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Jan 2019

I dunno... this all is so complicated and ambiguous. The only thing, which seems undeniable, is that it is impossible to please everyone. :thinking:

Some thoughts about the attached statistics:
1. It was a bit strange to see, that more than 40% of people in total drop novels with dull story and characters. Because there are a bunch of novels with dull stories and characters, which are nevertheless incredibly popular (I'd even say, unhealthy popular, in my opinion). :joy:
2. It is interesting, why unexpected sex turns people off... Heh, for me, it honestly sounds more exciting than repulsive. (˵ ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°˵) But idiotic and unrealistic sex descriptions still can turn me off for sure.
3. "Difficult vocabulary" is pretty subjective thing. Different people have different vocabulary, and words, which seems complicated to one person, maybe don't seems so for another one.

Reasons why I may drop reading:
1. Nothing really going on for too long.
2. Characters are so stupid, that I start to be angry on them.
3. Characters have no line of conduct and just do random shit, or their behaviour is too contradictable without any explanations.
4. Plot is too predictable and/or cliched.
5. I meet cliche which I especially hate.
6. Novel seems to be blatant propaganda of thoughts, which I don't share and don't like.

The main reason I drop comics is that the story doesn't appeal to me. Sometimes a lot happens, but I can't connect to any of it. The characters aren't distinct and it's just events. Other times it's more subjective and I just don't care for certain topics/genres.

Sometimes I'm interested in the idea and characters and read for quite a while, but the pacing is so slow, nothing I care about seems to be happening and I end up dropping it. In these cases, either there's not enough good drama with the idea (too much untapped potential) or the plot is too melodramatic, meaning that something I don't really care about happens and the characters act like it's a really big deal.

I'm right there with dull. We were forced to read so many books (as an English BA) from renowned authors, but I just found so many of them dull, it was hard for me to go on. I also don't like when the flow feels choppy in stories. I'm picky for originality too, when it comes to books. And prefer the fiction genre. I'm way more lenient with comics/mangas though. And I prefer romances in those.

One time I was writing a fanfiction (Hannigram) where she had will say, "Awww mixed babies are always cute."

I immediately stopped reading. And the story was good thus far. One thing I won't tolerate is colorism and racism in any capacity. Especially when it's passed off as a quirky "oh my god did I just say that out loud" situation.

don't think it counts as racism tbh. like someone saying i think black women are the most hot. it's a preference.

It's not racism, it's colorism. And I won't get into "preferences" and the underlying implications of these kinds of comments, because this is a comic book forum and not a dissertation. But yeah. She obviously knew the line was offensive because she had Will then back track and apologize.

I stop reading whenever I feel I don't care about the story. The characters are most important to me and if they're not developed properly, I won't waste my time trying to learn what happens.
That's what goes through my head as I write so hopefully it works out :slight_smile:

Huh. Interesting breakdown. I do think some of these categories are too broad to provide any real information about reader preferences. For example, everybody has a different idea of what makes a dull character. Personally, I find most super heroes dull, but clearly there are many people who disagree with me on that. "weak story/narrative" and "confusing beginning" seem like hard to define categories as well.

It's definitely not a useless a topic though! @kainatarma

Setting aside the sheer range of things people are into, it's probably worth asking whether there are common trends in reader preference based on things like genre, age, or other demographics. But since I don't know much about "Lit World Interviews" or the kind of people who frequent that site- apart from the fact that they're apparently mostly women (according to the respondent statistics anyway) I feel like it's really hard to extrapolate based on the info here. I think a survey like this would be a lot more helpful if it was constrained to a very specific genre and demographic- for example, a survey limited to the preferences of 20-something women in Supernatural Urban Fantasy genre fiction could probably give some useful results to writers of that kind of fiction.

Also:

I definitely lose interest in somebody's work very quickly if I meet them at a con or some other creator-focused event and it turns out they're just...not a very good person x') I feel like most people would probably agree with me on that one.

@fatedmatescomic
Agree!
Even implied, or frequently shown wrapped as "preference," colorism in mass media from creative work to advertisement can have adverse effect. From casting, to something has to do with the story, casting only light skinned or Caucasian mixed, or always depicting them as more attractive to the point of fetishization; it's annoying.

