Fantasy and fiction whether it be novels or stories or comics or movies or video games, are an escape for some (arguably most), and I’d like to discuss two ideas that prevail to audience appeal.
Here are two ideas or themes that can draw or hook a character in;
Relatability and Desirability
People want a main character with an origin story that is relatable, maybe some bullied loser (very relatable statistically speaking) turned hero (very desirable but not always relatable), and people want desirability, like super powers or wealth or (Insert greed, lust, gluttony, etc.)
A Hero’s journey is essentially a relatable and desirably meta-narrative guide for how you could structure your life, even if there’s a bunch of futuristic science or magic and mythical creatures.
In terms of Relatability
If we look at some large narrative tropes in society and culture, you’ll see that is starts off in a mundane world. You can hand pick any Anime and chances are it starts off in a relatable high school setting, or Harry Potter starting off in a mundane muggle world, or many other stories where it starts off in a setting with similar basic earth relatability.
There’s is a deep theme of High school setting trope in Japanese culture, because it’s very relatable and statistically targeting the main target demographic. -And chances are, just like your highschool jock, there’s a lot of people that peeked in high school or left a lot of lingering regrets before entering the wagie-brutalist-adult life outside graduation.
If the initial setting isn’t relatable (like fantasy land or space) then maybe the character’s thoughts or progression is very relatable. Perhaps their grocery bill and rent being due are relatable, or perhaps the character is bullied and made fun of and disrespected by society and is relatable. The world can have a grit that grabs the reader or viewer’s attention.
One thing I note a lot in Chinese Culture, is that the fantasy or fiction genre always has some guy with hidden wealth or power or status, and they get offended by someone and they somehow use their power to save the day or ‘educate’ a bully or something. It’s more of a desire that is relatable in a power/reputation dynamic society.
It is to note, that people who generally have a good life typically don’t seek escapes in other mediums or cultures, so people who consume content online (or in person) are statistically likely to have been pushed into that fringe thinking or group (atleast this is an accurate observation of the pre-internet age. It might not be accurate when the internet is the dominant culture). Sadly, for what it’s worth, dissociating from a shit life and reality is part of a survival mechanism. (Hence why a lot of people like Isekai, or reincarnation tropes and stories, because a lot of people subconsciously hate their lives and would rather chance a new world entirely)
This is also worth noting, if you want to get into CIA documents about Manchurian candidates or intentionally manufacturing sleeper agents with Identity Dissociation for whatever MK Ultra purposes. Idk, man, I don’t agree with doing this in terms of ethics.
If a story is told in a different language and you don’t know the language nor can understand it’s subtitles and there are no dubs, then of course the relatability is pretty low. It’s very rare for people to knowingly watch a film or read a book in which they don’t know what’s going on while they have other options to read or watch things they can know what’s going on. I mean, how often have you picked up a non-English book in a language you don’t understand and genuinely read more than a page?
So to a degree, the relatability is essentially speaking the language of the person, and the best language to speak is the non-explicit one of the soul, to draw in the repressed shadow interpretations of the readers and viewers to bring those subconscious parts into light. Essentially, a good hook and story plays on meta-narratives and archetypes and manifests something grander, serving as a lesson plan for the subconscious.
This is also why esoteric jazz and symbolism does really well in various works, when done with respect and proper execution, the Director and Author is essentially performing alchemical spellwork with their opus that invites itself to invade the subconscious mind for it’s own growth. In simple terms, a meme is funny because of context, and the meta-layered generational memes are more funnier to a niche audience because of it’s history and lineage of context- thus an archetype is just a meta-generational-meme.
In terms of Desirability
As such, when we encroach on the aspect of unique characters or worlds, we enter an idea of power fantasies or escape fantasies. Someone that’s really strong, fast, or smart. Someone like a Sherlock Holmes or Superman, something that inspires the reader to model or emulate as a role model to enhance their progression and egoic desires. Something in which the audience can delude themselves to dream of having or dream of being.
For escape fantasies, a fully fleshed world where you’d be cool with just living in and baking bread or surviving another day. Everyone has different desires, and they’d rather make their wishes grander. For instance, people create romance intrigues, or friendships, wealth, recognition, etc.
When writing a setting, it might not be relatable, but it can be highly desirable. Like a setting of space or a fantasy land with magic, floating castles, and such, entering elements of mysticism and fantasy create a dream like imagination that draws readers and viewers in. A holodeck here with 4D printed Food that nourishes the soul, or an alchemical mage’s tower that is undergoing magical renovations using earth magic. Some sort of world building with a world logic that makes sense and takes a few leaps of faith or suspension of disbelief (relatability in understanding the logic).
These themes and ideas are exploring unchartered realms of imagination in the subconscious to inspire the subconscious to manifest degrees of reality aligned with what is feasible. Essentially speaking in fantasy to the audience, is speaking to the subconscious or inner child of the audience, and thus gives a new degree of possibility imparted to the psyche of the audience, which can further alter reality itself and manifest cool ideas.
It’s called fantasy for a reason. (words mean things)
This is why priming in movies and pop culture is very prevalent for political agendas and for future ideas. It’s essentially precognition premeditation of events or items of what society could be like to manufacture a subconscious consent into agreeing with culture moving in that direction. (of course some authors do it in your face and poorly). To note, this happens in a coordinated conspiratorial conscious effort and even subconsciously unbeknownst to the author by some higher order of meta-strategies by (redacted). Uh, you’ll find out on your own, can’t spoil everything for you, and your story isn’t mine. It’s yours.
