In a forum I’m on, we were talking about how story structures in other countries differ from US story structures. And they do. US audiences – whether the gatekeepers or the readers – do have specific ideas of what constitutes a good story in terms of characterization and story arc, and these are not always the same as those in other cultures.
One of the issues that came up in the discussion was whether non-US writers change the structures of the stories they write to conform to the expectations of editors/ publishers/ readers in the US. This is my take on it.
My question is, who are those writers writing for? This is a real choice for writers who have non-US experience and backgrounds. I wrote an essay on my Live Journal blog some years ago called “Why I write American.”
The fact is, I write for a primarily US audience. This is where the markets are. Even when I write stories set elsewhere, most of the readers are going to be USan, as are the editors who I want buying my stories. (With exceptions. A couple of my most recent publications were from UK publishers: Unsung stories published “The Mother Goose Virus” and Flame Tree Press published “Genetic Changelings.”)
So it’s generally got to be a US story, even if it’s set outside the US, even if the characters aren’t American.
I think it’s possible for very good writers to write a non-US story structure and sell it to an editor and then to a US audience. But I think it takes extra skill and vision. The bar is set higher.
There’s also the danger, in that situation, of writing exotica. The story becomes interesting because it’s so different, because it’s alien. I’m not sure I should call it a danger. Exotica is an interesting genre; I’ve read books because they show me a culture that’s very different from my own experience. But it is, in a way, sight-seeing.
And perhaps that’s as it should be. Every culture has its social struggles, but they’re not the same ones. We can observe others’ battles, but they’re not ours to fight.
KEYAN BOWES 