As a huge fan of horror and action movies, I often find myself clicking on articles about my favorite movies as well as upcoming ones. It’s fun to read tidbits about a character’s backstory or personality, but these articles often focus more on what goes on behind the scenes than on the actual story we’ll be seeing. Sometimes these articles are interesting, other times I feel like it ruins the fantasy or that the information isn’t relevant to me as a viewer. For example I tend to skim or avoid in-depth descriptions of how actors prepare for a role or how their costars feel about their performance. Entertainment is, in my opinion, similar to going out to eat at a restaurant. I want to enjoy the finished meal and not necessarily know what’s going on in the kitchen.
As a reader, I’ve always felt the same way. I want to focus on the story, not the steps that lead up to it. On the other hand, as a writer I’m interested in learning about authors’ creative processes and other aspects of the business side of writing, such as editing and promotion. Sadly for me an unwanted side effect of focusing on the process is that it’s often harder to lose myself in the fantasy and just enjoy a story for its own sake.
On this blog and others I’ve sometimes posted behind the scenes articles about my stories, but I’ve always wondered if articles of that type are actually what readers enjoy or if they’re helpful to those interested in writing.
What kind of articles do you like to read about books or other forms of entertainment or are you not interested in such articles at all? How much information is too much and what information is relevant to you?
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