NonHuman character authenticity

[ThisNameIsntTakenYet]

The story I'm working on right now features a NonHuman character. I'm doing some research and picking bits and pieces of legends and existing works that I find interesting or that would work for my story, and am adding a few things that are entirely my own creations. Physically they're pretty much the same as you'd expect, it's more so about their society, the way they're raised, abilities, etc. Part of the reason for this is that it's hard to find information on, and the things that I find contradict each other between legends from different parts of the world, so I figured I'd just fill in the blanks myself and add some extra here and there where it's interesting for my story.

Anyway, my question is how touchy of a subject this is for the average reader of the Non-Human category. Would it warrant a note at the start of my story letting them know this isn't the typical depiction of these creatures? I'm not sure how attached they are to the established "lore" and backstory of Non-Human races, and want to avoid angering the readers if what I write is inconsistent with what they expect.

 

[AlinaX]

Sounds like a non-issue to me.

I mean, sure, I might not like a story that depicts, e.g., vampires or sexbots in a way I disagree with, but I'm not in a position to rant about authors doing it their own way. In fact, I pretty much avoid vampire stories because they all upset me, and read just about any sexbot story out of sheer curiosity.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Anyway, my question is how touchy of a subject this is for the average reader of the Non-Human category. Would it warrant a note at the start of my story letting them know this isn't the typical depiction of these creatures? I'm not sure how attached they are to the established "lore" and backstory of Non-Human races, and want to avoid angering the readers if what I write is inconsistent with what they expect.

My advice, based on the principle that there is no such thing as an "average reader" of anything, is that attempting to pander to that non-existent reader is a pointless thing to do. You are far better off, I think, to rely instead on the intelligence of your reader base and, by giving them a drop dead brilliant piece of world-building, absorb them fully into your version of the creatures, your lore and rituals.

If you do that well, the readers will come along for the ride into your world. Putting a note up front, attempting to prime expectations or steer them, is merely exposing your throat to the wolves and asking for it to be ripped out. Don't do it. And for humanity's sake, don't give a massive background data dump on your creatures, there's nothing worse than that. Weave your world in slowly, as you tell the tale, revealing what is necessary as it becomes necessary.

Fantasy and Non-Human fans relish the world-building and might mark you on that, but these worlds don't have a truth-base to be ranked against. Build your world convincingly, place solid characters in it, and tell your story well, and you'll make readers happy.

 

[JJonah]

Ooops. Posted in the wrong thread!

 

[KeithD]

I don't write much nonhuman material, so I don't know what flies well there (according to whoever). The kicker is that I also don't care. I write within a general construct of what, say, a vampire or a unicorn or a satyr or an nonterrestrial alien, is, but I define them, trying to remain consistent within the story, as the story context needs them to be. The general understanding of them was made up to begin with and other writers have screwed around with what they are before I did.

 

[Hypoxia]

Any character or universe is as authentic as you, the author, want it to be. Descriptions can be sketchy, cartoonish, or detailed, whatever, as long as they're consistent. You want to go world-building? Fine. You want odd players in a semi-familiar background? Fine. Whatever works for you.

I've a couple tales set in imperfect Earth pasts. They're easy; I include only necessary details. Varied details, like turning foliage purple and head-hair green, would put it elsewhere. Give the local culture its kinks and quirks. Then run the story on. Have fun!

 

[Voboy]

My publisher once had me do a crossover with another writer. I took his character, he took mine, and we wrote a story. His character was some sort of winged woman with one of those unrealistically unsound sex drives that result in a woman who never, ever dries up and never, ever has sore hips, no matter how much dick she's sampled.

Anyway, this was well outside my comfort zone. I kept getting hung up, mentally, on how large her wings would need to be to generate lift, and although I'm not a biomedical engineer, I tried to keep the physiological parts as consistent as I could... more consistent than her original creator, I'd say.

I found that leached the fun out of it. Rapidly.

So I wouldn't get so hung up that you can't see the forest for the trees. But, as with almost every other debate, good writing trumps everything else; a well-written piece that rewards the reader's time is the goal. Whatever you do to meet that goal is the de facto right answer.

