Keepin’ It Real

Issue 2

11 July 2006

Welcome to the second issue of Keepin’ It Real!  The comprehensive Issue 1 is now out of the way, and so we can begin to delve more deeply into the world of realism.  This issue will be addressing one thing:  How research affects realism.  We have only one topic today, but it’s a doozy.  I apologize to those of you who asked for a shorter column this time and I promise you that next time it will be.

Research:  The Thing You Thought You’d Left at High School

Let’s start off with this simple fact:  No one likes to research much of anything that’s outside their chosen field of study.  Face it.  Every time your literature professor insists that you write a comprehensive essay on the underlying themes of Edgar Allen Poe’s master work The Raven (or some other such circumstance), you experience the imminent and lingering feeling of despair.  Right?  Right.  Me, too. 

I hate research.  It’s the most tedious thing in the world to have to go to the library and look for specific “reputable sources”, incorporate them into your essay, and then (as the real kicker), be forced to catalogue said sources into a Works Cited page in MLA format.  Been there, done that.  It sucks, plain and simple.

So why do we research, then, if it’s so much of a bother?  Why waste our creative brain on something so monotonous? 

Well, think about what your essay on Marie Antoinette would look like if you didn’t even pick up one little French History book.  Let’s take a look at a hypothetical example, taken right from the immediate thoughts of yours truly.

An Extensive Example:  Marie Antoinette, French and Beheaded

Right now – as in, the moment I type this sentence – I don’t even know who Marie Antoinette is (truth, and I am embarrassed).  I just picked that name out of the blue for the example in the paragraph above this one because I was just reading The Three Musketeers a few minutes ago, and I vaguely recall that Marie Antoinette was French.  Right?  So let’s look at what I ‘know’ about this woman before firing up my search engine and actually learning something about her:

I’m thinking two things when I think the name Marie Antoinette:  1) French, and 2) Possibly beheaded at some point – a lot of old French monarchy types were.  Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that is the extent of my knowledge on this possibly significant historical figure. 

Right now you’re saying, “Hey!  Why are we talking about this?  Who cares if you don’t know who some dingy old French maid was?  She’s dead!”

Well, okay.  In the grand scheme of things, it probably doesn’t matter to my worldly success and happiness if I don’t know who Marie Antoinette was or how she affected French society.  So when does it matter?

How about if I was going to write a period piece?  What if I wanted to send my futuristic space warriors back into whatever-century France?  What if they had to meet the royalty of that time, and I just happened to choose the date that Marie Antoinette was in power?  What then?

I’ll tell you “what then”:  I’d look like a loonie.  What do I do?  Let’s fire up the internet search engine of your preference and take a look at how my first perception was, in all likelihood, completely wrong:

As it turns out, Marie Antoinette’s complete history (including bloodlines) was right at my fingertips.  I brought up the Google homepage and simply typed in the phrase “Marie Antoinette”.  Lo and behold, the very first item on the results list had everything I’d ever want to know about this woman.

Marie Antoinette was French (phew), and it’s true that she was beheaded.  My random guess was correct, thankfully, and therefore, my basic premise was not flawed.  However, I learned a lot about this woman in just four short paragraphs that would influence my imaginary period piece greatly: 

Did you know that she helped to end France’s financial crisis of that day?  Did you know that she, along with her husband King Louis XVI, was an agent of social and political change at the time and was therefore known far and wide as a loose cannon?  How about that time when she was forced to watch as the head of her best friend was paraded about before her on a pole?

It turns out that Marie Antoinette had an astonishing story, and one that was so outlandish and exciting that if I had not done research on this incredible woman, I would have done her no justice in my story (not to mention the fact that I’d be attacked by historical buffs).

See what I’m getting at?

I went from knowing that a French woman got beheaded to developing an actual feel for the political trauma of the French Revolution.  I got shivers when I read about how her best friend’s head was treated right in front of her.  I now understand so much more about what I’m writing than when I started. 

