 Fantasy: July 27, 2016 Issue [#7770] |
  Fantasy
This week: Audience and Conflict Edited by: Storm Machine  
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Always make the audience suffer as much as possible. ― Alfred Hitchcock
I made mistakes in drama. I thought drama was when actors cried. But drama is when the audience cries. ― Frank Capra
Your audience is one single reader. I have found that sometimes it helps to pick out one person-a real person you know, or an imagined person-and write to that one. ― John Steinbeck
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Recently my cousin visited, and she brought her two children. They happen to be the same age as my children (how's that for family planning?). The older girl wanted to watch Goosebumps with my girl - but my girl isn't into horror and is scared easily. I asked a woman at work whether her kids watched it, and they didn't. Her kids are 9 and 11.
How does this fit into your Fantasy? Knowing your audience is key to making sure you write the proper story for them. Before you break in with - oh, but my story applies to everyone, just like Harry Potter - you should really look through those books and see where the target audience should be for that story and for your own.
Several of the children of my friends have only read and watched through Book 3 of Harry Potter. And even when the movie for Book 4 came out and some parents dragged their 5 year olds to the movie, others looked askance. Did you read this book? Do you realize this series gets darker with every installment, and each of the stories ages the characters? Are you ready to explain to your child what happens when Cedric Diggory dies, and see the aftermath of losing a classmate if not a friend on the rest of the cast?
When books venture into the young adult area, the conflict is supposed to be grittier, miore gruesome, than childhood plots. The teenagers want more than the children did for their stories. They're ready to see more torture. They're ready for greater evils. They're ready for more questionable villains. If the child is young enough, Snape is only bad - because it can be hard to catch the nuances to see where he is doing something good.
Not all adults are going to choose the same level of conflicts for reading, either. Some of them wants Happily Ever After to come at the end of each story because it isn't real life. And some of us want the struggle to portray what we see in the world and the darkness reflected there. However, that doesn't mean we should shy away from the conflict or the darkness that our characters might need to express.
There are different ways to match up the audience and the conflict. One is to write for a specific audience, to wrap your mind around what your audience (fifth grade boys with a penchant for the supernatural or middle-aged women who prefer romance with a happily ever after and some fantasy woven in), and another is to tell the story however gruesome or light the conflict is - and after that match it to your audience. Both of these methods require a great deal more than 'oh, it relates to everyone.' The trick with your Fantasy story is to relate it to everyone while acknowledging that a certain group will resonate more fully with your story than the others, and to target them first. Good luck. |
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Her forest is diseased, her memories are lost, and her companion is not what he seems.
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Elfin Dragon-finally published
I wasn't going to comment on this one because I'm so late with reading it. But when I saw your comment, " Some might not be able to tell the difference between Star Wars and Star Trek," I also shook my head and also laughed the whole way through. Mostly because of the "Miniature remote control BB-8!" Why? I also like the show "Boston Legal". And if you've seen any of it you know that they often put Star Trek cliche in every once in a while. Including Shatner's character having a phone with a ring tone of a communicator. And the famous "It's my ship" scene.  I don't think we'll ever get enough of our Science Fiction in whatever form it takes.
I don't think we do, either. Long live sci-fi!
Quick-Quill 
Thank you for this NL. It puts a new arsenal in my bag of writing reference material.
I'm glad.
A*Monaing*Faith
I LOVE traveling, even if it's just a weekend trip to a city I've never been in (like Augusta this weekend for the Masters!). I prefer it when sitcoms/movies take place in multiple locations and [never really thought about it] but I love it when characters in a book move around too. I'm listening to HPotter #3 right now and just them going to Hogsmeade is all sorts of exciting due to the location change.
Hogsmeade is a fun location change. I hope Augusta is, too.
Joto-Kai 
My character, Brannon, has a set of solid steel goggles, with a holoprojector and a set of lights that blind people temporarily. They connect to his ship's computer, giving him advice, translation, etc. at will. He also keeps a 'creditkeeper' which is both a credit card/wallet and a set of hacking tools. The fun bit about his goggles is they're so useful, he doesn't ever question why a 'secret agent' would wear such an obtrusive thing all the time! Certainly doesn't know the answer...
I hope Brannon figures it out. |
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