Every night at bedtime, I make up a story for my daughter.
She loves them. But she’s a very picky listener. She prefers stories centered around her favorite cat, Shadow. With the magic of storytelling, Shadow can speak English and have exciting adventures.
In real life, Shadow is a fluffy, fat, beautiful tomcat. He’s also really mischievous. It fits his personality to have him do mischievous things in the bedtime stories.
But if my daughter can tell that my story is veering off into an area where Shadow is getting into some sort of scrape and heading into trouble, she revolts.
“No! Don’t make Shadow do it, Mama! Change it! Change the story!”
Yes, she would rather hear a watered-down, happy-sappy story about Shadow having a picnic with her on the top of a breezy hill in the sunshine rather than hear an exciting tale of adventure with Shadow possibly getting in over his furry head.
She just can’t bear to hear anything bad—even something made up—about her favorite pet.
It reminds me of the problems JK Rowling faced when she was writing her last Harry Potter book. I read an interview with her where she expressed her discomfort at the fact that parents would email her begging that Harry’s life be spared so their children wouldn’t be devastated.
Then there was the case of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. He eventually got so tired of writing Sherlock that he killed him off during a fight with his archenemy Moriarty at a waterfall. Readers were so outraged that he had to bring Sherlock back from the dead.
I don’t really have much of an answer for this. Obviously writers want creative freedom to write the story the way they want to. This has, I think, to be balanced with the commercial element of writing for our readers.
I think if we are planning to do away with a main character, then some foreshadowing would be a good idea. Anything that’s really abrupt and out of the blue and doesn’t fit with the tone of the story and our readers might feel cheated.
Yes, I can have Shadow the cat get into a major jam and have to spend his imaginary afternoon in time out for his mischief. (I would never dream of having the kitty get into any harm in a story.) But if I’ve lost my listener because she’s plugging up her ears, then I’m basically telling a bedtime story to myself.
How much are you taking your readers into account as you write your book or your sequels?
Elizabeth – First, I love that ‘photo!
It is so important to take into account what our readers think and want. I have to say, when I write, I think about what readers of my kind of sub-genre probably want. But then I create the characters the way they develop and tell the story I’ve created. My beta readers (God bless ’em) then tell me whether my story is going to appeal to readers or now, and I listen. Carefully. So I guess you’d say for me, it’s a blend of what I want and what readers want.
I love Shadow. He is beautiful. And I know all about mischievious cats. :)
Yes, I agree readers feel cheated if their MC is taken away and more so if they are taken away and there were no clues.
T
Shadow is a cutie! I worry about the charactes I love as well. I want those happy endings for them!
Your cat shadow is so cute.
I think to a point, we need to take into account what readers want because ultimately they are the one dropping money to read our words. However, we can’t be untrue to our characters or ourselves. I think fortunately though, most true readers know what the characters want most anyway.
CD
One of my beta readers really wants me to have two of my characters hook up in my series I’m writing. I’d like for that to happen, but the characters, if they do happen to get together, have a lot of obstacles to work through. I always take my readers into consideration even if I can’t oblige every last whim or desire they want.
I think we’ve all read books where we’ve felt cheated by the time the last page is turned. The latest one I read had this amazing twist at the end, truly amazing. The writer inside me marveled at this author’s clever mind.
However, the majority of this author’s readers, including me, did not appreciate this masterful turn of events. In fact, many were extremely upset. Why? Because it was completely unexpected, not unlike a sucker punch to the gut. It showed our protagonist in a very bad light. It deviated from the light, funny feelings this series evoked. It was dark and distasteful. Because of this, many people have said they will not continue to buy more books in this series. Ouch!
Great post!
Kitty!
You suckered me in with a kitty photo.
Since I’m a sap for a happy ending as well, I’ve never felt the need to kill off a main character. However, I will admit, if I ever wrote another book in my YA series, a main character would die.
