So did you do your writing yesterday? Do you have fifteen minutes of free writing plus some backstory on a character? If you didn't, then why are you here, Private? Do you want to become an author, or just dally in writing? There's nothing wrong with dallying. It's just different. The first two assignments were easy--today we're starting our real challenge. If you're NOT serious about your work, if you consider it "just fiction" as I heard in a forum the other day, then you won't want to stay here. Go home to your mummy, Private.
Today's drill is on the willing suspension of disbelief.
"What the...?" you may ask.
The "suspension" as we'll call it is an art form, a gift, and controversial. As writers of fiction, we suspend reality and present a fictional story ... but our readers HAVE to be willing to suspend reality in their minds to take in our fiction, which is really "lies" if you think about it. Lies that can sometimes bring out gut truths.
The suspension has two sides. The author and the reader. We can't suspend to someone who doesn't want to be suspended to. I've met many people who just don't read fiction, 'cause it's a free country and they don't have to. As authors, we have to master the art of reaching into the minds and hearts of the people who are willing to suspend their disbelief. Their willingness is a gift. The suspension we present has to be close to flawless, or they sit up mid-sentence and say, "This is crap." and they close the book.
We want them to keep the book open.
Work on your suspension with an arsenal of characters that ring true, dialog that sounds natural, and DETAILS that reflect reality and project it onto our story. If your details seem consistent within the world of the book, the reader will continue suspending their disbelief.
Work on your suspension with an arsenal of characters that ring true, dialog that sounds natural, and DETAILS that reflect reality and project it onto our story. If your details seem consistent within the world of the book, the reader will continue suspending their disbelief.
At the bookshop where I only work occasionally now (sniff), I've noticed that most people perusing the books start out cynical and get drawn in fast or close the book. I think they're looking for a suspension of disbelief they can accept--one that makes their mind explode with ideas. They want to be entertained or enlightened, not tortured.
The controversy? Some people think it's up to the READER to suspend their disbelief. As authors we just offer up our "lies" and the reader who doesn't believe them doesn't have a good enough imagination. I say it's a free country so they don't have to read anything they don't want to read. It's our responsibility to write well enough that they WANT to read it.
So today let's work on the details that can help your "lies" seem true. I'll use my own example again--my plumber mystery. Since I am not a plumber, I'm researching plumbing. I actually went on a ride-along with my local plumber a couple of weeks ago. Then I picked up some used books on plumbing. Today I'm researching drain pipes. Glamorous.
I need to know all about drains and water flow through sewer lines so I can write a realistic story about a plumber investigating a murder. If I don't draw the picture realistically, nobody will read it. That's okay for someone who just wants to dally in writing, but I want to be an author. So I'm wading through sewers of research.
You have to do the same. If your story is about a nun, you'll need to research nuns. Read about them, speak to one. I think you'll find MORE ideas from your research, not less.
So GET ON TO YOUR RESEARCH. What are you waiting for?
