When you get deep into the research of writing novels, there is cross over with writing screenplays for movies. One phrase I recently came across in my research is the Four-Quadrant Movie Model. Though not all screenplay concepts can be used for novels, I think this one is something we should keep in mind.
Four-Quadrant Movie Model
Four-Quadrant refers to the four main groups of people who see movies. Old. Young. Male. Female. If a movie has some appeal for each group, then it will have a larger audience.
Take a look at The Sound of Music. You have the main protagonist, Maria, and her love interest, Captain Von Trapp. The themes are family and war—things both men and women can relate to in life. Then there are all the varying ages of the kids, and also a younger couple, Liesl and Rolf. The four quadrants are all represented, making it perfect for a wide audience.
Five-Quadrant Book Model
An author, David Farland, pointed out that most often the movie model leaves out the elderly. They get lumped in as part of the Old group, but most often those characters are actually middle-aged. He proposes writing stories that include characters from all three generations and both genders. The Five-Quadrant model would then reach a very broad audience.
A word of caution though. If you try to make a story for everyone, then you will end up with a story for no one. You need a target audience. Movies are short and often a group activity; therefore, it makes sense they need a little something everyone will enjoy. Books are usually a solo act and take much longer to finish. However, you can write a good book with all five quadrants, as you can see in Harry Potter (Dumbledore’s generation, Snape’s generation, Harry’s generation, and, of course, there are ample characters of both genders).
Final Thoughts
While it isn’t a solid rule for writing books, this movie concept can be applied to books and be successful. If your goal is to appeal to a broader audience, I suggest trying to use the Five-Quadrant Book Model. It would be especially effective if you have multiple Point of View characters from the different quadrants. But, even if you write the story in first person, remember to have these five groups represented in your book for some diversity.
Thanks for reading!
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