It's so interesting that I saw this email today when just yesterday I was thinking if I would ever be able to write a story or show that is just about happy people. Would people like it? Would they engage? Would they even care? It seems like life on tv is always about drama, but most of MY real life was/is never very dramatic.
I'm brainstorming as I write this comment, and I think that it is possible to write such a story as long as the character is well developed and engaging. They may not get into dramatic situations, but we love them and wanna see what happens next.
I was thinking about this because my partner is playing a game that has multiple iterations, and the main character doesn't seem to get a break, EVER. That poor guy! But if he did get a "happy ending", would people still wanna play the next game to see what's up in that character's life?
I go back and forth all the time with this, Fay. From one perspective, create whatever you want to create. It should be an internal decision. But like it or not, there's a commercial aspect to art, and consumers (viewers, readers) seem to connect to characters who experience hardships.
What I think is helpful (and what I tried to do a little bit in this piece) is separating trauma from obstacles. The Fresh Prince / Silence of the Lambs example was my attempt to show that separation. Fresh Prince does go through obstacles, but I wouldn't call the majority of those obstacles traumatic. Is there room for more stories that take a similar approach? Maybe a more current example would be Emily in Paris. I wouldn't say Emily was constantly surviving traumatic experiences, but she was overcoming obstacles.
Where I land is that writers need to get great at creating tension, whatever that tension may be. Tension is really what the reader (viewer, observer) is attracted to. But tension does not require trauma.
I agree! I think the key word for me is "tension". You can definitely create tension without exploiting trauma. I'll keep that word in mind as I continue to write. Thank you for your insights!
It's so interesting that I saw this email today when just yesterday I was thinking if I would ever be able to write a story or show that is just about happy people. Would people like it? Would they engage? Would they even care? It seems like life on tv is always about drama, but most of MY real life was/is never very dramatic.
I'm brainstorming as I write this comment, and I think that it is possible to write such a story as long as the character is well developed and engaging. They may not get into dramatic situations, but we love them and wanna see what happens next.
I was thinking about this because my partner is playing a game that has multiple iterations, and the main character doesn't seem to get a break, EVER. That poor guy! But if he did get a "happy ending", would people still wanna play the next game to see what's up in that character's life?
Curious about your perspective :)
I go back and forth all the time with this, Fay. From one perspective, create whatever you want to create. It should be an internal decision. But like it or not, there's a commercial aspect to art, and consumers (viewers, readers) seem to connect to characters who experience hardships.
What I think is helpful (and what I tried to do a little bit in this piece) is separating trauma from obstacles. The Fresh Prince / Silence of the Lambs example was my attempt to show that separation. Fresh Prince does go through obstacles, but I wouldn't call the majority of those obstacles traumatic. Is there room for more stories that take a similar approach? Maybe a more current example would be Emily in Paris. I wouldn't say Emily was constantly surviving traumatic experiences, but she was overcoming obstacles.
Where I land is that writers need to get great at creating tension, whatever that tension may be. Tension is really what the reader (viewer, observer) is attracted to. But tension does not require trauma.
I agree! I think the key word for me is "tension". You can definitely create tension without exploiting trauma. I'll keep that word in mind as I continue to write. Thank you for your insights!