Does any autistic person here like to read drama?

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starkid
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26 Oct 2020, 11:01 pm

I mean novels that are mainly about people and their social relationships. Not sci-fi, mystery, horror, etc. Just people dating, marrying, divorcing, arguing, raising kids, back-stabbing, worrying about other people's opinions, rebelling against their parents, trying to please their parents, and stuff like that.

It seems like such a neurotypical thing to me, people who are so interested in people that they can read a whole novel that's nothing but drama. I get really bored with drama, so it's weird and interesting to think about other people liking it.



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27 Oct 2020, 1:03 am

If it’s well-written I do.



traven
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27 Oct 2020, 3:18 am

i like reading but nothing scififantasyhorror
so most nothing made after 2000 (),

there maybe some;
The Kite Runner, Millennium-trilogy, The Prague Cemetery, Vivre pour la raconter(Living to Tell the Tale),
Kader Abdolah(dutch)
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Joe90
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27 Oct 2020, 11:03 am

starkid wrote:
I mean novels that are mainly about people and their social relationships. Not sci-fi, mystery, horror, etc. Just people dating, marrying, divorcing, arguing, raising kids, back-stabbing, worrying about other people's opinions, rebelling against their parents, trying to please their parents, and stuff like that.

It seems like such a neurotypical thing to me, people who are so interested in people that they can read a whole novel that's nothing but drama. I get really bored with drama, so it's weird and interesting to think about other people liking it.


That's the only thing I DO read about (which is why I enjoy reading women's magazines). I love drama and real life situations. I also enjoy sitcoms because they can often involve a lot of social interaction (with some exceptions such as Mr Bean).
I like writing and my stories are all based on social interaction, emotions, relationships, etc. It all interests me.


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27 Oct 2020, 11:44 pm

starkid wrote:
I mean novels that are mainly about people and their social relationships. Not sci-fi, mystery, horror, etc. Just people dating, marrying, divorcing, arguing, raising kids, back-stabbing, worrying about other people's opinions, rebelling against their parents, trying to please their parents, and stuff like that.

It seems like such a neurotypical thing to me, people who are so interested in people that they can read a whole novel that's nothing but drama. I get really bored with drama, so it's weird and interesting to think about other people liking it.


I get what you're saying, too much drama is exhausting to me. I love mysteries, especially British ones. I've stopped watching some detective shows because after a few seasons they start to add a lot of unnecessary drama, like a ridiculous amount. A little is ok but at some point its too much and I can't focus on the rest of the story. I dont really like sitcoms, or daytime talk shows for that reason.

I do like Jane Austen books though. Hmm. Maybe because in her books she doesn't take it to an assinin level. So I suppose when its well written and helps move the story forward I enjoy some drama. But when its added just for drama sake and doesn't add any intelligent insight into a character I'm not a fan. I do like stories that are essentially character studies, because there is a point to them. It can help understand others.

I'm not sure if I explained that well.


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GGPViper
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29 Oct 2020, 6:37 am

starkid wrote:
I mean novels that are mainly about people and their social relationships. Not sci-fi, mystery, horror, etc. Just people dating, marrying, divorcing, arguing, raising kids, back-stabbing, worrying about other people's opinions, rebelling against their parents, trying to please their parents, and stuff like that.

It seems like such a neurotypical thing to me, people who are so interested in people that they can read a whole novel that's nothing but drama. I get really bored with drama, so it's weird and interesting to think about other people liking it.

I very much agree with this. And it frustrates me that so many great works of literature involve concepts that have little or no meaning to me.

For instance, I recently purchased The Sound and The Fury by William Faulkner and Beloved by Toni Morrison… Both are highly celebrated works by Nobel laureates… but I couldn't make it past 20 pages in either book due to so much family drama. So now they are just gathering dust on my bookshelf…

H. P. Lovecraft, on the other hand, is - in my opinion - not a technically skilled writer, but I read a compilation of all his horror short stories in one setting because I simply couldn't put it down. I basically did the same with Edgar Allan Poe (who basically invented both the detective and horror story), and while Poe also writes about family drama, his dramas are usually unusually violent (and short)…

As a result, I also find a lot of novels to be too long. I have frequently felt that the plot of a 400 page book could have been done in 200 pages - simply because I find several of the themes about family, social relations, romance etc. to be meaningless "filler".

Give me some Hemingway instead: Go fishing, wrestle with marlin, punch sharks, go home...



starkid
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31 Oct 2020, 1:13 pm

GGPViper wrote:
And it frustrates me that so many great works of literature involve concepts that have little or no meaning to me.

I just avoid "literature." I've learned that most books considered to be literature are boring.

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H. P. Lovecraft, on the other hand, is - in my opinion - not a technically skilled writer, but I read a compilation of all his horror short stories in one setting because I simply couldn't put it down.

