A few weeks ago, according to
my Facebook feed, The Bachelor finale featured a seriously unsavory breakup
between the latest contestants. I don’t watch the dating show, but viewers tore
into ABC for airing the footage.
The episode reminded viewers
that they weren’t part of a show, but rather voyeurs watching a reality TV show
that appeared to become a little too real. They were no longer able to suspend
disbelief.
As fiction writers, one of
our jobs in to get readers to suspend disbelief –to allow themselves to believe
your story, your world, your characters are real even though they know it’s
fiction. But how do we create this willingness to stay in our story?
The steps are simple (in
theory) and probably not new to anyone here.
Create a
relatable situation or character
Stay within
your world
Once
you create your world, you have to maintain the logic of that world. Characters
have to follow the rules of that world—or break them with consequences—and the
conflicts and resolutions to those conflicts have to come from the world.
Include
specific details
Small,
specific details make a story more real, particularly if readers can relate to
them. It’s not just the plush, linen chair. It’s the plush, linen chair that
smells like a wet dog.
What might be harder to
identify is what stops that suspension of disbelief. For viewers of The
Bachelor, the breakup pushed them out of the make-believe world of the TV show
and reminded them that these are people, not characters.
For me, scenes when a heroine
looks in the mirror and inventories her assets throw me out of the story. I’ve
never met a woman who did that. Most list their shortcomings.
What interrupts your
suspension of disbelief?
Keena Kincaid writes
historical romances in which passion, magic and treachery collide to create
unforgettable stories. If you want to know more about her as an author, visit
her Facebook page.
