Friday, June 11, 2010

Discussion: Stories/Characters We Never See

Yes, I know it's Friday, the start of a summer weekend, and I should post something light and fluffy. But Alex has had a hard time transitioning full-time into the preschool room at daycare. He's been very clingy at dropoff, and he's been waking up at 2 and 3 a.m. Unlike Alex and Eugene, I have a hard time falling back asleep once I've been woken up, so I'm managing on less than four hours of sleep on top of my normal sleep deprivation. All this is my roundabout way of justifying why I want you to discuss this topic with me; I can't manage it on my own. ;)

Anyway, we all know there are certain tropes that are a convention in fiction: the good guys always win, the hero always gets the girl, Dorothy will always prefer Kansas over Oz. (Of course, there are exceptions to these rules, but I'm generalizing.) Do you prefer stories that match these conventions or ones that defy them? For me, I'm more inspired by the stories that don't get told, such as ones where the main character, after visiting a new world, decides to stay instead of returning home. (I guess Avatar would count as this type of story, wouldn't it?) What  stories can you think of that don't abide by the normal tropes of fiction? What types of characters are underrepresented in fiction who deserve to have stories told about them?

As for light and fluffy, perhaps I should make frozen citrus bars.

Have a good weekend, everyone!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I like it when good intentions really pave the road to hell. When the hero does things for all the right reasons and ends up messing everything up.

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