tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1859940184293909528.post5009414069932785435..comments2023-04-28T04:20:05.766-07:00Comments on WRITER on WRITING: Baby StepsVirtual Strangerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01040333093180694172noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1859940184293909528.post-37566823381052154792015-09-23T19:20:00.364-07:002015-09-23T19:20:00.364-07:00Totally agree with your main point that fiction ge...Totally agree with your main point that fiction generally should be <b>more</b> than real life and too much realism tends to be boring. But so much depends on context.<br /><br />A story about how Bob goes down to the shops to get some milk is going to be boring.<br /><br />But if Bob is an agoraphobic engineer who hasn't left his house since the accident ten years ago? Then his quest to do what everyone else takes for granted becomes riveting. (So long as Bob's an interesting character and it's written well). We want to see our protagonist overcome challenges - they don't necessarily have to be things that challenge <b>us</b>. They just have to be impressive in context.<br /><br />Generally we'll find characters interesting if they're <b>different</b> to us. Which is, of course, what you're largely referring to here when you tell us not to write stories about 'baby finding his feet' - to tell a story that takes us somewhere we haven't already been. But different isn't necessarily better. Protagonists don't have to be cyborg ninjas for an audience to embrace them.<br /><br />I just feel you've been a bit narrow in throwing out gritty, unlikeable, miserable etc. (and equating it with being incomprehensible, which is a whole separate thing). For example, a novel that gives us the point of view of a psychopath is <b>fascinating</b> to the average reader, because it's entrancingly scary and completely alien to our experience. A novel about a family making it through devastating poverty in the Great Depression is fascinating because most of us have never lived through something like that.<br /><br />IMO, it's more about novelty, intensity and challenge and interesting (not necessarily likeable) characters than it is about being "better than life".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1859940184293909528.post-65224845108230918362010-04-07T12:24:00.390-07:002010-04-07T12:24:00.390-07:00a good point, apart from the fact that it's AW...a good point, apart from the fact that it's AWESOME watching a baby discovering their feet for the first time. They're so cute when they go cross-eyed. :DRakiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03787205403166404103noreply@blogger.com