My Favourite Authors: Dick Francis

Those of you who know me, know that I am a great fan of Dick Francis. Those of you who don’t know me will probably be wondering why, since his work is neither science fiction nor fantasy, being set firmly in the real world. It’s not romance, and it contains no supernatural or paranormal elements at all.

The answer is because Dick Francis is a master storyteller, and one of the few storytellers who was a master of both the short story and novel forms. His work is something I know I’ll have a great time reading, and it contains some of the best lessons a writer can learn:

• It shows without telling.  

• Characters are described with brevity and accuracy, and in such a way that they are easily visualised.

• Character personalities are painted with clarity, and an economy of words that almost always puts me in awe.

• Sense of place is evoked… dare I say it… with no word wastage or long, dragging paragraphs.

•  Pacing. While Dick Francis’s work is full of action, it’s also full of suspense and intrigue, but I have never found myself wanting him to ‘get to the point’. Firstly, because he always does, but secondly, and more importantly, because the thought never crosses my mind. The story always moves forward. I can’t recall ever coming across a dead patch in his tales.

I have always enjoyed Dick Francis’s tales, and I have learned a lot from reading his stories. I was upset when he died last year and I grieve his passing. To me, he was one of the greats.

He is one of the few authors whose books I buy whenever I see them. I don’t need to read the back blurb. I don’t particularly care what’s on the cover. I know that the story inside is going to give me a great few hours of reading, and that I’ll be reading it more than once.

My greatest disappointment is that I only own 21 of the over 40 books Dick Francis wrote, but I’m not at the point of going out and ordering all of those I’m missing. Discovering them in bookstores and newsagents is part of the fun. Sometimes I only find one, but there are times when I find more… and nearly break the budget.

In the last three weeks I’ve found six. I’m still working my way through them, including Crossfire, the latest release.