Don't Shoot the Messenger! (Adventures of a Critic)

Culture in Stories

Culture is very important to have in your stories. Culture grounds your story in setting. You need it in novels based on Earth, you need to make your own in a Fantasy. Either way, Culture tells us about your character's life, sometimes without anything more than just one icon from the era you're trying to convey. 

I'm going to start off with a story, though. Today, I will be talking about how authors on Wattpad use their stories to tell us what they're listening to - and why that's wrong.

There's a difference between using music in your story to set theme, or to just boast your own playlist. 

Someone recommended a book on here, and like a good wattpad supporter, I read it. At first it was alright. They did a good job portraying the emotional abuse, and all that other stuff. 

Then shit just started changing because of this guy. This brooding, angry, demented guy went through NOTHING to change, but changed radically. It is only explained by "intrigue" and that the MC was "cute and quirky". It also had to do with the two having similar tastes in music. 

Now, I have a lot to rip on this story about. It ended up sucking. I heard only about how hot the MC's love interest was, and how "ugly" the MC was. It was ghastly. They also had so many crap grammar mistakes inside their stories (defiantly so many grammar mistakes - I don't understand how one can mix up defiantly and definitely but whatever), and at the end they thanked their editor!  

I wanted to go to this "editor" and ask them if they really think they're good with grammar or they're a jackass and let this girl live their delusions seeing as she was getting THOUSANDS of hits. 

Now, admittedly, I don't actually carea bout the thousands of hits. I am appalled that that girl can call herself an editor, but whatever. My problem was these three things:

1) The "hot" love interest

2) the references to music

3) references to style

You NEED a defined culture in your story, and that is portrayed by songs, fashions, fads, and overall arts of that time. You need them in a fantasy novel where you make up your own, you need them in a story on Earth. Using culture and music to your advantage is a GOOD thing. 

Sadly, Wattpad makes it a BAD thing. 

I learn so much about these authors on wattpad after reading their stories. I know their fantasies that they daydream about during the day. I know what type of guy they're attracted to. I know their playlists on their iPod. Hell, I could probably tell you what shoes they wear to school everyday. You want to know why? 

They slam you with it EVERY FIVE SECONDS in their novels. 

I read this all the time:

"I put on my red hot chili peppers t-shirt and my converse". 

"We sang along to 'Pumped Up Kicks' by Foster the People". 

"He had super hot six-pack abs and these deep beautiful blue eyes. He had an eyebrow piercing and . . . " 

(anything mentioning "The Fault in Our Stars") 

I can't go on. 

I've noticed in HALF of the teen fiction novels on here that the MC has a beautiful voice (that they always are unsure about because goddamn a girl can't be confident in her talents), and they use this to swoon the love interest somehow, but you know what they use it more for? 

To tell you what songs THE AUTHOR likes to sing. I know exactly what music the author thinks is good, because it's all they talk about. They put it on t-shirts and pins and have it blaring in the background of their scenes and cripes I can't name anything else.