I’m curious what the biggest points of disagreement were, I wonder if hearing a different perspective would make me think differently about any of them. I'd have to go back and look through for specifics, but on the whole characterization and plotting--one person will say "this (plot point/character arc) just didn't work for me" and somebody else "this was great!" and then reverse their opinions for something else, lol. I've been lucky to have very thoughtful, informed beta readers, so I don't think anybody is WRONG, but I have a lot to chew on...
the closeness and attachment grows out of the POV character/s discovering that they feel safe / at ease / understood when they’re with the other person, in a way they don’t with everyone else. Moments of vulnerability that have (perhaps unexpectedly) positive outcomes! Discovering that they can/do genuinely trust the other person, and reinforcement of that trust. Oh, I really like this! Very useful, too.
the whole joy of the thing for me is in spending time in someone else’s head The writers I used to study (prewar Japanese women) wrote a lot of very autobiographical stories and novels, and while I kind of understand why--they were having many new and shattering experiences, both personally and socially, and the material was certainly ripe for writing about--my own feeling is that I'm me all the time anyway, part of the point of writing is getting to be someone else too!
no subject
I'd have to go back and look through for specifics, but on the whole characterization and plotting--one person will say "this (plot point/character arc) just didn't work for me" and somebody else "this was great!" and then reverse their opinions for something else, lol. I've been lucky to have very thoughtful, informed beta readers, so I don't think anybody is WRONG, but I have a lot to chew on...
the closeness and attachment grows out of the POV character/s discovering that they feel safe / at ease / understood when they’re with the other person, in a way they don’t with everyone else. Moments of vulnerability that have (perhaps unexpectedly) positive outcomes! Discovering that they can/do genuinely trust the other person, and reinforcement of that trust.
Oh, I really like this! Very useful, too.
the whole joy of the thing for me is in spending time in someone else’s head
The writers I used to study (prewar Japanese women) wrote a lot of very autobiographical stories and novels, and while I kind of understand why--they were having many new and shattering experiences, both personally and socially, and the material was certainly ripe for writing about--my own feeling is that I'm me all the time anyway, part of the point of writing is getting to be someone else too!