By Vicki Delany
I loved Aline’s discussion last week of how much we readers
are prepared to suspend our disbelief when reading fiction
It’s a fascinating subject as there is a definite line
between a reader pretending not to notice that the head of the entire police
division for half a county is actively investigating a single murder case, and then stepping
into un-believability territory when the reader decides they've had enough and puts down
the book in disgust.
Sometimes it’s the small things that test the reader. Get
that street name in New York City wrong, and you’ll hear about it. Have the forensic results back the next day,
and the reader will pretend to go along with it.
I have written about how in some ways I am finding it easier
to write cozies than police procedurals because I don’t have to worry about
stuff like forensics or criminal or police records. And readers enjoy that
along with me.
But I don’t know a
heck of a lot of librarians who solve murders when the police are unable to do
so.
Now some readers will scoff at cozies on the grounds that they’re sooooo unbelievable (see point about re librarian), but then they are perfectly ready to accept the brilliant bad guy who challenges their detective (equally brilliant) in a game of wits.
I always remember a police friend of mine saying, “If they
weren’t morons we wouldn’t catch half of them.”
I think perhaps the biggest thing the writer can do to
maintain suspension of disbelief is consistency. I mean, come on, do you think
people wrote to J.K. Rowling to say “That would never happen.”? No, because she
created a world and kept it constant to itself.
I can pretty much guarantee that if Hermonie’s wand had changed colour
mid-book, Joanne would have heard about it.
We can fudge some of the facts, but ultimately we have to
stay true to our characters and to the world they live in, and to human nature
as it is. Or disbelief will come crashing down.
On Saturday I joined Type M's Barbara and some of Eastern Ontario's best crime writers for the hugely successful inaugural Prose in the Park in Ottawa. This pic shows the beautiful venue. Thanks to Brenda Chapman for the picture.
2 comments:
Excellent points made, about how we already accept the unbelievable when it comes to police procedurals, and not only in books. A little television franchise called CSI comes to mind. So why not in other sub-genres? Good post - makes one think.
It is fascinating to think how we, as readers, are willing to believe the unbelievable. But as writers, we try so hard to ensure everything makes sense. Your day at the park looks like so much fun!
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