Modern society requires that we suspend our beliefs on multiple occasions. Fine. We’ll accept the different realities given to us in movies, television, advertisements, and literature. However, there’s a point at which something becomes implausible. I loved reading JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series just as I love certain television shows that are obviously fictional, so then how can I tell whether something is believable?
One has to find a balance between things that would be idiotic or preposterous in real life and concepts for which one can suspend his beliefs, live in the author’s new reality. In addition, we come to expect concepts to become established as truth in the author’s reality. The audience wants the author to respect the truths that he has created and not backtrack and change a character or plot concept on page 200 when it had been clearly established.
Then, why do we writers care about having our words appear “believable” to the audience? We have the opportunity to go on and expect the audience to suspend their beliefs while they step into our realities. However, a strong writer desires to entice his readers and to treat them like people who will not notice discrepancies between one’s works. We want the readers to understand the plot and its nuances as well as the multifaceted natures of the characters that we create.
When going through our work with our peers we want to know whether the words are believable or preposterous; whether my own reality has shown a character’s actions matching up to the past or if his growth has lead to current actions. Treating an audience like it is lesser is a folly. I want to maintain a balance for the realities that exist for us and the realities I create for my characters without compromising my work. Yes, some times I may want to do something that doesn’t exactly add up, but I hope to be wise enough to understand the folly in that. I would rather grow as a writer and allow my characters to grow to a point where the reader can comprehend the character’s actions.
~ Nitesh Arora
It really does seem like some stories are like the war in Iraq. First it's WMD's, then all of a sudden we're bringing democracy to the country? I absolutely hate it when the direction changes for no reason halfway through. Good Point
ReplyDeleteDerek Ryan
I don't mind a direction change, sometimes it can be exciting, especially when it comes to the plot. Often times the plot changes throughout and it keeps you watching/reading just to "get it." I know I've had to re-read and re-watch movies where the direction changed so often it took me several views to understand where we were actually going. I think in the instances where I still don't know the direction the writer was going in proved to be the most frustrating, however.
ReplyDeleteCindy Davis
Sorry, I didn't mean just a shift in plot, I was referring more towards large discrepancies in a character's actions or things where the plot not the reality ceases to make sense.
ReplyDelete~Nitesh Arora