"Never forget, we sell fun."

aruna · May 24, 2013

In my case, fun is not the right word, and neither is entertainment... what I would like my readers to experience is complete absorption and full immersion, to the point of they live in the character's skin, rejoice and suffer with them and grow just a little bit, or a lot, just as my characters do. I actually intensely dislike the word fun...

A.R. Starr · May 24, 2013

I want readers to enjoy my work. Not always to have 'fun' exactly, because some parts of my writing are meant to be disturbing, uncomfortable or sad, but to always enjoy the book enough to come back to it again and again.

One of my own favourite books is "Arrow's Fall" by Mercedes Lackey. I love that book and have read it so often I've twice had to replace it after the paperback fell apart. But I've never managed to read it without crying. A wonderful, powerful story, but at least a third of it is not 'fun' to read.

Putputt · May 24, 2013

lolchemist said:
Ughhh well, some authors sell misery and boredom and frustration too. Maybe it would be fairer to say that we sell emotional experiences?

Heh, I was thinking along the same lines, having read plenty of books lately that made me feel like I got punched in the heart. I like to think what books sell is escapism.

For myself, the first two books I wrote were fun. I entertained myself writing them and I hope my readers will find them entertaining as well. My current WIP is decidedly un-fun. I'm fast losing interest and will probably trunk it soon.

frimble3 · May 25, 2013

Well, 'fun' can be many things to many people. Some of us like carousels, with the pretty horses and ornaments, and the pleasure of knowing where the ride is going. Some of us like roller-coasters, the wild up-and-down, the building speed and the whoosh. And some of us like to sit in the Bingo tent, filling in little cards.
There's something for everyone.

gothicangel · May 25, 2013

Primarily, I write to entertain myself. My sister doesn't read a lot of fiction, but has a motto about film: 'I want to feel like I lived through something.'

Mr Flibble · May 25, 2013

aruna said:
In my case, fun is not the right word, and neither is entertainment... what I would like my readers to experience is complete absorption and full immersion, to the point of they live in the character's skin, rejoice and suffer with them and grow just a little bit, or a lot, just as my characters do.

That sounds like fun to me.

WriterBN · May 25, 2013

I'm not sure "fun" would apply to my writing, at least so far. (I have a couple of YA novels in early draft where that would make more sense.) With my current work, even though there are humorous or entertaining elements, what I want most is to make the reader think and ask questions.

Maxinquaye · May 25, 2013

I do not concern myself with what is fun for other people. It is an impossible task.

I am betting that what I find interesting will capture someone else too; maybe many someones. Hopefully many someones. I am not part of an entertainment industry. I am part of an entertainment strategy, for myself.

James D. Macdonald · May 25, 2013

"It's a business doing pleasure with you," as the streetwalker said....

HarryHoskins · May 25, 2013

Mr Flibble said:
14
English
Verbatim, as reported to me
They get graded on it (or rather on 'attitude to learning')

That is fascinating and also strange with regard to the teacher. I wonder what they were up to -- especially the night before.

Mr Flibble said:
The ones in my sig. But they're stories first. The rest came by accident.

That is also -- ahem, free book -- fascinating.

Mr Flibble · May 25, 2013

HarryHoskins said:
That is also -- ahem, free book -- fascinating.

If I gave a, ahem, free book to everyone who asked*, I'd make no sales...

*beta readers and close (first reader) friends get one.

Mr. Breadcrumb · May 29, 2013

Humans have a pretty odd and diverse relationship with "fun". I mean think about all the things people do "for fun". Honestly, thinking about it too hard makes my head hurt. What is fun, anyway? Something that we are compelled to do that isn't directly essential to our survival? Why do we do anything at all? (I'm half joking on this score, but it does get oddly slippery when you try to pin it down.)

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I do think it's a pretty good reminder and a good benchmark. But fun doesn't always have to be light. Fun can come from challenge or exhilaration or being made to feel something new and different. Maybe not the best word to capture all of that, but it is a good idea, probably, if you're working on something particularly serious to remember that the best works (in my opinion anyway) are those that manage to get their message across in a way that not only leaves you glad that you read it, but glad to be reading it.

muravyets · May 29, 2013

James D. Macdonald said:
We are part of the entertainment industry.

This.

I would also point out that the entertainment industry includes tragedy and satire as well as comedy, romance, and all the other genres and emotional effects we can think of. "Hamlet" is just as much entertainment as "Hamlet 2."

Considering then the nature and output of the entertainment industry, "fun" may be considered a quality of experience rather than a specific style of presentation or emotional effect. A book that keeps us laughing is fun. A tragedy that chews out our heart and spits it back at us is also fun, if we walk away from it with the sense of satisfaction that would bring us back for more.

For me, the question "Is this fun?" translates as "Is the reader going to enjoy reading this?" The "fun" of reading novels is in getting that satisfying during- and after-glow of the experience.

buz · May 29, 2013

Posh and pish! My manuscripts are ART; nay, manifestations of that kernel of human truth that vibrates in space betwixt us all. So exclusive and burstingly pregnant with truth are they that I fear they cannot be tainted with commercialism. This, I'm sure, is why I haven't sold them. It would only place a warm skidmark on the underpants of their purity.

Also, butt juice and fartcrackers.

*I really hope I get to sell fun to someone eventually.

ETA:

Posted by Hippo

Heh, I was thinking along the same lines, having read plenty of books lately that made me feel like I got punched in the heart.

I know the feeling...

Axordil · May 29, 2013

muravyets said:
"Hamlet" is just as much entertainment as "Hamlet 2."

And Shakespeare competed with the bear baiting pits down the way. Successfully. He got both rich and famous (in his time) doing so.

That he also wrote for Elizabeth I and James I's courts doesn't change the fact that commercial success was always a factor for him. The opposite, really: performing at court usually meant you'd "made it."

The hard division between "high" and "popular" culture is not a natural one, and possibly not a desirable one.

All that said, give me a story with a hook and characters with problems and I don't care if you're in the running for the Booker or hiding behind the most lurid of cover art.

Ken · May 29, 2013

... fun is fine.
so is being serious.
or whatever else one chooses to do.
never let anyone tell you what you should do,
or what is more important than something else.
draw your own conclusions and follow your own course

"Never forget, we sell fun."

aruna

On a wing and a prayer

A.R. Starr

Writing Addict & Proud Of It

Putputt

permanently suctioned to Buz's leg

frimble3

Heckuva good sport

gothicangel

Toughen up.

Mr Flibble

They've been very bad, Mr Flibble

WriterBN

Maxinquaye

That cheeky buggerer

James D. Macdonald

Your Genial Uncle

HarryHoskins

Straw-fed

Mr Flibble

They've been very bad, Mr Flibble

Mr. Breadcrumb

muravyets

Old revolutionary

buz

can't stop hemorrhaging emojis

Axordil

Is this thing on?

Ken