Adolescent Fantasies
Tuesday, November 24. 2009
I've mentioned before in this space some of the common elements in my two novels-in-progress (links at top left of this page). They both have "everyman" protagonists, they're both told in close third person, and they both feature strong, beautiful women as love interests for the protag. The settings, plot, supporting characters, and essential themes of the novels are entirely different, but they do share these basic characteristics.
What worries me is the possibility that my work will be dismissed as "adolescent fantasy." It's almost happened already.
I wrote a short story which I shared on Critters quite some time ago, and which I rather liked. It had a protagonist and a love interest who are extremely similar in many ways to the corresponding characters in Bring Me to Life, except that these two jump into bed almost immediately, and their sex life is an important component of the overall setting. (In BMtL, there's a long, slow build to the boiling point, which is rather more satisfying to me personally, but wasn't right for the aforementioned short story.) No critter actually used the words "adolescent fantasy," but they were hovering just below the surface of more than one review.
Right, what exactly then constitutes an adolescent fantasy? Too much cleavage? Too much sex? A story that reads like the author couldn't get a date, so he had to write himself one?
In my opinion, if the "eye candy" and the sex are appropriate to the story—that is, meaningful beyond their mere existence as scenery—then there's no call for invectives. You can call my plot predictable or even juvenile, if you like. But it's no reason to imply that I'm juvenile for building a world that I find entertaining and hope others will, too. I don't believe my own tastes are that unique, or even that unusual.
Of course, all men are really still adolescents at heart. Most just won't admit it.
I've mentioned before in this space some of the common elements in my two novels-in-progress (links at top left of this page). They both have "everyman" protagonists, they're both told in close third person, and they both feature strong, beautiful women as love interests for the protag. The settings, plot, supporting characters, and essential themes of the novels are entirely different, but they do share these basic characteristics.
What worries me is the possibility that my work will be dismissed as "adolescent fantasy." It's almost happened already.
I wrote a short story which I shared on Critters quite some time ago, and which I rather liked. It had a protagonist and a love interest who are extremely similar in many ways to the corresponding characters in Bring Me to Life, except that these two jump into bed almost immediately, and their sex life is an important component of the overall setting. (In BMtL, there's a long, slow build to the boiling point, which is rather more satisfying to me personally, but wasn't right for the aforementioned short story.) No critter actually used the words "adolescent fantasy," but they were hovering just below the surface of more than one review.
Right, what exactly then constitutes an adolescent fantasy? Too much cleavage? Too much sex? A story that reads like the author couldn't get a date, so he had to write himself one?
In my opinion, if the "eye candy" and the sex are appropriate to the story—that is, meaningful beyond their mere existence as scenery—then there's no call for invectives. You can call my plot predictable or even juvenile, if you like. But it's no reason to imply that I'm juvenile for building a world that I find entertaining and hope others will, too. I don't believe my own tastes are that unique, or even that unusual.
Of course, all men are really still adolescents at heart. Most just won't admit it.
What worries me is the possibility that my work will be dismissed as "adolescent fantasy." It's almost happened already.
I wrote a short story which I shared on Critters quite some time ago, and which I rather liked. It had a protagonist and a love interest who are extremely similar in many ways to the corresponding characters in Bring Me to Life, except that these two jump into bed almost immediately, and their sex life is an important component of the overall setting. (In BMtL, there's a long, slow build to the boiling point, which is rather more satisfying to me personally, but wasn't right for the aforementioned short story.) No critter actually used the words "adolescent fantasy," but they were hovering just below the surface of more than one review.
Right, what exactly then constitutes an adolescent fantasy? Too much cleavage? Too much sex? A story that reads like the author couldn't get a date, so he had to write himself one?
In my opinion, if the "eye candy" and the sex are appropriate to the story—that is, meaningful beyond their mere existence as scenery—then there's no call for invectives. You can call my plot predictable or even juvenile, if you like. But it's no reason to imply that I'm juvenile for building a world that I find entertaining and hope others will, too. I don't believe my own tastes are that unique, or even that unusual.
Of course, all men are really still adolescents at heart. Most just won't admit it.
Craig on :
Julie K. on :
The only other thing I can think is if your male protag is really average looking and the love interest is really gorgeous, there needs to be some explanation (for lack of a better word) for why he appeals to her. Is he brilliant? Incredibly funny?
Like I said, without having read the pieces in question, I can only make guesses. Good luck though
Brent on :
Thanks for the comments. I guess every author has to "project," in some sense of the word, into his or her stories, right? Otherwise, what's the point in writing? Well, except to make money, I guess. I know how well that's worked for me so far.
It's tough to be objective about my own characterizations. I'm heavily influenced by some Golden Age writers who are now considered in some circles to be sexist. They shaped how I write, but now I'm expected to "fix" their indiscretions...while I still try to retain their magic.
In fact, a lot of my influences could fall under the sexist or adolescent fantasy labels. Star Wars, Flash Gordon, Mad Max...the list goes on. The challenge is to capture what makes these stories engaging, without offending people.
Of course, maybe I shouldn't worry about any of this at all. I can't expect my market to be every person in the world, and I'm bound to offend someone. Hmmm, maybe I've been thinking about this the wrong way; perhaps I should take the odd "offended" critique as a sign I'm correctly targeting my market...