close third,” which isn’t as intimate as first person. One of my writing teachers once gave me a trick to bring me closer to what my characters are thinking/feeling. Take a paragraph written in third and convert it all to the first person point of view. Then keep writing about how the character is feeling in the moment, go deep — what would the character really think about what’s happening in the story. When you feel satisfied that you’ve mined everything, convert the point of view back to third person. It’s so effective. So while first person isn’t for everyone, we can all learn how to get inside out character’s heads more using it.
Hoover always moves the story forward
After finishing Verity, I was in awe of how good Hoover is at pushing the plot forward on every page. I think this is partly why she’s so popular with readers under 40 who have zero attention spans. While you may not want to write a high-octane thriller with extremely graphic sex scenes (cringey for me!), it’s a good reminder that we all have to go through our own pages and ask: Is this scene moving the plot forward? Am I saying something new and pushing the story as much as I can? Too many novels, including all of my first drafts, have scenes that are interesting but not critical.
Colleen Hoover tells us something new page after page. One part of Verity that stood out is when Lowen is making out with Verity’s husband (the sex scenes are not for the faint at heart). Lowen hears a creak and looks up to find Verity — who has been having her diapers changed, never speaks and doesn’t respond to anyone — watching them. Not only is the part SUPER CREEPY, but Hoover took a moment where Lowen is “getting the guy” and turned it into a moment offering evidence that Verity may not be presenting her health condition truthfully.
Have you read any of Hoover’s novels?
I’m so curious if you saw anything else in her work that makes her books so readable. I’ve spoken to so many writers who truly do not understand the fascination with her stories. Like I said, I haven’t read the others, but I do think that even the most flawed best sellers deserve a closer look. Because the writers are clearly tapping into something, even if we can’t see it at first.