Authenticity and Authority

Believability, to me, is something that is established under two premises: authenticity and authority.

When we think of the word authentic in the literal sense, we can assume it to mean something that is reliably based on facts or as something that is genuine, or original, but the definition I am going to utilize, and the definition I think is more relevant to creative writing, is one of existentialist origin: authenticity describes or relates to an emotionally appropriate, significant, purposive, and responsible mode of human life.

When creating a character or plot, I feel we have a responsibility to hit these basic ideas. If a character is not emotionally appropriate in a given situation, believability may be lost. This is not to say that a character has to be flat or simplistic in any way, or that a character cannot have a dramatic change of heart that shifts the trajectory of a story, but I (as a reader) find it extremely distracting when there is a lack of continuity or appropriateness in emotional responses. If a character lacks a purpose within the context of a narrative, believability may also be lost. Characters should be significant to your story, even if the significance is minute. They need to have some narrative purpose or function to be believable.

Authority is also key to believability. The definition I am using here is the ability to influence others because of one’s commanding manner or one’s recognized knowledge about something. If an author maintains authority, they can make you believe that the sky is pink and that sharks are vegetarians. A good author is one that can suspend that disbelief through a perceived command or knowledge of his or her material. A good example of this authority is Tolkien and his legendarium. He created a believable trilogy with the principle villain being a giant, flaming eyeball. Think about that for a second. A giant, flaming eyeball. It’s believable because he has such a command and such an authority over his material that our disbelief is suspended and we just accept it and go with it.

I think that if a writer can create a balance of authenticity and creative authority they will invariably write something that is both believable and entertaining.

-Samantha Markey