Fic Talk > General Discussion
Question of the day part 10
RokofAges75:
--- Quote from: mare on August 24, 2013, 06:40:29 PM ---Let's take Julie's question and expand it to the actual male characters as well, in particular BSB or 1D or NKOTB or whoever else you guys write about.
Have you ever been surprised by people's reactions to the way you are writing the guys? Has anyone ever told you, your portrayal of them is inaccurate or too disturbing or any other thing that made you say "Woah!" lol
Have you ever read a story where you find you aren't enjoying the portrayal of one or all of the boys so much that you have stopped reading? What was it exactly that made you stop? The subject matter, the boy being too out of character, too boring etc?
--- End quote ---
No one's ever told me my portrayal of the guys was inaccurate, but sometimes when I think about or even go back to read my old stories, I think it myself LOL. It's such a subjective thing because they are all real people with many layers beyond their stage personas, and they have also grown and changed a lot over the past twenty years, so depending on what era you're writing about and the situation you put them in, there are many different ways to write the guys that are all believable. That said, I think I used to draw on my own feelings too much and make them more feminine in the way I portrayed them - too romantic, too angsty and emotional, and so on. I think I do a better job at writing them as grown men now, maybe because I'm also an adult and know grown men, whereas when I started writing I was a melodramatic teenage girl who only interacted with hormonal high school boys outside of the men in my family LOL. I think character development, like any other writing skill, gets easier with experience.
I have definitely read stories where I haven't enjoyed the way the guys were portrayed. I try not to let it bother me if the rest of the story is well-written and entertaining, but it is a turn-off. I remember reading a story for an award or something way back in the day in which Nick was a rapist, and I hated that. Like Steph said, if there is a valid reason in the story for them to go out of character, that's fine, but I don't like when they're completely different for no reason.
RokofAges75:
As far as female characters go, I haven't written any that were universally hated, but I think the most polarizing one I've written is Claire in the Broken series. Claire was well liked or at least accepted in Broken, when she was just a supporting character who was introduced slowly, but after I upped her to main character status in By My Side, some of my readers turned on her. I would get emails ending in "Kill Claire!" - and they weren't from Mare! LOL I don't think it happened until after she left Nick, and I'm not sure if it was because she hurt him or because she went out of character to do it. I'd prefer to think it was the latter, but like Steph insinuated with her Brittany/Niall example, I do think there is sort of a double standard when it comes to female characters vs. our boys. Nick hurt Claire (and went out of character) first, and no one turned against him. As long as they're not out raping women, I think the guys can pretty much get away with anything (including serial killings) and still be liked, whereas female characters walk a fine line.
For me, I think it's less about whether or not the female character is supporting her man and more about whether or not she's doing dumb things. To reference Breaking Bad, I am one of those viewers who roots for Walt and does not like Skyler, but I did not turn on her until she started doing dumb things. I really liked her in the first couple of seasons, until the Ted Beneke storyline happened, and that's when she lost me. When she jumped in the pool, I wanted her to drown. I don't like women (especially strong women) who suddenly get weak and start doing dumb things. For that reason, I can understand why some of my readers turned on Claire.
I will only read romance in which I like the female lead, so annoying female characters acting dumb is a deal-breaker for me. I have definitely stopped reading stories because I could not stand the female lead.
mare:
--- Quote from: Sakabelle on August 24, 2013, 08:46:54 PM ---
I stopped reading most 1D fic except for a few authors who I know will write quality stuff because of this issue - I can't stand it when the guys are out of character and super one dimensional. There are a few BSB stories that I have read where the guys don't act like themselves - I find this with Nick in particular, but that could also just be because I mostly read Nick-centered fic. But for Nick to stop being womanizing and settle down, I find that I need there to be a reason for that. I can't picture him as anything but the nerdy, vulgar popstar I see him as in real life. For me to enjoy a story and see Nick differently, I need a transformation from that to happen within the story, not just be there right at the beginning. I need to watch him change from his recognizable self and grow from that as a result of what happens to him in the story.
I wasn't thinking of any story in particular in that wall of text lol, just the endless Nick stories I have clicked on in my life, because I shamelessly love Nick romance lol.
