I'm sorry; I wasn't aware writing was supposed to be easy.
*grin* Point to you; I agree, it's not supposed to be easy.
Me, I'd rather put in the extra work and consider where my readers are coming from. I know I appreciate when the authors I read do the same for me as a reader.
Considering where my readers may be coming from--sure, I do that. We should do that, if only to be sure we are getting our story and characters across in a way that is understandable.
However, I am not going to second-guess everything. I don't and can't know the minds and background of all my potential readers. FYI, I came to this conclusion first because I was raised in a very conservative Christian culture and am a fan/writer of fantasy literature. I am not going to let the "fantasy is spiritually dangerous" crowd dictate what I write; nor am I going to let "they're all stereotypes!" dictate how I can and cannot write female (or Christian, or single, or white, or eldest born, all of which I am) characters.
I mean, it's not just Susan people have commented on; I've heard Lucy held up as a stereotypical female, as well (if a "good" stereotype), which always made me furious because she was one of the characters I most identified with in childhood (along with Jo March and Anne Shirley). I found her very real.
I figure that I may not be able to please everyone all of the time, but I can try my best to please most of the people most of the time.
Nothing inherently wrong with pleasing people, certainly. But if one has to surrender something about a character simply because one is afraid that it may seem stereotypical, that fear and inclination should be questioned.
no subject
*grin* Point to you; I agree, it's not supposed to be easy.
Me, I'd rather put in the extra work and consider where my readers are coming from. I know I appreciate when the authors I read do the same for me as a reader.
Considering where my readers may be coming from--sure, I do that. We should do that, if only to be sure we are getting our story and characters across in a way that is understandable.
However, I am not going to second-guess everything. I don't and can't know the minds and background of all my potential readers. FYI, I came to this conclusion first because I was raised in a very conservative Christian culture and am a fan/writer of fantasy literature. I am not going to let the "fantasy is spiritually dangerous" crowd dictate what I write; nor am I going to let "they're all stereotypes!" dictate how I can and cannot write female (or Christian, or single, or white, or eldest born, all of which I am) characters.
I mean, it's not just Susan people have commented on; I've heard Lucy held up as a stereotypical female, as well (if a "good" stereotype), which always made me furious because she was one of the characters I most identified with in childhood (along with Jo March and Anne Shirley). I found her very real.
I figure that I may not be able to please everyone all of the time, but I can try my best to please most of the people most of the time.
Nothing inherently wrong with pleasing people, certainly. But if one has to surrender something about a character simply because one is afraid that it may seem stereotypical, that fear and inclination should be questioned.