thoughtfulA few of my preferences:
* Mermaids! I love mermaids. I've been thrilled by everyone enjoying the glimpse of the Undersea in One Salt Sea, because wow did those chapters feel self-indulgent. I could have written a whole book just explaining how the social structure of the Undersea functions. Someday, if I get a good enough excuse, maybe I will.
* Evil twins. Yeah, I know, it's a Patty Duke cliche, and I don't care. I love me some evil twin action. Blame my early exposure to All My Children and move on.
* Mathematicians and scientists in leading rolls. I think math is sexy. Science is basically my favorite thing that isn't the Great Pumpkin or my cats. It's pretty rare to find a book of mine that doesn't have at least one of these character types represented. (Ironically, Feed didn't need a scientist because I was the scientist, with all that delicious virology kicking around.)
* Alternate universes and timelines. Yes, I love breaking continuity and seeing what happens when it's put together in a new shape. Enough so that sometimes people have to hold me down and take the hammer away, since otherwise, I'll just keep smashing things. My one regret about prose as a primary medium is that it's hard to pull off alt-universes in most prose settings.
* The malleability of death. Look, I grew up on X-Men comics, soap operas, and horror movies. I enjoy playing with the elasticity of mortality, and finding ways around things that seem permanent. You can't cheat, but watching your dead girlfriend's robot replacement come to terms with the fact that she's really a brain in a jar delights me.
...there are more, but you get the idea.
One of the interesting things about knowing and being at peace with my narrative kinks is that I get much, much pickier about how they're used. You can't just raise the dead and expect me to be happy; I want it to make sense within the rules of your universe, hang together internally, and be fair to the character you've just brought back. If you're going to have a lead scientist, they'd better be a scientist, and not a magical knows-everything widget that can somehow apply every field of science KNOWN TO MAN to whatever situation they happen to be in (Winnifred Burkle, I'm sorry, but I'm looking at you).
If you're going to do an alternate universe, I expect you to think it all the way through. Yes, all the way through. One of my favorite shows rebooted their continuity two seasons ago, and while they made the usual assortment of flashy surface changes, they didn't consider all the ramifications of those changes. The fact that at least two of the characters involved didn't tear down heaven and earth looking for a way back to the original timeline was incredibly disappointing to me. (Shawn says this is because I over think these things. I point you, again, to my list of narrative kinks. These are the things I am programmed to over think!) Basically, I want stories that will give me what I want, but really commit to giving it, not tap-dance around going all the way.
Also, often, narrative kinks are a lot like salt or bacon: a little can go a long way. I adored Marvel's House of M alt-universe, but I would have been annoyed if it had replaced the main Marvel Universe completely (even though it was an awesome setting, and I want them to do more with it). I'm enjoying the current season of Fringe, with its re-imagined continuity...and at the same time, I find myself restlessly demanding the original timeline back, because I invested a lot of time and emotional attachment in those characters, those relationships, and every delighted "oh, it went like that over here" is followed by a "...wait, does that mean that this other thing didn't happen?" So sometimes, getting what you think you want out of a story isn't ideal.
And this is why I have proofreaders and editors who don't share my narrative kinks. They may encourage me to put more foxes, or talking animals in silly hats, into the narrative, but they'll help me avoid the story turning into a stew of "things Seanan wants to play with."
What are your narrative kinks? How do you feel about their use, and how do you react when they get overused? What narrative toys would you rather never came off the shelf again? Enlighten me!
October 20 2011, 17:53:11 UTC 5 years ago Edited: October 20 2011, 23:18:22 UTC
-Secondary characters with enough depth that I want to know their story. I blame this fully on Robin Hood as the idea of Will Stuteley from Creswick's Robin Hood is why I write.
-Magic just below the surface of the normal world. Charles de Lint is to blame for this one and I love the Toby books because they make it work.
-Love of place/sense of history, I studied Classics and adore when its clear to me that the story being told is just a part of a longer tale of a certain city or group of people. This can also get mixed in with thoughtful retelling of myths and legends if done right.
-Thoughtful retellings of older stories, this one makes me happiest when its done with a light touch. I enjoyed the earlier books in the Elemental Masters series because Lackey made both the world of magic and the retelling of stories work. Later ones felt much heavier and I need to read the newest one. I do enjoy the Riordan books but sometimes his changes feel too heavy and it pulls me out of the story.
-Mysteries, I grew up reading and watching all the classic mysteries and then discovered new authors on my own. I don't have any sort of head for writing mystery plots but I love reading them when done right. I can reread a Ngaio Marsh or a Pratchett because the characters are real and the story is worth a read even if I remember who but maybe not who or why.
-Comfortable romance, this is a really tricky one to explain but I adore when friends who know each other make the choice to be something more. When its written well, its amazing but its also such a horrible trope that its hard. I like feeling like the two people in love know each other and trust each other.
-Creative characters, so many protagnanists are warriors that I get so happy when there's a character who succeeds by being someone who makes. Then seeing how they show where they fit within their world. Sameth from the Abhorsen Chronicles is my current favorite example of this.
Edit to add one more, good historical settings where its understood that things will be different, this also holds true in new worlds. I want to feel like I'm going back and don't want to see a feminist woman in Jane Austen's England. Instead I want to see a strong woman who has her own views that fit with the time, but this is so hard to get right. Historical fiction is the genre that disappoints me the most because people don't research or really think a situation through.
I think that's all I can think of for now but this is a wonderful idea to ponder.
October 21 2011, 01:03:34 UTC 5 years ago