Martyn Stanley's Blog - Posts Tagged "playing-to-the-gallery"
A Writer's Dilemma
Anyone who is an artist has to watch this and consider it. Whether you're a Bowie fan or not!
https://youtu.be/cNbnef_eXBM
I am certain, Bowie is right on both points he makes. However trying to live by this 'artist's code' can be difficult.
I really want people to like my books. I want people to read them and to enjoy the story. However I also want to write strong books, which evoke an emotional response.
I've experienced this reading The Pillars of the Earth, The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists and The Count of Monte Cristo.
If you want to write strong material, that will have emotional impact on your reader - you have to be prepared to upset them at times.
I'm currently working on book 5 of the Deathsworn Arc. I recently had an idea for a direction to take the story which would make the book much stronger and perhaps give my readers a really good punch in the gut. A theme of the book 5 is the unforeseen consequences of what happened in the first book being revealed. Namely by the girls journey to Briem and their adventures in Briem. The trouble is, I relaxed. I let the characters have things too easy I think. I didn't kill a character off in book 4, and I think that's a mistake. Nobody enjoys a flat, level roller-coaster with no twists or turns. That's called a train. It won't put a smile on your face or give you a sense of danger, or loss or heart-wrenching sorrow.
I'm not sure if I'm ready to go through with writing the story I THINK I should write. It means killing off three major characters in book 5, it means changing readers perceptions of characters they were maybe growing to like. It also means torture, pain, loss and a sense of hopelessness for some of the characters.
Then again, life isn't all sun and rainbows. We have to learn to cope with loss, pain and unfulfilled dreams. Then of course there's the writers secret weapon, the thing that will hold a reader with an iron grip and refuse to let them put that book down. I'm talking about the desire for comeuppance. Revenge, a villain getting their just deserts. You have to be careful not to drag the story on too long, but reader's find nothing more satisfying and fulfilling than reading about the sword of damocles finally falling upon the deserving.
I don't know if I'm bold enough to write the nightmare I'm considering in book 5. If I do, and it upsets my readers then I apologise, but I also promise to deliver a fitting demise to any villains involved! Eventually at least! :)
So what do you think? Do like it when the author gives you a little punch in the stomach? Is George R.R. Martin a genius? Gleefully killing of well-loved characters on a regular basis? Or do you prefer the kittens, sun and rainbows, Mary Sue and Gary Stu dance off into the sunset having magical adventures involving friendship and kisses stories?
https://youtu.be/cNbnef_eXBM
I am certain, Bowie is right on both points he makes. However trying to live by this 'artist's code' can be difficult.
I really want people to like my books. I want people to read them and to enjoy the story. However I also want to write strong books, which evoke an emotional response.
I've experienced this reading The Pillars of the Earth, The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists and The Count of Monte Cristo.
If you want to write strong material, that will have emotional impact on your reader - you have to be prepared to upset them at times.
I'm currently working on book 5 of the Deathsworn Arc. I recently had an idea for a direction to take the story which would make the book much stronger and perhaps give my readers a really good punch in the gut. A theme of the book 5 is the unforeseen consequences of what happened in the first book being revealed. Namely by the girls journey to Briem and their adventures in Briem. The trouble is, I relaxed. I let the characters have things too easy I think. I didn't kill a character off in book 4, and I think that's a mistake. Nobody enjoys a flat, level roller-coaster with no twists or turns. That's called a train. It won't put a smile on your face or give you a sense of danger, or loss or heart-wrenching sorrow.
I'm not sure if I'm ready to go through with writing the story I THINK I should write. It means killing off three major characters in book 5, it means changing readers perceptions of characters they were maybe growing to like. It also means torture, pain, loss and a sense of hopelessness for some of the characters.
Then again, life isn't all sun and rainbows. We have to learn to cope with loss, pain and unfulfilled dreams. Then of course there's the writers secret weapon, the thing that will hold a reader with an iron grip and refuse to let them put that book down. I'm talking about the desire for comeuppance. Revenge, a villain getting their just deserts. You have to be careful not to drag the story on too long, but reader's find nothing more satisfying and fulfilling than reading about the sword of damocles finally falling upon the deserving.
I don't know if I'm bold enough to write the nightmare I'm considering in book 5. If I do, and it upsets my readers then I apologise, but I also promise to deliver a fitting demise to any villains involved! Eventually at least! :)
So what do you think? Do like it when the author gives you a little punch in the stomach? Is George R.R. Martin a genius? Gleefully killing of well-loved characters on a regular basis? Or do you prefer the kittens, sun and rainbows, Mary Sue and Gary Stu dance off into the sunset having magical adventures involving friendship and kisses stories?