I could really write something now!  Instead of just randomly throwing my characters into the crowd at her beheading (something everyone knows about), I could instead have them watching as she catches her first glimpse of the head of her best friend on a pole.  I could tell the story from the vantage point of the mob that accused her of high treason.  I could make my main characters reflect on the shifting, unseen politics behind the French Revolution. 

In short, I could make this story more real because I researched the topic.

Realism is what this column is about, and though I used a roundabout way to show it, I believe strongly that research is a prime ingredient in the realistic brew.  Some authors will disagree with me; this is just my opinion.  However, I always respect a story more if it’s obviously been researched.

Avoiding the “You’ve-Got-That-Wrong” Review Through Research

We’ve all had that review.  The one that sinks your ship completely.  The one that says, “What the heck are you talking about?  Cerberus had three heads, not five, and the Greek’s name for the lord of the underworld was ‘Hades’, not ‘Aita’!  Get a clue, you loony bin!”

Yep.  I’ve had them too, although my ‘realism catchers’ were much nicer than the above example, and I hope yours are as well.  The thing is, if you’re writing about something that’s fairly common knowledge but that you know nothing about, you’re going to get slammed for your fictitious knowledge (and thereby, your lack of realism) at one point in your career.  If you drop your character into Heracles’ world in the ancient times, you can bet your buns that you have to do some research into those times.  There will be someone online who’s recently taken a World of Rome class, and you’re going to catch it from them if you’ve got Heracles and company dressed up in combat boots instead of lion skins.

 Research, research, research.  Even a trip to Wikipedia is a good place to start – they know everything there, and you’ll at least be well on your way to understanding the basic premise of the times or the character that you’re trying to portray.  It’s just like my foray into Marie Antoinette’s world.  That’s what’s great about the internet – with just one click, you have thousands of years of world history at your beck and call.

How Much Do You Have to Research?

            This brings me to my next point:  How much do you really have to research for a topic that you know nothing about?  After all, the information and opinions expressed on the internet (and other sources) are virtually endless.  When should you stop reading and start writing?

            Unfortunately, there’s really no sure way to tell.  What you can do to help yourself decide, however, is to ask yourself these three simple questions:  1)  Is this generally common knowledge – even if I don’t know much about it, do most people?  2)  How badly will I offend someone if I post this misguided material?  3) How much of a break do I think my readers will be willing to give me?

These are the three questions I ask myself when I’m researching and I really want to stop.  Let me reiterate something:  Like I said in Issue 1, I am not an authority.  You should form your own opinions about how much research is sufficient to meet your goals.  Feel free to make up your own questions!  You know your story better than I do.  These three questions, however, have been working pretty well for me.

Question 1:  Is this generally common knowledge – even if I don’t know much about it, do most people? 

We can’t all know everything.  Combine all of the minds of the great and brainy folks on the internet and you still won’t know how everything in the universe works.  My brilliant physicist roommate knows everything about engineering and flight patterns and all manner of crazy stuff, but she doesn’t have the first idea about the function of the four stomachs of a cow.  That’s why she has to ask me about animals, just like I have to rely on her for math help.

What’s the point?  Even if you don’t know something, it doesn’t mean that no one else knows it.  It might even be that most people know it, and you just missed out somewhere!  Ask yourself:  Did I simply drift off in World History one time too many?  How many people can really locate Bhutan on a map?  Is this common knowledge in another part of the world?  If you answered “yes”, “lots”, and “of course” to the above questions, you might want to consider doing more research than you had originally planned.

            Question 2:  How badly will I offend someone if I post the wrong material?

            Ah, this is a tricky one.  I’ve made the mistake many a time of thinking to myself, “Hmm…what are the chances that someone will be offended if I tweak the facts just slightly?”  The answer varies from story to story, and so you must make your own decision.  I have seen reviews where loyal fans of (what’s-his-face who plays guitar) for (insert flash-in-the-pan band here) are so upset because the author got (what’s-his-face’s sister’s husband’s uncle’s) name wrong.  Other times, I’ve seen authors get away with switching Chicago’s geography for Gotham City’s. 

