Suspending Disbelief for Readers – Part 2
After a much
needed vacation in sunnier surrounds, it’s now back to business.
We’ll
continue our look at how ways to suspend a reader’s disbelief and get them
believing in your story and characters. Writers can do this by focusing on several
elements, so we’ll focus on the remaining pointers noted in Part 1 - Believable
Character Goals, Immediacy, Eliminating Uncertainty, Subplots and the Right
Setting.
Believable Character Goals
This is
pretty self-explanatory. If your characters don’t have much to strive for and
achieve by the end of the story, then why should a reader be bothered about
what your characters do?
Your main
character’s goal forms an important crux to the story arc. Their struggle to
achieve that goal, and all the obstacles they face in doing so, is what keeps
the reader invested in the outcome, so give the characters believable goals rather
than outlandish ones, such as saving the world from imminent disaster (one of
the worst clichés).
Readers will readily identify better with probable
goals because they will be able to imagine themselves in that role.
So, even if
you have an outlandish plot, you can still make the reader suspend disbelief by
creating the kind of believable character goals that they can recognise and
understand.Immediacy
Of all the
tools available to a writer, immediacy is one of the most underused and yet
most effective ways to bring your reader as close to the subject and the
characters as humanly possible.
Immediacy is
the intimate connection between the story and the reader – if a writer lacks
immediacy within the writing, then the reader might not be able to emotionally connect with the characters
or the narrative, and if that happens, the reader is unlikely to enjoy the story.
Writers must establish an emotional connection between the reader and the characters to do this. This is why fully developed characterisation is so important and why character goals make the reader want to invest in what is going on.
Readers love
characters who are very much like themselves in a way; they recognise something
of themselves in your characters, and that’s why immediacy is such a key
element to fiction writing.
By creating
immediacy with the reader, you instantly eliminate any disbelief they may have with
your story because they will care about the characters too much to worry about
a crazy plot.
Eliminating uncertainty – make things
plausible
It’s down to
the ability of the writer to make the implausible plausible.
But what
does that mean exactly? It means
eliminating any hint of uncertainty within
the writing, because the reader will immediately pick up on writing that is
weak or lacks confidence.
Readers are
smart and they will know when things don’t add up or the facts aren’t right. They
will spot poor plot construction and poor characterisation even if you don’t. This is where uncertainty can creep in.
Remember, details,
details, details. That way, even those
elements that seem quite implausible can become diluted by the quality and
minutiae you add to the narrative. You eliminate
uncertainty, and thus make things plausible, by adding as much detail for the
reader as you can.
Interesting Subplots
Subplots are
a great way of focusing attention away from the main thread of a story for a
short while. They create an extra dimension (or two) to the story, and while
they are smaller stories in their own way, they are still inexorably linked to
the main plot.
So even with
a rather implausible story, you may still be able to make some elements
believable with the help of strong subplots to keep the reader engaged and
invested with your story.
The Right Setting
The right setting may not seem an obvious way to get a reader to suspend
their disbelief, but a well-rendered setting does help. As the writer, you have to give the illusion
that even where the story takes place is entirely fictitious, it needs to be real for the reader, or that it closely
resembles a real life place.
The reason for this is to create an emotional attachment of sorts
between the fictional world and the reader.
The more connections you can make, the better the chances for the reader
to suspend their disbelief, regardless of how strong or weak the main story
might be.
As already pointed out, the more detail you can provide, the better
chance of them believing totally in your story.
All these elements together help thin the strangeness or absurdities
that sometimes make up implausible plots or outlandish or unbelievable stories.
You’re not just
suspending disbelief; you’re creating
belief where it would otherwise not
materialise.
Remember,
detail, detail, detail.
One last
important note. Never let the story sit
still. Always move the story forward.
Next week:
Why you should back your characters into corners.
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