How Much Rope Do You Give an Author?
I read mostly mysteries; my husband likes thrillers. Sometimes we trade, and he recently recommended one of those chase-around-the-world books. I liked it, but I didn't love it.
That got me thinking. We accept certain "givens" when we read, and each genre has its own. I'll list a few, but those who read other types of fiction will probably be able to add more.
In mysteries, we often let the protag have some pretty lucky leaps of logic. There might be thousands of possible suspects at the beginning of the story, but somehow he/she narrows it down, usually relying on "gut."
Amateur sleuths don't act like normal people. They wade in where most of us would let police handle matters. Few of us would knowingly enter into a situation where we might get killed.
In thrillers, the protags can do everything. A guy who's never been in Athens before navigates easily, finding hotels and taxis and communicating with the locals. He often provides a travelogue for his companions in the process: "This is the Parthenon, built in...."
In romances, the main character is usually different from those around her, a changeling. If they're zany, she's wise, and vice versa. Romantic heroines are also amazingly adaptable: whatever happens to them, they deal with it--no counseling, no PTSD, just on to Love.
In westerns, the lines between good and evil are pretty sharply defined. You're either with us or agin us, and heaven help you if the latter is the case.
I guess what I'm saying is that readers accept certain conventions in the genres they choose, and what we read might say a little about how we like to look at life. Each genre has its sub-genres, of course, which allows variation in themes.
As a reader, I accept the mystery premise that someone pretty normal is going to go outside his/her comfort zone to make a wrong right. As a thriller reader, my husband likes his world-protectors to be larger than life supermen for whom failure isn't an option.
We're just like readers everywhere, giving rope to the authors of the types of stories we enjoy. Lead us along, and we'll follow.
That got me thinking. We accept certain "givens" when we read, and each genre has its own. I'll list a few, but those who read other types of fiction will probably be able to add more.
In mysteries, we often let the protag have some pretty lucky leaps of logic. There might be thousands of possible suspects at the beginning of the story, but somehow he/she narrows it down, usually relying on "gut."
Amateur sleuths don't act like normal people. They wade in where most of us would let police handle matters. Few of us would knowingly enter into a situation where we might get killed.
In thrillers, the protags can do everything. A guy who's never been in Athens before navigates easily, finding hotels and taxis and communicating with the locals. He often provides a travelogue for his companions in the process: "This is the Parthenon, built in...."
In romances, the main character is usually different from those around her, a changeling. If they're zany, she's wise, and vice versa. Romantic heroines are also amazingly adaptable: whatever happens to them, they deal with it--no counseling, no PTSD, just on to Love.
In westerns, the lines between good and evil are pretty sharply defined. You're either with us or agin us, and heaven help you if the latter is the case.
I guess what I'm saying is that readers accept certain conventions in the genres they choose, and what we read might say a little about how we like to look at life. Each genre has its sub-genres, of course, which allows variation in themes.
As a reader, I accept the mystery premise that someone pretty normal is going to go outside his/her comfort zone to make a wrong right. As a thriller reader, my husband likes his world-protectors to be larger than life supermen for whom failure isn't an option.
We're just like readers everywhere, giving rope to the authors of the types of stories we enjoy. Lead us along, and we'll follow.
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by
Jo
(new)
Jan 26, 2014 05:38AM
I'm like you and love mysteries but I'm not sure what this says for my husband who reads horror books especially about zombies. lol To be serious I know he likes reading about what people do when they are faced with an apopalyptic type situation. I'm sure being faced with that situation he would lead everyone to safety.
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I hate to sound sexist, but I think guys worry more about what they'd do in an emergency (such as a zombie attack), hence their enjoyment of horror and war movies. :)Sadly, I'm totally clueless and wouldn't recognize a zombie until it ate my head. But if my husband were there, like Bruce he'd anticipate and escape. I think he'd take me with him--most days!
