Hook, Line & Fantasy

As scribblers, we're all chasing the dragon of audience engagement. We agonize over plot machinations, memorable characters, and intricate worlds. But there's a secret weapon in the war for eyeballs and attention - the core fantasy. That ineffable desire that pulls people in and keeps them coming back for more.

Think about it. Why do gamers grind for hours in virtual worlds? Why do viewers binge entire seasons in a single Sunday? Why do readers devour doorstop tomes deep into the night? It's not just about the literal events unfolding. There's a deeper draw. An unspoken promise. A fantasy.

Let's jump in the way-back machine and dig into some properties I've had the privilege of working on over the years. We'll crack open the mystery box and see what nuggets of insight await.

Lost

Sure, on the surface, it was a wild tale about plane crash survivors on a very trippy island. But the real hook? The mystery box fantasy. Lost didn't just serve up puzzles - it made you feel like part of the solution.

Think about it. Viewers didn't just passively absorb the show. They built intricate online communities to decode numeric clues, analyze obscure symbolism, and spin tinfoil-hat theories about the island's secrets. I'm talking detailed timeline maps, exhaustive mythology databases, full-on conspiracy boards that would make Mulder and Scully blush. The fantasy wasn't just about getting answers hand-fed by the writers. It was about joining the intellectual treasure hunt. Solving the mystery box yourself.

Now let's rewind to —

Alias

Sydney Bristow. By day, a grad student. By night, a global superspy untangling Gordian knots of geopolitical intrigue. The core fantasy? The double life.

This one hits home for anyone who's ever felt there must be a grand adventure lying just beyond the cubicle walls and dishes in the sink. Alias added rocket fuel to this fantasy with the Rambaldi mythology. Suddenly, it wasn't just about Sydney's secret missions. It was the idea that history itself was a puzzle box waiting to be unlocked. Fans didn't just tune in for pew-pew spy action. They wanted to decode ancient prophecies and piece together hidden historical webs right alongside our heroine.

Let's leap ahead to other —

Heroes

Ordinary people wake up with extraordinary abilities. Destiny comes calling in the guise of a solar eclipse, a prophetic painting, a mysterious online message. The fantasy? Superhuman potential. The notion that something special might lie dormant within us, waiting to be forged by fate and circumstance.

Heroes struck a nerve because it made those powers feel personal. Each character's abilities were deeply tied to their inner struggles, their secret pain. Fans didn't just theorize about power mechanics. They saw themselves in those characters. Dreamed about what hidden talents might lurk in their own DNA. That bone-deep desire for self-discovery and transformation.

American Gods

Talk about a hidden world fantasy. The core hook here is that divine magic hides in plain sight. Ancient deities clocking in for shifts at truck stops and clamoring for worship via streaming video. Forgotten folkways revealing secret conduits of power.

This one hits especially hard in the great American melting pot. The idea that your grandpa's tall tales and that weird roadside attraction might be brushing up against honest-to-goodness magic. The chance to see mythic forces behind the mundane, to discover you were part of some grand, secret design all along.

Star Trek: Discovery

Talk about boldly going, huh? This ain't your daddy's Trek. Nah, this is a full-tilt dive into the final frontier of identity and social change. Meet Michael Burnham. Raised on Vulcan, trained as a scientist, fits into Starfleet like a photon torpedo in a phaser bank. She's the consummate outsider, the quintessential trailblazer. Sound familiar?

Through Burnham, we get to imagine ourselves as pioneers, both in the depths of space and the uncharted wilds of the soul. Each spore drive jump is a leap into the unknown, a chance to discover strange new worlds within and without.

But it's not just about the physical frontier. Burnham and crew are charting new territories of identity and morality, too. Mutiny, redemption, the blurred lines between friend and foe. This taps into that primal fantasy of being a catalyst for change. Burnham's journey is an invitation to imagine ourselves as agents of transformation in our own lives and beyond.

By boldly challenging the status quo and facing the unknown, we can create a world beyond our wildest dreams. And what could be more Trek than that?

Hannibal

Whoo boy. Now, on the surface, you might think the fantasy here is becoming a serial killer or cannibal gourmand. But the real draw goes deeper.

See, most procedurals play it safe. Killer of the week, rinse, repeat. Hannibal, though? It elevates the genre, making it a highbrow exploration of morality, psychology, and the murky boundaries between darkness and light. The fantasy is about going on that journey - plunging into those dark waters in a style that's lush, poetic, and dripping with macabre beauty. Art as atrocity. Atrocity as art.

Even the interactive realm of gaming taps core fantasies. I see it firsthand when I consult on narrative for —

VALORANT

Players aren't just driven by the thrill of clutch plays and sick headshots. They want to master unique Agents, dive deep into their lore, and feel part of an elite super-team. The skill fantasy and narrative fantasy weave together.

So, as we dream up new worlds and mythologies, we can't sleep on the core fantasy. It's not just about what happens in the story. It's the imagined emotional space we're inviting our audience to inhabit. The secret identity they get to try on for a while.

Crack the mystery. Live the double life. Discover hidden powers. Witness everyday divinity. Plumb the depths of human darkness. Forge a new frontier, within and without. Master mystical tactical arts.

Give your audience a fantasy that hits 'em in the feels, lets them participate in the story, maybe even shape their identity.

What’s my core fantasy? To ABS. Always. Be. Scribbling.