How to attract the average reader to an "intellectual" novel?

Question

For instance, If I write a novel which has the following:

“The universe goes through a gradual transition from one condition, to a different condition, without any abrupt changes.”

After reading the inscription, Maru closed her eyes, and tried to imagine that for while.

“Things in the universe are ever-changing. They have been undergoing a continuous change for billions and billions of years, and they will keep like this forever. What once was an plant or an animal will transform in something else in the future.” Icaro said.

In cases like this, should I simplify the words so that a 10 years old kid can understand the novel? Should I give practical examples? Or connect that idea to the characters?

Answer 1

I guess there's different schools of thought on it, but for me, I'd say you should worry about attracting readers after you've written the novel the way you think it should be written. What are the demands of the plot? What do you characters need to do, or understand? Tell the story in the best way you can, using the words that work best for you, and THEN worry about who's going to be reading it.

You can fine-tune as needed, and tweak areas where your betas get confused, but if you try to write a book based on what you think some poorly-defined 'average reader' wants, you'll likely end up with an unoriginal mess. In my opinion.

Answer 2

"Intellectual" often means a labyrinth of language. (Try reading any doctoral dissertation.) Try this instead:

“The universe changes gradually, from one condition to another, without any abrupt changes.”

Same concept, same meaning, but more fun to read. If you want poetic imagery, you could use something specific that nails down the same concept.

I think your original text, while hardly difficult, is needlessly complex, almost as if it were trying to sound sophisticated by using big words. Using simpler language can fool a reader into reading something. By the time they realize the concepts are complex and (hopefully) interesting, they're hooked.

Just because you're using simpler words doesn't make the concepts themselves simple.

Answer 3

The average person can understand what you wrote. The average reader is smarter than the average person. You're in no danger of losing people intellectually, at least not with that passage.

Answer 4

How? By not trying... you seem to be asking "Should I make an 'intellectual' novel attractive to an [ill-defined/undefined] average reader by making it less intellectual". But that's "dumbing down" and not "attracting".

Me, I always say: write it the way it has to be written. Let your characters speak the way they'd speak if they were real people (for some in-universe definition of real, of course ;-)). If one of your characters is a university professor who's notorious for being hard to understand even for his peers (intellectually), then... write him that way. But maybe add someone who's able to translate ;-)

Do not try, do never try to make your novel/story attractive to everybody. Because that way madness (and failure or mediocrity (if there's a difference)) lies.

Answer 5

IMHO, the average reader is not reading a novel to be intellectually stimulated on that level - they are reading to be entertained.

Roping readers into following complex, "intellectual" concepts works best as an underlying theme subtly explored through the plot and environment, not directly through thinly-veiled pseudo-philosophical exposition of any sort.

That way, those that are inclined towards abstract thought and dissection of the authors intent can do so, while those just wanting a good read are more likely to get it.

Answer 6

You attract readers with a clear, immediately understandable hook, something like this:

"Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."

Did that get your attention? It's the first sentence in Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy.

Like a good ad that's selling something, your goal should be to give the reader a reason to read the next line. Tolstoy definitely achieved that goal!

Your relationship with a reader is very intimate and will know that you are writing at the level that you think a 10-year old might understand. Focus on the essence of your idea first, and its meaning will come out on its own. Don't be afraid to write, edit, and rewrite - and write for yourself, not for an unseen reader.