Some personal comments first about my own tastes. That is where we all have to start, right? As to whether something is OCC, well, it is all a matter of interpretation, so one writer's OCC may be intended as on the money.
Mostly, I am looking for a good story so if is well-written and consistent, I cheer. I am not so much interested in stories where the pairing has been changed just to try to make it interesting. That can make for dull, laundry list type stories where it is hard for the reader to feel anything for the character.
Elizabeth with Bingley, for example? What would be the point or the story behind that? Are writers angry with Darcy and eager to punish him by pairing Elizabeth off with someone else? Or, another example, why would the colonel, who thought Elizabeth very pretty but refused to pursure her because she was poor, want a woman both homely and poor? What does Charlotte have on Elizabeth that would so bestir and besparkle the colonel? You have to do more than just describe this happening. I am not saying it is impossible, but you have to persuade me as a reader with exciting events and cleverly drafted new premises. That's just me. Others might be entertained with less.
And everything I just said may have nothing to do with what will sell. Who knows why one movie about the White House being overtaken by terrorists soars while another fails miserably? (Well, actually, I can give you some reasons for that but that is a digression ...) Mainly, judging public taste is hard to do and predicting where it will go next is darn near impossible. That is why the entertainment industry gives us more of what we wanted yesterday and is often surprised when something new comes along and it is what we want today.
Mostly, I am looking for a good story so if is well-written and consistent, I cheer. I am not so much interested in stories where the pairing has been changed just to try to make it interesting. That can make for dull, laundry list type stories where it is hard for the reader to feel anything for the character.
Elizabeth with Bingley, for example? What would be the point or the story behind that? Are writers angry with Darcy and eager to punish him by pairing Elizabeth off with someone else? Or, another example, why would the colonel, who thought Elizabeth very pretty but refused to pursure her because she was poor, want a woman both homely and poor? What does Charlotte have on Elizabeth that would so bestir and besparkle the colonel? You have to do more than just describe this happening. I am not saying it is impossible, but you have to persuade me as a reader with exciting events and cleverly drafted new premises. That's just me. Others might be entertained with less.
And everything I just said may have nothing to do with what will sell. Who knows why one movie about the White House being overtaken by terrorists soars while another fails miserably? (Well, actually, I can give you some reasons for that but that is a digression ...) Mainly, judging public taste is hard to do and predicting where it will go next is darn near impossible. That is why the entertainment industry gives us more of what we wanted yesterday and is often surprised when something new comes along and it is what we want today.