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I love that you said this, I think it's so interesting because as a reader, I would find all those qualities out of his character because when I read, it's never from the romance angle, it's from the interaction he has with the other guys so when I'm writing/reading there's never really a reason to portray him as any of those things you mentioned.
I think it's so interesting that depending on our perceptions of the guys, something that might seem so normal for one person may seem so WTF? to another. LOL I LOVE that!
mare:
--- Quote from: RokofAges75 on August 24, 2013, 10:24:51 PM ---As far as female characters go, I haven't written any that were universally hated, but I think the most polarizing one I've written is Claire in the Broken series. Claire was well liked or at least accepted in Broken, when she was just a supporting character who was introduced slowly, but after I upped her to main character status in By My Side, some of my readers turned on her. I would get emails ending in "Kill Claire!" - and they weren't from Mare! LOL I don't think it happened until after she left Nick, and I'm not sure if it was because she hurt him or because she went out of character to do it. I'd prefer to think it was the latter, but like Steph insinuated with her Brittany/Niall example, I do think there is sort of a double standard when it comes to female characters vs. our boys. Nick hurt Claire (and went out of character) first, and no one turned against him. As long as they're not out raping women, I think the guys can pretty much get away with anything (including serial killings) and still be liked, whereas female characters walk a fine line.
For me, I think it's less about whether or not the female character is supporting her man and more about whether or not she's doing dumb things. To reference Breaking Bad, I am one of those viewers who roots for Walt and does not like Skyler, but I did not turn on her until she started doing dumb things. I really liked her in the first couple of seasons, until the Ted Beneke storyline happened, and that's when she lost me. When she jumped in the pool, I wanted her to drown. I don't like women (especially strong women) who suddenly get weak and start doing dumb things. For that reason, I can understand why some of my readers turned on Claire.
I will only read romance in which I like the female lead, so annoying female characters acting dumb is a deal-breaker for me. I have definitely stopped reading stories because I could not stand the female lead.
--- End quote ---
I felt the same way about Skylar although I never really was a full fledged fan of hers, she really didn't start bothering me until she decided to stick with Walt and send the kids away. That pool scene annoyed the crap out of me as did the way she acted in the last episode they showed last Sunday. I agree with the strong turned weak female character. I hate when I feel like I'm really enjoying someone and they suddenly get all dumb! It annoys me and yay to ME not being the one who wanted Claire dead!! I have always liked her but then again I didn't read By My Side. LOL
usako:
--- Quote from: mare on August 24, 2013, 06:40:29 PM ---Let's take Julie's question and expand it to the actual male characters as well, in particular BSB or 1D or NKOTB or whoever else you guys write about.
Have you ever been surprised by people's reactions to the way you are writing the guys? Has anyone ever told you, your portrayal of them is inaccurate or too disturbing or any other thing that made you say "Woah!" lol
Have you ever read a story where you find you aren't enjoying the portrayal of one or all of the boys so much that you have stopped reading? What was it exactly that made you stop? The subject matter, the boy being too out of character, too boring etc?
--- End quote ---
Aside from the rude comment that I should write things more appropriate, the only time that a comment had made me say "woah" was about this little short inspired by a Nick's videochat where a fan asked him if he missed Brian. Of course my story was slash and this girl (the same of the first comment) told me that I misunderstood Nick's reply. I was like "so? What the hell do you want from me?" LOL
But, in reality, no one has ever said me that my Nick and Brian were out of characters or such. Actually, most of the time, they asked me if I know Brian because of the way I describe him. lol
As for the second question, I usually hate stories that made the guys look bad only for the sake of the story and not because of certain reasons. Usually, this happens in romance and romantic triangle, where one of them has to be the bad guy so the other would look like the hero. LOL And, usually, I always end up loving the bad guy.
It might appear strange, since I'm not a Nick's girl, but I absolutely hate stories where the author make him look like an idiot, stupid or really really childish. I love making fun of him, especially his love for Google (lol) but some sotries I was like: "He is 18 year old, why are you making him look like a ten year old?" O.o As for Brian, I usually stop reading a story where he's the jerk of the situation without giving him a reason for his behaviour.
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