Re: OT: Wildepad

On Sun, 17 Feb 2008 08:13:13 GMT, throopw@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
 (Wayne Throop)
wrote:

>: Wildepad <noreplies>
>: If I wanted to know how a character might react to waking up next to a
>: dragon, I'd find a fantasy newsgroup.
>: etc.
>
>Why?  Shirley your *average* person isn't going to be all that familiar
>with fantasy tropes, so you're not going to find out how "a character"
>might react, but how a representative of a self-selected group might.

Basing a character's thoughts/actions/reactions on a true average
would make them more acceptable to an average person, but an average
person probably won't be reading it (latest statistics show that most
people read few novels and almost no short stories).

It is very important for the reader to identify with the protagonist.
Every time the reader can say to themselves: "Yes, that's what I would
do," it increases that identification as well as further enhancing the
suspension of disbelief. 

Since the target audience for a fantasy story is a person who reads
that genre, how fantasy readers think they would react tells what they
expect the character to do. [1] 

If the character is one who lives in a world where dragons are real,
and it is impossible to find such a population to query, the
alternative is to find those who feel as if they know what it would be
like to live there.



[1] Whether the protag acts in that manner depends on the storyline,
but if a majority of fantasy readers think a person in that situation
would/should act in a certain way and the plot demands otherwise, it's
time to start thinking of adding a line or two to show why the
character isn't doing things that way.
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