Kristin
Lenz’s thoughtful post on the YA fusion blog, reminded me of a section in the
book, Save the Cat by Blake Snyder (Michael Wiese Productions, 2005). To test
if his stories connect with the audience on a basic level, Snyder asks himself,
“Is it primal?” or “Would a caveman understand?” He lists primal drives as
survival, hunger, sex, protection of loved ones and fear of death.
As
I look back on my collection of manuscripts, I agree that they involve these
themes, but every novel I’ve written is mostly about loneliness. Perhaps these
manuscripts failed because loneliness is a nebulous concept. I’d like to
propose, however, that cave-people understood that community was essential for
both physical and emotional survival. Surviving high school or an attack by saber-tooth
cats may well depend on the supporting characters.
First Pages
17 hours ago
4 comments:
I'm good at making certain that my characters have a high stakes (at least to them) problem. But is it primal? I never thought to look at it that way. Like you, I have a novel about a character who doesn't fit into her community, but it does have a life or death element. Guess I better play that up. And read Save the Cat! Thanks for the recommendation.
--SueBE
Bet Caveman played and had fun too, so fun and happiness is a primal instinct. Is it often ignored in writing? Do your characters have a sense of humor? Do they play, have fun, find happiness? Wasn't it Caveman who invented beer? Yes, I know, beer is a depressant, not that Caveman would have fully understood that.
By the way, I am a lifetime non-drinker, but notice alcohol appears to play a major role in the lives of too many Young Adults. A Cavemanish instinct, perhaps?
I've only finished one manuscript and it's primal. My new one has this theme too. Yay! I'm doing something right. Loved Kristin's post too.
SueBe: Our friend Kristin recommended that book.
Wyman: Fun isn't a problem for me, but the characters have to do other things too.
Natalie: YAY!
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