SBD at least they don't envision the queen

I'm loathing heroines just now. I've read two books with the most hapless women as heroines. Well-meaning, loving and as damp as a sponge left in a bucket of lukewarm spit. Things happen to them. They are not catalysts in their world. Sure, they talk big. But when it comes to taking unpleasant action, they hesitate and hem and haw until they are rescued. God forbid they soil their feminine spirit by actually taking action.** It reminds me of the Disney movies where the bad guys always fall off buildings or trampled by elephants rather than get done in by the hero.

Here's my guess: the writers tried to hard to envision an imaginary Southern or Midwestern Reader.

I've gone to a couple of talks by a couple of authors who talked about writing with Their Audience In Mind as if they wrote for a bunch of people who exist in another world. Could be true, too. These writers are successful women. They said they deliberately model their heroines after their vision of their Reader--who is apparently leading a life of upright womanhood in the US South or Midwest. Trouble is, the writers themselves aren't traditional quiet sedate housewifely women. You really can't be--not if you're going to be successful. It takes Ego to send out those books over and over. It takes Ego to sign up to give talks at big conferences (where I've seen the authors in question).

Show too much ego and at once you're not going to fit the mold of the women in these books. Downtrodden is okay. Spunky up to a point is okay, at least until push comes to shove. But loving yourself to the point where you actually express impolite anger to someone who bugs you? Walking away from a family that harms you? Nuh uh.

At least one of the writers seemed to pity and even fear her own readers. After the talk, I went out with one of the writers (okay, no, I didn't. I went to a dinner where one of the writers was talking in a loud-ish sort of voice. And I eavesdropped. Okay?) and she was still talking about all the issues she never addresses in public, the kinds of work she'll never write--because she doesn't want to offend her Reader. From what she said during her talk and during that dinner, she lives with the constant shadow of The Reader and from what she said during the dinner, she didn't particularly want to spend any time with the Reader. Certainly not go out drinking with the Reader. Why on earth would she want to spend any time with an imaginary version of the Reader--i.e. the heroine?

Anyway, it's moot, because the two books I read (and am currently frothing on about) are not by those two authors that talked about their Audience . I am just guessing that could be the reason the heroines are so unlifelike. Maybe these other writers heard the successful ones speak and decided to aim their books for an Audience of unpleasant, spineless Stepford wives who will cut their own throats rather than be direct about their needs or--god forbid-- take action against any family members who torment them.

Anyone read Franny and Zooey? I read it a gazillion years ago, but I remember how the fat lady, the Audience, is actually Christ. It made perfect sense at the time. If they must have an Audience, I sort of wish those writers would let go of the scarily perfect and sweet Reader and imagine a version of some interesting fat lady once in a while, especially when she was in a bad mood and cussing at her family.

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For Whom do I write when I'm working on a book? Absolutely no one. And the one time I tried to write for an audience I failed miserably. It's Second Book Syndrome, a common occurence in which the writer turns into an author and suddenly realises people are going to actually read her dreck--and suddenly there are too many scary people between the writing and the author. The author becomes self conscious and grows hysterical and drinks a lot of wine. Eventually the writer loses interest and moves on to a new neurosis called Omigod Second Book Due In One Month Syndrome.

These days I write the book and then maybe later edit it with some audience in mind. But by then the characters are strong enough so I'll know when I'm lying about their actions.

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** Sometimes the heroines eventually do what needs to be done--or more often they turn into happy sluts--but only under the guiding influence of the heroes. Once he fully enters her life, she doesn't need to worry about losing that precious feminine spirit. He holds her feminine worthiness in his large powerfully built hands. Or somewhere.