Posts
Literary tastes are drying up. I Googled "Cover of KIM" and got the first picture. Interesting.
Somewhere on the net I read that "children and adolescents are a distinct race."
Children and adolescents are certainly regarded as a distinct literary species. And the production of books for said species has become a mighty industy.
More the pity, for it is based on a lie. Let's be kind and call it a theory - one not backed up by the facts.
Many children/teenagers, like many of us, never read when they can find any other entertainment. But they, like us, do not read the same thing. Some read fantasies, others sport legends, still others war or romance or ...
You see my point. They, like us, are human. Silly children/teenagers prefer success stories about school life as silly adults prefer success stories about adult life.
KIM, GULLIVER, HUCKLEBERRY FINN, SHERLOCK HOLMES, WAR OF THE WORLDS ... all now considered juvenile fare. They were written for, and are still enjoyed by, adults.
Even the fairy tale was not originally intended for children. They were told and enjoyed in (of all places) the court of Louis XIV. J.R.R. Tolkien points out that it gravitated to the nursery when it went out of fashion for the adults.
Juvenile taste is simply human taste,
going on from age to age, silly with a universal silliness or wise with a universal wisdom, regardless of culture or literary nay-sayers.
Moral?
Those who have a story to tell must appeal to the audience that still cares for storytelling,
who still love Story --
those series of events that pull back the curtains on the mechanisms of life :
Romance. Power. Danger. And the continuing quest to find the truth of our lives and our place in the crowded, yet solitary, path of life.
You're frowning.
Turn Story into Music, and you will understand at once.
JACK THE GIANT KILLER is not the story of a clever hero evading danger. No. Its essence is the hero surmounting danger from giants.
Think the intro music for Darth Vader ... for the shark in JAWS ... for Michael Myers in HALLOWEEN ... for Hannibal Lector in SILENCE OF THE LAMBS.
That intro music touches the soul of each in the audience, each in a different way ...
no matter the age.
The Story dictates the villain which dictates the trials of the hero. A good Story will appeal to all ages as did the trials of Harry Potter.
In this traumatized Publishing Industry, we must draw all ages to our Story, not fence any out.
What are your thoughts?
Somewhere on the net I read that "children and adolescents are a distinct race."
Children and adolescents are certainly regarded as a distinct literary species. And the production of books for said species has become a mighty industy.
More the pity, for it is based on a lie. Let's be kind and call it a theory - one not backed up by the facts.
Many children/teenagers, like many of us, never read when they can find any other entertainment. But they, like us, do not read the same thing. Some read fantasies, others sport legends, still others war or romance or ...
You see my point. They, like us, are human. Silly children/teenagers prefer success stories about school life as silly adults prefer success stories about adult life.
KIM, GULLIVER, HUCKLEBERRY FINN, SHERLOCK HOLMES, WAR OF THE WORLDS ... all now considered juvenile fare. They were written for, and are still enjoyed by, adults.
Even the fairy tale was not originally intended for children. They were told and enjoyed in (of all places) the court of Louis XIV. J.R.R. Tolkien points out that it gravitated to the nursery when it went out of fashion for the adults.
Juvenile taste is simply human taste,
going on from age to age, silly with a universal silliness or wise with a universal wisdom, regardless of culture or literary nay-sayers.
Moral?
Those who have a story to tell must appeal to the audience that still cares for storytelling,
who still love Story --
those series of events that pull back the curtains on the mechanisms of life :
Romance. Power. Danger. And the continuing quest to find the truth of our lives and our place in the crowded, yet solitary, path of life.
You're frowning.
Turn Story into Music, and you will understand at once.
JACK THE GIANT KILLER is not the story of a clever hero evading danger. No. Its essence is the hero surmounting danger from giants.
Think the intro music for Darth Vader ... for the shark in JAWS ... for Michael Myers in HALLOWEEN ... for Hannibal Lector in SILENCE OF THE LAMBS.
That intro music touches the soul of each in the audience, each in a different way ...
no matter the age.
The Story dictates the villain which dictates the trials of the hero. A good Story will appeal to all ages as did the trials of Harry Potter.
In this traumatized Publishing Industry, we must draw all ages to our Story, not fence any out.
What are your thoughts?
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ONLY 6 MORE DAYS LEFT TO WRITE A REVIEW OF ONE OF MY BOOKS ON AMAZON AND ENTER MY CONTEST!!!
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I think you're right.
ReplyDeleteKids put time and thought into the entertainment they consume - more than most adults care to do.
This is probably because it's more than entertainment, in many cases. With me, books, music, and movies became part of who I was. My identity.
This is probably why kids get the cool books and shows written for them and adults get... reality TV and Bill O'Reilly.
KatyDid :
ReplyDeleteQuite perceptive. As youngsters, we put so much of ourselves into our entertainment that we absorbed it as part of who we were.
The unrelenting demands of adults hammer them past realizing that the demands of childhood and adolescence were no less incessant ... yet we still made time for it.
Thanks for visiting and chatting, Roland
What I want are stats on how many 'children' read on a Kindle. I suspect not many, but the potential for growth is there.
ReplyDeleteWalter :
ReplyDeleteSince KINDLE FOR PC is free, more kids may read Kindle books than you think. And later this year, Amazon will offer library books access on Kindles as Nook does already.
The growth spurt is just around the corner for kids reading Kindle books, Roland
Roland,
ReplyDeleteExcellent post. ~ Nadja
I agree. I hope that what I write can be enjoyed by many outside the classification of YA or MG.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree. I write stories that appeal to both children and adults... Crossing over in important especially if you want to succeed.
ReplyDeleteiN Rowlings case, I seriously think she appealed to adults MORE. Look at how many of us discovered her writing as adults.
Very good point Roland.
Brilliantly said. We have to write the story that is in our hearts and it will appeal to those it is meant to appeal to.
ReplyDeleteWell said. I agree. (= I have been a reader since I was very young. And many of the books I loved then, I still think are great. (=
ReplyDeleteNadja :
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you enjoyed my post. Come back, please.
Lydia :
Mark Twain and C S Lewis felt a well-written book was for all ages. Me and you, too. :-)
Thanks, Michael :
I agree with you : J K Rowling appealed to millions of adults which shot her up the sales listing. Let's hope a little of her magic splashes over onto us!!
Heather :
You and I are kindred spirits. Still John Locke of those million sales believes in writing strictly for a target audience. But it would be soul-less if I did that. Don't you feel the same?
Same here, Jo :
In fact, I re-read some of the books I loved as a child with renewed and greater enjoyment, for I see the undercurrents that were there all the time. Roland
Hi Roland .. interesting 'history' of kids books - terrible revelation your request for Kim Cover .. well perhaps not for you - for me -... ?!
ReplyDeleteNot having had kids .. I haven't read children's stories or fairy stories for years .. loved them then though. Now I'd see the reason behind the story ..
Cheers Hilary
My faerie tales are meant for adults, though I'm pretty sure you can find almost as much sexual inuendo in any of Walt Disney's latest productions.
ReplyDeleteI remember when Saturday morning cartoons were for kids; now they are geared towards adults (men mostly, IMO).
.......dhole
I couldn't agree with you more. The literary world has placed a label on children. I never limited myself to kid's books when I was little. Heck, romances were at the top of my reading interest. :)
ReplyDelete