As written by GHH member, Rooanne

I'm wondering what it is most people want to see on a soap.   From reading just some recent comments [in our forum], for instance, there seem to be more or less two "camps";  those who want their soap to be an escape, such as out-there capers with the mob and the cops, and those who want to see more 'real life' type stories, such as illness in the hospital and couples who are not always in angst.

I like the idea of meta-awareness -- I guess you could say it would be a little tongue-in-cheek a times?  I like the idea of taking things a bit further than the boundaries of "reality" (such as the old Luke & Laura & WSB adventures) but even with stories that are realistic (BJ, Stone) to me the most important thing is always how the characters are portrayed.  It doesn't matter if I know they aren't real, as long as they feel authentic, if that makes any sense.

I finished reading a novel last week, and I can't get some of the main characters out of my mind. I feel like I actually knew them, and went through what they went through WITH them.  That is the kind of feeling I'd like to get from a soap or any 'fiction' because it becomes real to ME.