I find him skilled. His descriptions are clear and engaging despite the weirdness of his subject matter. That takes skill. His stories are entertaining; that takes skill, although what is entertaining is somewhat subjective. Also, like a lot of older authors, he has a vocabulary that is superior to that of contemporary writers.

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As a result, I also find a lot of novels to be too long. I have frequently felt that the plot of a 400 page book could have been done in 200 pages - simply because I find several of the themes about family, social relations, romance etc. to be meaningless "filler".

Yeah me too.



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26 Dec 2021, 3:45 am

I do, but it really depends. I get bored with human relations if they seem fairly empty. I can't think of a great book example, but Sex And The City is like this. All the characters are like children to me.

A lot of fiction/drama can be philosophical, though, such as King Lear. There the relations are very interesting. We all have to interact and share the world, so it isn't just neurotypical, though I get your point.

I find so-called genre fiction less satisfying because most of it has unrealistic people and no style. Like Stephen King. All his protagonists are just versions of him, and all his antagonists are some inexplicable evil. And he's not poetic. I do enjoy H.P. Lovecraft for his style and ideas, but he was incapable of writing a realistic person. The dialogue is horrible.



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26 Dec 2021, 4:06 am

No I do really prefer fantasy and sci-fi, like just regular people stuff like that is not as interesting unless there is crazy sci-fi or fantasy stuff thrown in. That said sci-fi and fantasy with good stories around the characters is good, so I guess I like there to be good drama surrounding the characters but I like the story to be something fantasy or sci fi based not just normal people being normies.


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Joe90
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26 Dec 2021, 8:48 am

I love drama. I find it more interesting than any other genre, except maybe horror. I so badly want to write a series of drama stories but I have trouble thinking up a plot or storyline that isn't copied from an existing drama series.

I love mundane things. I don't like fantasy much. If a book or a movie goes too far-fetched from reality I just cannot watch/read it. My NT boyfriend hates drama and prefers watching boring things like James Bond or Star Trek. Boooorring!! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !


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HighLlama
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26 Dec 2021, 8:53 am

Joe90 wrote:
I love drama. I find it more interesting than any other genre, except maybe horror. I so badly want to write a series of drama stories but I have trouble thinking up a plot or storyline that isn't copied from an existing drama series.

I love mundane things. I don't like fantasy much. If a book or a movie goes too far-fetched from reality I just cannot watch/read it. My NT boyfriend hates drama and prefers watching boring things like James Bond or Star Trek. Boooorring!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !


Star Trek: the Next Generation was like having to watch C-Span on a space ship.



Joe90
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26 Dec 2021, 3:48 pm

HighLlama wrote:
Joe90 wrote:
I love drama. I find it more interesting than any other genre, except maybe horror. I so badly want to write a series of drama stories but I have trouble thinking up a plot or storyline that isn't copied from an existing drama series.

I love mundane things. I don't like fantasy much. If a book or a movie goes too far-fetched from reality I just cannot watch/read it. My NT boyfriend hates drama and prefers watching boring things like James Bond or Star Trek. Boooorring!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !


Star Trek: the Next Generation was like having to watch C-Span on a space ship.


I like dramas about working class people in a normal town or village, not on a spaceship. Too far-fetched.


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28 Dec 2021, 3:50 am

I do appreciate a good, mainstream drama, even though most of what I read is horror fiction.


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Earthbound_Alien
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28 Dec 2021, 7:52 am

it depends, I like all sorts



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28 Dec 2021, 8:58 am

I find drama helps me in my struggle to understand neurotypical thinking, relating and behaviour.
Especially Shakespeare: though it takes a lot of work to unravel the threads of relationship, it is worth the effort for the insight it gives me, and for the emotional rewards ( which may be "negative", cathartic, in the case of tragedies).
Sharing dramas also helps me connect with neurotypicals in my life who have difficulty in understanding and being patient with my "annoying neurodiversities":
Yesterday my wife chose to watch one of my favoutrite plays - the tragedy King Lear by Shakespeare - with me. She was witness to my being moved to tears at many points in the story. This is evidence more eloquent and effective than verbal assurances that I DO have empathy, love and sensitivity towards others to a high degree (despite apearances at other times).



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29 Dec 2021, 7:15 am

Sweetleaf wrote:
No I do really prefer fantasy and sci-fi, like just regular people stuff like that is not as interesting unless there is crazy sci-fi or fantasy stuff thrown in. That said sci-fi and fantasy with good stories around the characters is good, so I guess I like there to be good drama surrounding the characters but I like the story to be something fantasy or sci fi based not just normal people being normies.


Same, also if i like the characters i end up wanting to read the story regardless of anything else.