Learn how to make the unbelievable, believable. Believe me, your readers will thank you.
Ok so this isn't about footballer-turned-pundit Chris 'Kammy' Kamara, but about making the unbelievable believable. It's one of the most important facets of a novel, how to create conflict, tension, drama, but without incredulity.
I've read a few books
recently that have struggled to make me believe, either in the
characters or in specific events in the story. I thought I'd write a
little piece on just that topic. Every writer will struggle with
believability at some point, but hopefully this will help you spot
the signs and do everything you can to correct it.
Firstly you need to ask
yourself repeatedly throughout the writing process, is this
believable? And I mean
repeatedly, not just with the individual events, but the whole
premise of the novel. Just saying so doesn't make something true,
you can't just expect the reader to take a huge leap of faith.
Provide some evidence for the course of action or event, explain why
something ordinarily unbelievable should be believed.
I
wouldn't expect a normal person to steal, maim or kill, but if I'm
told their life is in danger if they don't, it will help me to
believe. But the stronger the action, the more evidence you'll have
to provide, if they take matters into their own hands, what stopped
them going to the police?
Secondly if you find
yourself writing an incredibly convoluted and contrived scenario to
back up an event or development then maybe you've taken it too far.
If a car has to flip 37 times in precisely the correct way to kill
all three passengers but not the driver, I'm unlikely to believe it
would have happened. If your nerdy scientist is also a black belt in
karate and an expert rock climber, I'm going to struggle to accept
him as a character. Better to make him fuelled with adrenaline,
blinded by rage and a lucky shot if he's going to get out of whatever
situation you've thrown at him.
The beauty about
creative writing is that you can construct the perfect scenario that
allows the reader to believe the extraordinary events taking place
within. You won't always hit the right answer first time though, so
be prepared when letting people read drafts to change the back
stories or preceding events slightly.
If you can't justify
your character's actions, if you wouldn't make that move yourself in
the same scenario, then it's safe to assume most of your reader's
will also be left rolling their eyes in disbelief.
So be on guard, keep
asking yourself the questions, put yourself in the character's shoes.
Make the unbelievable, believable.
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