This is an issue that has been haunting my writer's thoughts for quite some time now: being too saccharine or being too cynical.
Over the years, there have been shows that i like that did some things and showed some things that i didn't. Things that i (for the most part) would prefer not to incorporate within my own stories. However, in my attempts to bar such things from my own writing, i'm starting to think that that makes certain aspects of my stories unrealistic.
Example:
In some shows and movies, it is a common idea that if you do something good for someone else and show them kindness and compassion, it will not go unrewarded, even if being rewarded wasn't your intention. The same has been said to apply to animals in such stories, for example: if you help an injured lion and show it some love and compassion, then later on, when you're attacked by a another animal, the very same lion would come to your defense. I sort of liked that reasoning. However, in recent years, i'm reminded of at least two TV shows that i watched (both by Disney), which both showed the heroes doing something good for a carnivorous beast and then had said beast go back to attacking them. I know, I know, that's more realistic, but it's too cynical for my tastes.
So, the question remains: how do i keep out the stuff that i don't like without the story becoming too saccharine and how do i make the story realistic without seeming to cynical?
Over the years, there have been shows that i like that did some things and showed some things that i didn't. Things that i (for the most part) would prefer not to incorporate within my own stories. However, in my attempts to bar such things from my own writing, i'm starting to think that that makes certain aspects of my stories unrealistic.
Example:
In some shows and movies, it is a common idea that if you do something good for someone else and show them kindness and compassion, it will not go unrewarded, even if being rewarded wasn't your intention. The same has been said to apply to animals in such stories, for example: if you help an injured lion and show it some love and compassion, then later on, when you're attacked by a another animal, the very same lion would come to your defense. I sort of liked that reasoning. However, in recent years, i'm reminded of at least two TV shows that i watched (both by Disney), which both showed the heroes doing something good for a carnivorous beast and then had said beast go back to attacking them. I know, I know, that's more realistic, but it's too cynical for my tastes.
So, the question remains: how do i keep out the stuff that i don't like without the story becoming too saccharine and how do i make the story realistic without seeming to cynical?