 

[RejectReality]

Mythic creatures in fiction are almost never the same across different worlds. I've never found the readership in Non Human or Sci-Fi & Fantasy to be particularly locked into any single interpretation of any such creature.

Don't worry about it.

 

[SimonDoom]

I don't think this is something to fret over. However, if you have, say, a vampire, and the vampire has qualities different from those according to the traditional version (such as being able to tolerate light), then you should let your reader know about this different trait before it becomes an important plot point in the story.

 

[Rustyoznail]

Look at the history and range of vampires on tv. Then look at the Twilight movies. Do you really need to worry?

Russ

 

[Hypoxia]

I don't think this is something to fret over. However, if you have, say, a vampire, and the vampire has qualities different from those according to the traditional version (such as being able to tolerate light), then you should let your reader know about this different trait before it becomes an important plot point in the story.

Yeah, if meta-critters' properties are like the common perceptions of vamps-zombis-werethings-witches-gnomes, then the prejudice is easily sated. That's probably easier than inventing new creatures.

 

[Bramblethorn]

I don't think this is something to fret over. However, if you have, say, a vampire, and the vampire has qualities different from those according to the traditional version (such as being able to tolerate light), then you should let your reader know about this different trait before it becomes an important plot point in the story.

It's not so much the traditional version you need to worry about, as current pop-culture convention.

Vampires and sunlight is a case in point. The whole "sunlight burns vampires like fire" thing is almost universal today but it's less than a hundred years old. Apparently invented by Murnau in 1922 in an unsuccessful attempt to distinguish his "Nosferatu" from Stoker's "Dracula", where the Count makes several appearances in daylight. He loses his powers for most of the day, but is otherwise unharmed, and he actually regains his powers at noon for a short period.

But if you wrote a vampire story today where the vampire becomes powerful at noon, readers would probably complain, because Murnau's invention was so popular that it's been accepted as canon.

 

[ThisNameIsntTakenYet]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I slept on it and realized it's a bit silly indeed. Especially since the creature in question (mermaids) don't really have such strongly defined characteristics as the vampire sunlight thing. I guess I was worrying too much, but this is a readerbase I am unfamiliar with so I thought it best to at least ask some more experienced writers about them.

The mermaids in my story look like the traditional mermaids so I guess that's what the reader expects when they click on the story. I'll make sure the rest is explained well and consistent in the story (and of course revealed when appropriate and not info-dumped).

 

[ElectricBlue]

The mermaids in my story look like the traditional mermaids so I guess that's what the reader expects when they click on the story. I'll make sure the rest is explained well and consistent in the story (and of course revealed when appropriate and not info-dumped).

My https://www.literotica.com/s/songs-of-seduction-water might have you wondering about my gender stability some more. I paid zero attention to any mermaid tropes that might be out there, and present them with an unusual twist.

 

[SimonDoom]

It's not so much the traditional version you need to worry about, as current pop-culture convention.

Vampires and sunlight is a case in point. The whole "sunlight burns vampires like fire" thing is almost universal today but it's less than a hundred years old. Apparently invented by Murnau in 1922 in an unsuccessful attempt to distinguish his "Nosferatu" from Stoker's "Dracula", where the Count makes several appearances in daylight. He loses his powers for most of the day, but is otherwise unharmed, and he actually regains his powers at noon for a short period.

But if you wrote a vampire story today where the vampire becomes powerful at noon, readers would probably complain, because Murnau's invention was so popular that it's been accepted as canon.

Fair point. By "tradition" I meant only tradition in terms of what readers today would expect, but I didn't make that clear.

In response to the OP's question, I think readers will accept whatever character qualities you put forward as long as the characters stay true to those qualities and don't magically gain new ones as the story progresses. That's how you lose your audience.

 

[QuillandInk]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I slept on it and realized it's a bit silly indeed. Especially since the creature in question (mermaids) don't really have such strongly defined characteristics as the vampire sunlight thing. I guess I was worrying too much, but this is a readerbase I am unfamiliar with so I thought it best to at least ask some more experienced writers about them.

The mermaids in my story look like the traditional mermaids so I guess that's what the reader expects when they click on the story. I'll make sure the rest is explained well and consistent in the story (and of course revealed when appropriate and not info-dumped).

