Imagine for a minute that you've written a book with an incredibly complicated character. Now imagine you're writing a sequel, and the only thing that makes sense to you is to have them be featured much less in the sequel, despite the eventual furor the fans will make.
At some point the commercial concerns of selling the book and satisfying the readers takes precendence over artistic vision. If you believe otherwise, you're going to starve. Plain and simple.
How far do you go? Do you toss away your entire vision of the book to make it fit into other people's dreams? Do you obey every whim of the shippers, and match up the characters, no matter how out of character it is for them?
My favorite examples are, of course, the responsive television shows. Shows where a bad guy of the week can show up, captivate audiences, and win themselves a continuing starring role. Shows where a bad guy can be so compelling the audience demands they continue to be the bad guy... and they do.
Conversely, what about too responsive shows? Shows that drop characters fans hate. Shows that change mid-step to keep up with fan opinion. Shows that are so responsive the fans might as well be writing them. Call it fanservice, or call it spinelessness; your artistic vision is ruined. Is what you create then better or worse than your original vision? It could go either way, but it's no longer truly yours, and that's what we're really looking for, isn't it? Something to call ours. Something nobody else can claim.
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1 comment:
You write very well.
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