Some of the greatest writers and directors leave things unsaid and give room for the audience to fill in the blanks. As if causality is a real force and there are consequences of actions resulting in the story unfolding. To make a world feel alive even if the audience isn’t paying attention, for the world to feel alive it has to have a degree of persistence where every action and continuation of actions results in something measurable and possibly meaningful (although it can also be meaningless). This, therefore that, cause and effect.
Subtext, omission, and consequence-driven storytelling.
Also worth noting is the Iceberg Theory, also known as the Theory of Omission, by Ernest Hemingway.
The Dance of Both
There is a cyclical dance between what is desired and undesired, and what is relatable and what is not relatable.
If the story is too relatable, it can become predictable and mundane. What’s the point of reading an escape fantasy if you’re going to repeat historically objective events and make people accountable for their own reflection. Most people read or view things to escape their lives or to stretch their imagination, if everything is playing out within the realms of their already defined reality, then it’s narrowed down for a niche crowd. This story being too relatable would be better as a coach or a guide or a history book if it can result in a catalytic change or advancement or growth. If it can’t even result in a change or growth, then it’s too relatable to the point of stagnation.
If it’s too unrelatable, like the different language example mentioned earlier, then the audience won’t be able to enjoy or get into it, and it’d be niche. Exclusionary even, like an inside joke that leaves the audience outside. So there’s a balance between being too relatable and too unrelatable that has to be struck to find the cord or to accurately aim at your ‘true’ audience or ‘target demographic’.
Worth noting that the word Demographic, means loosely ‘People image’. ‘Demos’ meaning of the ‘people’, and ‘graphic’ being of ‘images’. So it’s your target audience ideal in your head, the metaphorical target or bullseye of a person.
Likewise, people who read power fantasies where the main character has insane plot armor and always magically wins because they’re favored as the main character can get boring. The whole, fight your enemies, win, convert them into friends somehow, and repeat is a very heavily treaded trope (but it’s only heavily treaded if you’ve had your fill of said trope). To repeat the same story over and over within just your own story can be predictable, so you’d have to add interesting elements or mixes to ensure a refreshing take or trick the audience into smuggling the same old ideas.
To be honest, the inevitable conclusion of all power fantasies that has a main character that always wins and gets more powerful is to become a god or god-like. Then the story ends or a new interesting twist plays out. If the main character dies, then it’s not plot armored, or if the story ends before the main character apotheosizes, then it’s just cut short.
On the flip side, if the main character is a forever loser who constantly embodies all the negative traits and qualities of a man while having only misfortunes, then people will end up hating the main character and the main story. Why read something that follows the tragedies of someone bound to suffering, let alone being insufferable? Again, very niche audience.
There is a notable character in the Japanese Manga Vagabond, in which there are several story arcs, and a side character, Matahachi, that gets his own story narrative is a weasel that betrays the main character and lies about his accomplishments stealing from other people’s achievements to drink, womanize, and boast while living a lowlife. He does have some character development, but the audience learning of this person had a general consensus with lots of anger and resentment towards this character, which is a notable thing to notice in shadow work, that the audience had a repressed shadow towards this weasel character. If the story only focused on this guy, it would displease a lot of the viewers.
Kind of like that movie uncut gems, I liked it because I understand the aspect and thought process of a degenerative gambler as a psychological thriller. -But other people might dislike it because they don’t want a person who gambles other people’s money and underhanded methods to come out on top.
So consider having a relatable character and/or setting to start your story, sprinkle in some relatable lifelike qualities throughout the story (or blast it all at the start), and add in some desirable characteristics and traits while balancing the power with obstacles and gravity of loss and choices.
To be honest, a lot of ‘pop’ stories in mainstream don’t have a lot of grit or gravity or loss or consequence for the main characters. People want their fantasy to be nightmare free I guess. I’m not that kind of guy, but I get it. Afterall, a fantasy is an escape.
As a writer
If you have the desire to relate, then you can instill a relatable desire in your works.
Focus on the target audience, and hopefully that includes yourself first.
If you relate to yourself, and honest about your own desires, then I’m sure whatever work you push out will be a huge success to yourself. Ideally, it would be a success to the target audience as well. Ideally. . .
As another tip; You might as well fall in love with something, if not any part of the story that you’re writing, then you might as well love the suffering of making the story. Lot’s of notable suffering artists, but do it with love than spite.
Epilogue
None of this is advice, just general tips or themes. A Tip isn’t the same as an instruction, consider it like a medication you aren’t forced to swallow or prescribed. There’s a tricky nuance in the semantics between advice and tips. Consider this just a stone in your path or journey, and not something that is a monolithic immutable law.
I’m not going to argue with you over this jazz, it’s not worth our time. Our time, comrade.
When you look at other works, stories, movies, or comics or video games or whatever. Ask yourself how these themes of relatability or desirability play out. Perhaps you like the change or risk and the gamble, perhaps there is a relatable loss in the gamble to give a sense of gravity or perhaps there is a desirable win or reward for the gamble. You get to see how your deeper subconscious desires and relations manifest themselves in the type of stuff you like.
The last block of text was me inserting a call to action, to reinforce the themes or ideas here as a learning point. I’m not selling you pills or some click funnel. Just general ideas.
If you see your little self (inner child) or shadow self, you then have a greater degree of mastery to tweak that if you want. To shape your future, like re-aiming your sights or sharpening your blade to cut through the noise and walk the path you want.
But Hey, that’s like, your journey. You do you, I’m just giving out some writing tips, and you’ll see if they’re solid or poop. Signal or noise. You know, because-
Words Mean Things
Words Mean Things 
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