In my experience, most readers applaud creative spins on 'generic' supernatural races that they have read about many times, if you can write your mermaid's differently than the typical cookie-cutter archetype they will love it.

The key is to make even the reader that would generally think for example, that vampires are lame, go: "Man, normally I really hate vampires stories, but yours are really interesting!"

That said, some people like it when you incorporate some obscure fact from mythology that showed you did your research if they are familiar with the creatures you are writing about.

If you can find a way that satisfies people with a preconceived picture in their heads of what mermaids should be like and people that just hate mermaids, then your golden.

Good luck, and have fun creating your mermaids ヽ(´▽｀)ノ

 

[Rustyoznail]

“Family Guy” had a funny take on mermen.

https://youtu.be/ZIBLgLNLX2g

Russ

 

[Voboy]

I like QuillandInk's take. I don't really write about these kinds of beings, but I enjoy slipping in occasional subversive touches into my SF or fantasy tropes.

Like make your mermaids complain constantly about how much the bra-shells cost at Amphitrite's Secret. Or make them menstruate. Or make a running gag about how you can never seem to find a merman's penis.

Stuff like that.

 

[ThisNameIsntTakenYet]

My https://www.literotica.com/s/songs-of-seduction-water might have you wondering about my gender stability some more. I paid zero attention to any mermaid tropes that might be out there, and present them with an unusual twist.

I gave it a read, and I agree that it's very different from what one would expect. Very well written too, poetic even. Actually, I was really conflicted about writing this story in the first or third person, but I think your story actually convinced me to step out of my comfort zone and try first person for a change. I think I only wrote one story from that perspective, and that was years ago.

 

[Hypoxia]

In my experience, most readers applaud creative spins on 'generic' supernatural races that they have read about many times, if you can write your mermaid's differently than the typical cookie-cutter archetype they will love it.

I've mostly avoided exotic meta-critters (exceptions exist) but yeah, twisting the tropes is entertaining. We've lots of were-wolves and -tigers around, but few selkies (were-seals) or were-cows. (Cue the Norman Greenbaum song MILK COW: "Give ya lifetime of plea-sure / All she needs is love.") Write of a photo-sensitive vampire on Luna or Mars, or a centaur in free-fall. Hindu or Shinto vampires unbothered by crosses. Mermaids as were-octopi. Shaved sasquatches as pro wrestlers.

Meta-critter stereotypes are fun and easy to exploit and twist.

 

[jaF0]

Only two non-human entities I'd consider are Shapeshifters and Symbiants, so since they're both completely fictional, I'd set my own reality whether any one else liked it or not.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Fair point. By "tradition" I meant only tradition in terms of what readers today would expect, but I didn't make that clear.

I got that, and my answer wasn't worded as well as it could've been - intended as a tightening of terminology rather than a correction.

 

[Polyacrylate]

If it would be really jarring, you could always include a throwaway line or two that addresses the issue. Something like:

"I just thought mermaids had the lady part on top and the fish part on bottom," he said.

A noise came from Ariel's gills that sounded like a sigh. "Ever since Hans-fucking-Christian-fucking-Anderson wrote that story, that's all you people think of us." The eye on his side of her body hadn't let up on him, but then, he supposed, it couldn't. "So," she said, spreading her very human legs, "are we doing this, or what?"

 

[NovusAnimus]

I write exclusively about NonHuman characters. Each story comes with its own rules for the NonHumans involved. Whether the rules are complicated and require a lot of work on my part to work into the story, are can be summed up in 2 lines, depends on the story.

For mermaids, mine still have vaginas, as their mermaid tails start along the iliac furrow/apollo's belt. :3

 

[ElectricBlue]

I gave it a read, and I agree that it's very different from what one would expect. Very well written too, poetic even. Actually, I was really conflicted about writing this story in the first or third person, but I think your story actually convinced me to step out of my comfort zone and try first person for a change. I think I only wrote one story from that perspective, and that was years ago.

Thank you - and if that story encourages you to step out of your comfort zone, then my job is doubly done .

That little piece was a quick side project whilst I was writing a much longer work. It's probably my most complete, most perfect short story.