@MonkeyDumpling
Thank you for your opinion :slight_smile:

@yozhikisblue
Great idea of more specific survey as requirement and tastes of reader can be different per genre! :smile: Although I do think being too specific or niche at some points can be difficult to gain desirable result.
Reaching and listening to audience is importantI just hope in Tapas, wall announcement for creators can be more reaching, effective, and interactive that it can host polls. So many souls can be saved that way :slight_smile:

I have mixed nationality: approximately 7/8 of slavic blood and 1/8 of blood of nord nations with moderately dark skin. When I was a kid, some purely white kids have insulted and called me ugly because of my a bit darker skin tone and unusual face features. And THAT was a rasism for sure. :unamused:
But when some people have told me that girls of a mixed race are beautiful, they've clearly tried to cheer me up / express the good attitude toward my appearance, by the context of speech. I have no idea how this can insult anybody. I don't think that people mean anything bad about people of more pure races by those words.

Sure in some context it doesn't mean harmful, so it is in some situations :slight_smile: I meant it is sad to be bullied because you're mixed, and boost of confidence is needed. I don't think those people meant bad by telling you so.

The bad thing is when it is treated as fetish, because mixed people are "exotic" that they sometimes have distinct features :slight_smile: so people values them only for their ancestry.
I meant most people won't like it if they're told that they're pretty and special just because they're mixed, not because their actual quality or effort.

I'm not really good as this kind of topic :sweat: I'm some purebred so I can't speak experience of bi/multiracial people that this might be wrong. Also the perception of praising, insulting, or making disturbing remark can be different per person.

It would require me to educate you about American slavery, the global oppression of blacks, and the definition of colorism in order to explain to you how this comment is insulting, especially to darker skin black people like myself. I do not have the time, patience, or desire to do so.

Which shows it is imperative to take context in account. My spouse and myself (mixed couple) feel like @tired_programmer. I think it's interesting to see that tired programmer, my spouse and I have one thing in common: we are Old World people. We also may have (or not) difficult historical pasts in term of racism, but one thing is sure: we don't have the same historical past than USA. That may make the perception difference.

It is! I realized so.

I hope people in general is more inclined to educate fellow people rather than judging them for having perception that is shaped by different backgrounds :smile: as long as they meant and cause no harm and willing to know.

While I'm not black nor American, just for info colorism also occurs in many Asian countries (plus some racism):slight_smile:

What are talking about? Hearing that line made me smile, as Being from a mixed family myself we always take it as a compliment dude it was said with positive intentions(insentive maybe but definitely not racist.), and you took it was too seriously.

And also don't be so condescending about it.

I can't answer for fated, but as for myself I cringe when I hear it because I feel that people are pointing out the child's skin color (or other features normally indicative of a certain race). Praising a quality that really shouldn't matter so much.

I can also see it as somewhat insulting since it sort of diminishes the child to being a mere byproduct of a coupling, objectifying them in a way.
Sometimes my friends would say 'you and your husband's kids will be gorgeous! Half-Asian half-white babies are super cute!' and I'm thinking 'Is that all I'm good for? Using my genetics to create a thing that's aesthetically appealing?' So yeah there is a bit of objectification in it.

I understand your point, but I don't think it's specific to the way people react to the children of other (or mixed) ethnicity. It is pretty much the same when it's same ethnicity parents (eg. western stereotype of blond kids being cute= highly dependent on parents' genetics.). In my opinion, no one should make ANY remarks on the looks of babies in term of beauty, I find it very rude and a terrible start in life to be judged like that when just a few days/months old. However, parents often expect that.
If I feel the parents are in the expectation of compliments, I personally prefer pointing out things like the child' curiosity/interest of things around them or something like that, revealing personality.

Sorry I'm going even more off-topic :sweat_smile: won't do that again, promise :wink:

Yes exactly! When kids get compliments on their physical appearance that's just conditioning them to prioritize certain things that could end up detrimental to their own self-esteem or those of others (like if they become passive bullies) later on.

I'm not being condescending by saying I have no desire to explain hundreds of years of United States prioritizing eurocentric features, while fetishizing black ones. I've clearly stated that the comment is insulting, and a prime example of colorism. I don't know where you're from, I'm speaking about where the fandom Hannibal originated from, United States. I don't speak about other countries and their perspectives on racism/colorism, because I have no insight on those issues. However, if I were to comment about racism and colorism in a country that was not my own, it would be to learn about their different experiences, not refute them. But I mean...different strokes for different folks I guess.

Oh and as far as me being sensitive, yes. I am very sensitive to colorism/racism. I believe I started this conversation stating that very fact lolol