itsallovernow | May. 16th, 2006

I've been thinking, as I often do, about what works for me in a story - be it literature, television, movies, fic, etc. What pulls me in and makes me stay.

And yes, the visual medium offers different possibilities, but I approach story the same way regardless of medium, and I think the same elements draw me in.

* I am a sucker for character over story, but I need the story to spill onto the characters, I need for them to have drive and purpose, even if that purpose is survival, even if it comes from outside.

* Change and development. I don't care if they move backwards, forwards or sideways, I need the characters to change, to react to their circumstances and environments and abosrb those changes. If they do remain stagnant, I need it to be for a reason.

* Family and forged connections. Nothing makes me happier than loyalty and family created from whole cloth, created out of choice.

* Women. I need the stories I engage in to have compelling women and girls. This is not true for everyone. This is absolutely true for me.

* Consequences. I want my stories to have consequences. Good, bad, ugly, funny, I need actions to have repurcussions, and I need the reset button to be used sparringly. I watch genre, I value the reset button. I also value the "Holy Shit, how are we going to deal with the fallout?"

* Words. I really, really like my characters to love words, to use them richly and well. (This is not as disingenuous as it sounds).

* Intelligence, of all sorts. I like intelligence to be valued, appreciated, even made fun of. That being said, I hate when smart characters do stupid things as a plot device. I love it when smart characters do stupid things because it's in character.

* I need to be able to laugh as I'm crying. BSG stopped working for me because there was absolutely no humor left in it. I'd have overlooked any number of things if I'd been able to find even a moment or two of joy. And I couldn't. So I stopped watching. It's why Doctor Who, despite hysterically silly storylines and terrible special effects works for me.

That's the beginning of my list, and I can offer up specific examples, but what elements do you crave, do you find pinging your radar again and again when it comes to story? I know for a lot of you, the slash/subtext draw is large, the sibling bond, the us against the world, so come on in and share. Feel free to illustrate with examples!!