It’s just a judgment call that you have to make.  If you think you can get away with it, by all means put away the huge textbooks and start typing.  If you feel a little leery of the situation, though, and think that someone might object to your situational ignorance, you might want to hit the books again.

Question 3:  How much of a break do I think my readers will be willing to give me?

            Ah, the looming question of reader acceptance.  This ties in with the second question, but with a slight tweak:  If the readers are offended, how offended will they be?  It’s a tricky question, and sometimes you just have to ignore your reader’s perceived opinions in favor of staying true to your writing.  Again, it’s simply a judgment call.

I recently had a reader become so offended over the fact that I changed a fictional character’s sexual preference (which was ambiguous, in my defense) that the only comment they left me for the entire story was, “How come he couldn’t be with a girl, huh?!!!!eleventyonemillion!”  I didn’t bother to reply because I knew going into the story that I would offend some people… and that I would offend some people to the point where they wouldn’t read the story any more.  It was my call and I made it, and, as you can see, I paid for it. 

Other times, I have made enormous mistakes in many different instances, and though I was reminded gently by some of my reviewers that I really wasn’t on track, on the whole the readers decided to give me a break.  I made the call not to do more research, and for these instances, I ended up okay.

            Let’s look at another example:  My baby, my masterpiece, my much-loved story that at times was terribly unresearched.  Let’s see how reviewers reacted to Act III, and discuss whether or not I should have done more research.

Realism Critique:  Act III by Espantalho

            It’s always kind of fun to rip apart your own work, but you’d never be able to do it without an outside opinion or two.  Fortunately, reviewers abound and many of them won’t pull their punches!  It’s tough love and you need it to become a better writer.  I know it helped me immeasurably.

            Let’s look at two specific instances in Act III and see whether or not I got away with the blatantly unrealistic premise in question, and whether or not the people who reviewed that story were willing to give me a break.

Instance 1:  The story begins with a soccer match.  I know – and knew at the time – nothing about soccer, and I really couldn’t be bothered to learn too much about it.  After all, it was the first chapter of my story, and I wanted to get the characters out there, not meticulously research their setting!

            Whoops.  Not only do I not sound credible when I’m describing the soccer matches, but I got called on it!  In fact, I know so little about soccer that I figured, hey, let’s have a college team score seven goals in the championship round!

As I said, I was called on it.  As one nice reviewer gently pointed out, “Max's team made seven goals? …That's really a lot of goals for just one game. Usually, around five goals (at most) are scored in one match, both teams put together.”  Of course, this reviewer was right, though they claimed not to be an expert on the sport.  It is true that most teams never get seven goals to their name in a single game – unless the opposing team is really, really bad.  Oops.  If I had researched more than just the simplest rules of soccer, I would not have made that mistake.

Time to make a decision:  Should I have researched the game of soccer more?  Let’s consider:  The character in question is a ‘soccer star’, meaning that soccer is an intense and integral part of his life.  All major character plotlines should be thoroughly researched, in my opinion, and that means gathering more than simple sound bytes on the game of soccer. 

Let’s go back to the three questions:  Are soccer and its rules commonly known?  Yes.  Many people follow soccer, or ‘football’ as it’s known in the rest of the world, and the intensity of the World Cup proves it.  Next question:  How badly will I offend someone by posting this misguided material?  Probably not very much; as I am not insulting the integrity of the game or a particular team, it’s likely not a big deal to most people.  Finally, the third question:  How much of a break will my readers be willing to give me?  Answer:  Generally, a lot of slack was given to me by my readers.  Only the most enthusiastic of soccer fans would get down on me hard for something so small, and all of my reviewers were willing to cut me some slack, even the one that gently pointed out my mistake.

Bottom line:  Perhaps it would have been better if I’d made the announcers of the match make a bigger deal out of the score.  Likelier, though, is that I should have taken more time to research the topic, especially since it’s so important to the character.  The reviewer was right to call me on it.

