The Empathy Problem

[disgruntledpeony]

So, I was doing my morning reading on my lunch break at work and came across a lovely little Cracked article that triggered something tangentially related in my brain.

http://www.cracked.com/blog/why-your-br ... tragedies/

If you don't want to read the article, the long and short of it is that the human brain is wired to respond to a single individual in need differently than a large group of people in need. People have a far more emotional reaction when there is a single person they can identify with, whereas processing larger-scale tragedies is done in a more logical manner.

This applies in fiction, too. I was, for example, far more moved by "Logan" than I was by "X-Men: Apocalypse". (I know, I know, not the classiest example, but my husband and I enjoy our comic book film adaptations.) So, remember, folks: if you're writing about a large-scale tragedy and you want the readers to care, it's probably wise to make sure it has a personal effect on your protagonist, since they're the character the reader will know best.

[RSchibler]

Great post. I often think back to Acquisition, the winner of the Golden Pen award from last year. There were two characters, three I suppose, and no "life threatening" peril, not really, for the MC but it is one of the more intense stories I've ever read. I think the reason why is because you're concerned the whole time about the MC, the secondary character, and what's going to happen next. It's got such a tight focus. In fact, now that I think of it, all the winners were about one person in a situation, that I can think of off the top of my head. Even Squalor & Sympathy, the previous winner, although it had a bigger cast of characters was really focused on one character and her interaction with a situation.