simj26
Awful, Terrible, No-good Layabout
Those are the Eight Deadly Words of works of fiction. "I don't care WHAT happens to these people." No, I am not addressing characters that use this phrase one too many times, but instead, I'm addressing readers who say these Eight Deadly Words when they're reading/watching a work of fiction. Now I ain't some big shot writer or anything, but damned if I'm not gonna give my two cents about this topic.
Most of the time, when one reads a work of fiction, the reader tends to wonder "What will happen to this character?". However, a poorly written character, a poorly written plotline, or a combination of both will illicit the response of the Eight Deadly Words. The reader loses interest in what will happen to the character(s), and only continues reading because they already bought the book/borrowed it, and they have to dedicate time to finish it anyway. It ends with a plodding experience that no one is happy about, because
1) The reader stops giving a shit about the characters.
2) Characters are the substance of the story.
When the reader stops giving a shit, he grows bored, and his response to any major character death or otherwise will be "Meh.", and that's not what any writer wants. They don't CARE.
A character is created in a work of fiction to facilitate the readers' imagination, and some readers simply love to imagine themselves in the shoes and perspectives of the characters. When a writer takes away all methods to sympathise or empathise with the characters' plight, the story becomes bland.
Do NOT confuse "I don't care what happens to this guy." and "I hate this guy.". Wishing that villains die is not showing disinterest, but it is, rather, showing that you CARE what happens to him. You WANT him to die, you WANT to see whether the writer will kill him off, or ship him away like a Karma Houdini. The Eight Deadly Words apply when you don't CARE whether he dies or not.
I just want to raise awareness of this major trope that is, very sadly, present in many works of fiction...as well as on this site. I'm not a professional writer, but I tend to spend my time reading a lot. I KNOW my tastes may be different, I KNOW I may not be the best guy to look towards for writing tips, but my point stands. I have looked at several character sheets, glanced at the plotline, and I have, more than once, thought "Bah, whatever.". I will not name names, because that's just plain r00d, k.
Once again, disliking a character/showing disinterest in a character and showing no interest in the progression of the character are two different things. One is because I fucking hate their guts, or I can't be bothered to think too hard about their guts, and the other is that I am so BORED of them I don't give a goddamn shit about whether they get turned into red paste or live happily ever after with their waifus.
Having said all that, how about y'all either fire back at me your thoughts, deride my personal opinion, or agree with me and stroke my ego a little?
Most of the time, when one reads a work of fiction, the reader tends to wonder "What will happen to this character?". However, a poorly written character, a poorly written plotline, or a combination of both will illicit the response of the Eight Deadly Words. The reader loses interest in what will happen to the character(s), and only continues reading because they already bought the book/borrowed it, and they have to dedicate time to finish it anyway. It ends with a plodding experience that no one is happy about, because
1) The reader stops giving a shit about the characters.
2) Characters are the substance of the story.
When the reader stops giving a shit, he grows bored, and his response to any major character death or otherwise will be "Meh.", and that's not what any writer wants. They don't CARE.
A character is created in a work of fiction to facilitate the readers' imagination, and some readers simply love to imagine themselves in the shoes and perspectives of the characters. When a writer takes away all methods to sympathise or empathise with the characters' plight, the story becomes bland.
Do NOT confuse "I don't care what happens to this guy." and "I hate this guy.". Wishing that villains die is not showing disinterest, but it is, rather, showing that you CARE what happens to him. You WANT him to die, you WANT to see whether the writer will kill him off, or ship him away like a Karma Houdini. The Eight Deadly Words apply when you don't CARE whether he dies or not.
I just want to raise awareness of this major trope that is, very sadly, present in many works of fiction...as well as on this site. I'm not a professional writer, but I tend to spend my time reading a lot. I KNOW my tastes may be different, I KNOW I may not be the best guy to look towards for writing tips, but my point stands. I have looked at several character sheets, glanced at the plotline, and I have, more than once, thought "Bah, whatever.". I will not name names, because that's just plain r00d, k.
Once again, disliking a character/showing disinterest in a character and showing no interest in the progression of the character are two different things. One is because I fucking hate their guts, or I can't be bothered to think too hard about their guts, and the other is that I am so BORED of them I don't give a goddamn shit about whether they get turned into red paste or live happily ever after with their waifus.
Having said all that, how about y'all either fire back at me your thoughts, deride my personal opinion, or agree with me and stroke my ego a little?
