Audience Issues?

Moost · Oct 8, 2009

Sarah Christine said:
http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=157769

This is a great thread- I actually have seen it before and skimmed over it, but I'm going to read it in depth now.

In response to john barnes on toast, I agree completely. "You can lead a boy to college but you can't make him think." I knew I was taking a risk by having a male MC, because that would alienate some women readers. But, I think I succeeded in not making him come off as a jackass. He's a bit of a loser who hasn't had a girlfriend in three years, and his problems stem from his dysfunctional family and a love triangle involving the sister of his band's lead singer. I didn't want to portray him as a horny idiot so I don't have a lot of typical college themes- drinking, sex, etc.

I don't read YA anymore, but one of my favorite books is Inside the Mind of Gideon Rayburn. This is an instance where the author took the allegorical horny teenage guy and made him lovable. But I understand why this type of MC would be more appealing to teens and not adults.

MsGneiss · Oct 8, 2009

john barnes on toast said:
Broadly speaking that age group (early 20's) is not an inherently interesting demographic for anyone not in it. For many people living a typical western lifestyle it's a period of their lives when they tend be quite self-consumed and insecure; characteristics that often manifest themselves in arrogance and hubris.

A lot of this is true. A lot of the things that make 20 year olds so logistically convenient for an author also make them kind of boring. Other age groups have various problems - teenagers live at home, have curfews, spend most of their day in school, and don't have any money; 30 year olds have jobs and families, or issues that keep them from staying in jobs or starting families; 40 year olds have midlife crises; 50 year olds have "what have I done with my life" revelations; 60 year olds have that one last chance to right a wrong while they wax poetic on how they did it their way.

Anyway, yes, I could go on forever, since gross generalizations are favorite pastime of mine. Still, I think it's possible to materialize on the logistical convenience of a 20 year old while allowing for interesting themes and character development.

john barnes on toast · Oct 8, 2009

sleepsheep said:
A lot of this is true. A lot of the things that make 20 year olds so logistically convenient for an author also make them kind of boring. Other age groups have various problems - teenagers live at home, have curfews, spend most of their day in school, and don't have any money; 30 year olds have jobs and families, or issues that keep them from staying in jobs or starting families; 40 year olds have midlife crises; 50 year olds have "what have I done with my life" revelations; 60 year olds have that one last chance to right a wrong while they wax poetic on how they did it their way.

The biggest problem with characters who fall into this bracket of true young adulthood (as opposed the contrived bracket of YA) may be that they're neither one thing nor the other.
In life, and therefore in fiction, we have an abundance of forgiveness for the exuberance of youth. We forgive teenagers being moody, introspective, even ignorant, and we celebrate their naivety. But a point comes when we loose that sympathy, and we want people to be adults. I think the age group (app. 19-23) have the misfortune of being in that hinterland between what society expects of them, and what in reality they're actually equipped to do.

They're just inherently dissatisfying as an archetype.

Moost · Oct 8, 2009

I really think this is a matter of personal preference. I can understand why an adult would be frustrated with a twenty-two year old character, but there are exceptions. My fifty five year old mother enjoyed Tom Perrotta's Joe College. I think it ultimately comes down to the strength of the individual character, not the stereotypes that plague their age group.

WKolodzieski · Oct 8, 2009

Sadly, this is the same thing I'm going through right now. I've been told to just move on already, but I refuse to give up on the novel. If it doesn't find it's way on it's own then I doubt I'll ever submit again. No point to. This novel sets up my literary world. I've already trunked two books, I refuse to trunk this one. On a brighter note, after months of debating, I've come up with a title. Yay me.

Sarah Christine · Oct 8, 2009

If writing is what you're truly meant to do, then you'll never be able to quit it. One book just prepares you to write the next.

Wordwrestler · Oct 8, 2009

WK,

I don't believe you have to give up on one novel in order to move on to the next. You can still hold out hope for it while writing other, unrelated novels. Perhaps the success of later novels (that maybe you don't feel quite so passionate about) will enable you to eventually sell your favorite and write your series or spin-offs. Or you might find you develop just as much passion for something new, once you get into it.

Audience Issues?

Moost

Is not my real name

MsGneiss

john barnes on toast

Moost

Is not my real name

WKolodzieski

Sarah Christine

I think you can do better.

Wordwrestler