Readers Love Survivors

Letter From the Editor: Topic - What Readers Want

Readers Love Survivors

When our world grows too busy and demanding we need an escape from reality. We need to go to a place where dreams and fantasies can become true. This place is a book of fiction.

I want to read a stronger than reality piece with which I can identify. I want to see me in a character, but a stronger me. Someone who stands up and fights back. The character could be male, female, adult or child. It could be a character of fantasy, or an alien being. That isn’t important. What is important is she doesn’t sit quietly by and let things happen to her. She does what needs doing to take action against adversity.

Readers like hero characters who can triumph over whatever the world throws at them. Whether natural disasters, tragedy or bad guys, the hero must overcome them and survive.

Without the character overcoming a heavy obstacle, what’s the point of reading the story? Readers see depression and failure in real life - so give them success. The character must work to overcome adversity and survive. The reader will place himself in the main character’s shoes and experience the same emotions. He wants to feel that life does have a purpose and there is always hope.

Readers want to recognize themselves, or the person they want to be, in the character’s personal qualities. For me, that means I don’t want a timid hero to remain timid. By the end of the story she has discovered her courage by using her brain and gaining skills. The ending shows her kicking butt and taking names. She is a survivor. She is me.

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Review By: DuraH bobneH Q... (58)
Date and Time: 04-02-09 @ 12:45pm
Public/Private: Public
Reviewer's Rating: (4.5)


Well said.
I carry that a bit farther. I detest the old Hollyville.. everyone gets killed but one or two... thingy.."yuck"
My guys go in, kick butt, and go home... sort of..."grinnn"
It's 'how' they do it that drives my story.

just bob

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Thanks, Bob. As you can see, I borrowed your phrase "kick butt".

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Review By: *~* Pine Tree H...
Date and Time: 04-04-09 @ 4:25pm
Reviewer's Rating: (4.0)

Your title intrigued me, so I came in for a peek. I agree with all you have said and was glad to see it was what I'd hoped. I believe stories need heros, as long as one doesn't feel like they have to be almost amazonian in the end when it may be just as appropriate to have overcome something that once was defeating. Good advice. Thanks!

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Review By: JBJackson (163)
Date and Time: 04-19-09 @ 5:39pm
Public/Private: Public
Reviewer's Rating: (2.5)

I tried to keep in mind that this is both a letter (and, therefore, shorter than the typical essay or article) and that it's very clear about addressing your own personal tastes and needs in fiction (i.e. this isn't about fiction or readers in general).

Still, it's very short and relatively vague, so I still didn't really understand from this why you feel the way you do. (In fact, I wasn't even entirely sure about the "what" part, let alone the "why" part - I think mostly as a result of just so few words.)

Every reader has different needs and tastes and, of course, they're all as unique as the individual reader. But are you saying you only enjoy fiction if the protagonist successfully overcomes some kind of adversity?

I suppose, by saying you identify with that, we can assume you've overcome such adversity yourself and this is the reason for that preference. But a little more elaboration or exploration of this might have helped me understand what you're getting at. Is this merely one trait you like in fiction or truly the only one? Why is that identification so important? Why victory-over-adversity as opposed to the myriad other ways you might identify with a character?

The question as to "why read a story if there's no heavy obstacle to overcome" appears to be rhetorical, but, again, hard to tell. It sort of sounds like you're saying any other kind of plot structure or a character with which the reader can't identify (Humbert Humbert, anyone?) is intrinsically worthless.

I don't think this is actually what you meant - just an example of one point I thought could benefit from more detail in order to understand how this applies to you, whereas it might not to another reader.

Especially since the idea of identifying with fictional characters is such a post-Freudian way of reading literature in the first place. So, even given the wide variety of reader preferences, we're all still somewhat trapped in reading through the lens of our time and culture. Is there value to trying to reach beyond that lens? Or are reader preferences untouchable by definition?

Basically, I liked this enough that I just wanted more of it

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Review By: fulldazegal (1)
Date and Time: 06-06-09 @ 10:07am
Public/Private: Public
Reviewer's Rating: (5.0)


I think this will help me with my story. Thank you.

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