I take reader feedback seriously, so much so I went trhough a re-edit and added six chapters to the end to bring some closure to the first installment of the trilogy.
Other than that, I write in my own voice. Keep the action moving, add conflict and tension, and balance the story with down time of character development. Everything else gets tossed.
Shadow is adorable! That’s fantastic that you make up stories about him every night for your daughter.
I do my best to allow the story to flow naturally according to the character. I figure if the readers love the character they would want the story to be true to them. And hopefully they love the character!
I think what you’ve hit here is being aware of reader expectations. Critics of a genre might say they’re formulaic, but there’s something comforting to the reader to know that a romance will end happily, and in a mystery, the crime will be solved. If you’re going to deviate, you run the risk of alienating your audience. Then again, you might be picking up a new one!
Terry
Terry’s Place
Romance with a Twist–of Mystery
I think it is of immense importance to take one´s readers into consideration. As my younger daughter and I talked about this morning, it seems like a contradiction in terms that one can write cozy mysteries. Of course it is only possible because we have this agreement with the reader that we stick to certain rules. So just like you shouldn´t endanger a beloved dog in a children´s story, it won´t do to kill off a beloved sleuth in a cozy.
I’m a storyteller rather than a writer. (Some day I’ll write a post about the differences.)
A major difference between the two for me, is that a storyteller is more about reader. A writer is more about the craft. (At least that’s the way I feel today :)
I did something really drastic to a character, but so far readers have been okay with it. So I think it can be done.
Margot–I think a blend makes the most sense, doesn’t it?
Clarissa–I think you’re right. The readers who are really into our characters and series will understand and stick with us…unless we really mess up and throw something at them from out of the blue.
Teresa–You’ve got mischievous cats, too! Shadow is a mess, but we love him.
Jeffrey–Now THAT is a tough one. If you think about it, there were tons of TV shows where the viewers wanted the main characters to hook up and it ended up destroying the tension and the show. So that’s hard–you want to make the readers happy, but it changes the dynamics of the book.
Leighsa–
The story you just told sends shivers down my spine, as a writer! Because, really, what good is it to write something masterful and dark if loyal readers desert us? Nope, I think I’d rather keep my loyal readers!
Diane–Kitties! Yes, I knew I’d draw you in. :) I think that if I were one of your YA characters, I’d want you to be done with the series!
Stephen–Good for you! I know when I feel like a story has ended with a cliffhanger (and I’ll have to wait the better part of a year or more for the next book to come out) that I feel disappointed.
Jemi–Thanks! Yes, I’ve killed off characters as murder victims that I was really sorry to lose!
Heather–That’s a good point. Readers do have a really strong sense of something being fake. If we’ve changed a storyline to make a happy ending for a character–when it doesn’t fit the character–then they’ll probably not get much of a sense of satisfaction from the conclusion.
Suzi–Now *that* is an interesting distinction! I’ve not thought about that. I’d, of course, have said that one was a verbal tradition and the other written, but I see exactly where you’re coming from. And it’s true–when I’m telling a story to my daughter, I’m thinking about what *she’d* enjoy. With my writing, I tend to think more about my readers too…I think. :) I do take note of their suggestions when I get emails.
Alex–I’m guessing the readers probably had some indication from you that something bad was coming! I think readers can take anything if there are a few hints.
Terry–I think genre fiction readers, especially, have a sort of contract between them and the writer to deliver the kind of stories they’re used to.
Dorte–It’s true…and when I’ve heard about instances where cozy writers have stepped over the boundaries, the readers have responded–and it’s not been a good thing.
Shadow is beautiful. Maybe the stories about his adventures will end up as a book some day?
This is a really important point – I haven’t picked up a Philip Pullman book since he abruptly killed off my favourite character in The Shadow in the North!
Ingrid–I think my daughter would be editing the book until it was just happiness and sunshine!
Juliette–And see how long you’ve remembered that? That’s why I really don’t want to step on readers’ toes…