I agree that getting to being together, and the sexual tension and romance of that process, is what is sold to the imagination in a lot of popular media. The day-to-day living stuff seems so boring, or possibly tragic, and certainly not something to build a story on unless the characters are truly screwed up, in which case the pinnacle of being together never happens in a way that can be called success. It's as old as novellas and soap operas, where the characters can't stay together in peace, but must scheme against and betray each other, or be killed off.
I also think you are right that some people leave relationships to start new stories, or to relive past ones. This may be the genesis of the mid-life crisis for some. It makes me wonder what story they were living in in the first place.
I think in fanfic, especially, prevailing stories generate their own dynamics in certain ships, to the point you can almost always know what you'll be getting by the identity of the ship itself. With short to drabble-length fic, what you get is often quite simple. Simple is comfortable and familiar for many fanfic readers, it seems, who have limited time and real lives. I sometimes think I've seen it all in certain fandoms, however, and very little of it is truly complicated. Maybe it's because there are only so many ways the story can go unless the characters are completely not in character. Maybe it's all part of a continuing story in some fanfic readers' minds, where each repetitive story reinforces the larger relationship structure. Maybe it's just a function of time, and not something more sinister, like a plot to dumb us down and colonize our minds... ;D
I wrote a story where I got two dissatisfied-with-life characters together fairly quickly, without a lot of romance or even awareness on their parts, and then examined what happened when life threw them a series of challenges, most of which were generated by their pasts or personalities. The story contained a lot of examination of how their relationship impacted others. I wouldn't recommend the story because of my really odd writing style, but I felt the story of getting to couple status or to starting fresh was not enough, was not really honest and didn't do justice to the characters. The real story was making a relationship continue while growing as individuals.
I've been reading about the new Ben Stiller movie, Greenberg. While it seems to have complex and even unpleasant characters, it also seems to be a boy-meets-and gets with-girl story. I wonder if it ends with them breaking up or magically resolving all differences. The characters sound difficult enough, however, almost like the ones I wrote, that I'll probably see it just out of curiosity. But, knowing that Stiller is supposed to be a cruel control freak in the movie makes me want to stay away. Perhaps, like many, I prefer the entertainment I have to pay for to be escapist.
no subject
I agree that getting to being together, and the sexual tension and romance of that process, is what is sold to the imagination in a lot of popular media. The day-to-day living stuff seems so boring, or possibly tragic, and certainly not something to build a story on unless the characters are truly screwed up, in which case the pinnacle of being together never happens in a way that can be called success. It's as old as novellas and soap operas, where the characters can't stay together in peace, but must scheme against and betray each other, or be killed off.
I also think you are right that some people leave relationships to start new stories, or to relive past ones. This may be the genesis of the mid-life crisis for some. It makes me wonder what story they were living in in the first place.
I think in fanfic, especially, prevailing stories generate their own dynamics in certain ships, to the point you can almost always know what you'll be getting by the identity of the ship itself. With short to drabble-length fic, what you get is often quite simple. Simple is comfortable and familiar for many fanfic readers, it seems, who have limited time and real lives. I sometimes think I've seen it all in certain fandoms, however, and very little of it is truly complicated. Maybe it's because there are only so many ways the story can go unless the characters are completely not in character. Maybe it's all part of a continuing story in some fanfic readers' minds, where each repetitive story reinforces the larger relationship structure. Maybe it's just a function of time, and not something more sinister, like a plot to dumb us down and colonize our minds... ;D
I wrote a story where I got two dissatisfied-with-life characters together fairly quickly, without a lot of romance or even awareness on their parts, and then examined what happened when life threw them a series of challenges, most of which were generated by their pasts or personalities. The story contained a lot of examination of how their relationship impacted others. I wouldn't recommend the story because of my really odd writing style, but I felt the story of getting to couple status or to starting fresh was not enough, was not really honest and didn't do justice to the characters. The real story was making a relationship continue while growing as individuals.
I've been reading about the new Ben Stiller movie, Greenberg. While it seems to have complex and even unpleasant characters, it also seems to be a boy-meets-and gets with-girl story. I wonder if it ends with them breaking up or magically resolving all differences. The characters sound difficult enough, however, almost like the ones I wrote, that I'll probably see it just out of curiosity. But, knowing that Stiller is supposed to be a cruel control freak in the movie makes me want to stay away. Perhaps, like many, I prefer the entertainment I have to pay for to be escapist.