Instance 2:  Incomplete research on a major character flaw.  This is the worst mistake any author can make, and we’ve all made it before.  I did it in Act III with Eddie, the protagonist.  It came about quite suddenly and snowballed into a massive problem within two chapters. 

I was in a fix one day.  I wanted to create a reason to make protagonist Eddie aloof; that way, I could give him reason to keep potential mates at bay.  I wanted him to suffer in a unique way after experiencing a harsh breakup.  So what did I do?  I made him undergo a panic attack after said significant other left him.  That’s right:  I gave him Chronic Anxiety Disorder.

You can see where the problem might lie.  Panic attacks are hard to explain, medically and in fiction.  I did little research, as I was impatient to load the next chapter of the story.  It was a ‘quick fix’ that rapidly developed into a major problem, as is characteristic of all ‘quick fixes’.

I still don’t know much about panic attacks.  I know that it looks like an asthma attack sometimes, and that it doesn’t last long, and that it can be controlled by drugs.  I Googled the affliction briefly when I was writing it into my story, and I learned just enough to get me through the chapter.  I flipped through the drugs prescribed to patients with CAD and randomly picked one.  Boom.  I had my conflict.

What’s the problem, then?  Well, it turned out that no one else knew about panic attacks, either, so I was safe.  However, had someone who actually knew about the disorder been online and reading my story, I would have really caught it from them.  Why?  I didn’t research well enough.  I gave Eddie such a severe reaction to the breakup that he was no longer having a panic attack, per se.  It was more like a complete mental breakdown.  I’m still not sure how many people end up in the mental hospital because of a panic attack, but the character did, and looking back on it, that seems unrealistic to me.

Decision time again:  Should I have done more research?  Let’s review the three questions:  Is this knowledge common?  The answer, fortunately for my story, was no.  Very few people are truly educated on the onset, symptoms, and progression of panic attacks, and specifically of Chronic Anxiety Disorder.  My pharmacist friend reprimanded me roundly for my use of the anti-anxiety drug Buspar as a remedy for these attacks, since Buspar wasn’t around in this time period, nor was it widely used when it was around.  Again, though, this is not common knowledge.  From the vantage point of question one, I’m safe.  On to question two:  How badly would I offend someone if I posted this misguided material? 

This is tricky.  Everyone these days wants to be ‘politically correct’, and many more people than before will take offense if you present a medical disorder in what they perceive to be an unsympathetic light.  A reader might have mistaken my vague terms (which were really an attempt to disguise my ignorance) for a frank and cold dismissal of the disorder.  This is especially problematic because if an author writes about more controversial diseases than CAD in more contentious situations, you can bet your bum that someone’s going to take offense somehow.  Not researching something thoroughly just makes it worse.

On the other hand, not many people do know about the disorder that I was writing about, so I might have been okay. 

Finally, the last question:  How much slack did my readers cut me?  Answer:  A lot.  I don’t know if it was just because I managed to cover my butt well enough, or just the fact that it was interesting enough to let go, but I was never reprimanded.  In fact, most people liked it.  I’m glad they did.  The research I had done on the disorder had been fairly extensive already, and I had worked hard on it.  Next time, though, I will work harder.

Bottom line:  I was vague enough in my descriptions to be safe and I didn’t offend anyone, but you can bet that the next time I write about Eddie’s disorder I’ll be ready.

            There you have it.  Many of my wonderful reviewers complimented me on the overall realism of the story, and that made me very happy, especially considering the above flaws.  This just goes to show you that you can make mistakes and still come out swinging.

How Should I Research?

            Now the question you’re asking yourself is, where should I go to research my weapon, disease, or aeronautical machine?  Well, there are many ways to research something, and only you can decide which one is right for you and your story.  Here’s what I think, though:

            If you are not desperate to update your story as soon as you slam out the last paragraph, and you really want to make an impression, you should hit the local public library.  Libraries are experiencing a huge decline in popularity now that the internet is king, but they’re still nice places to find your setting, mood, or character.  The best part is that there’s something that you can get in libraries that you can’t on the internet:  Newspapers.

            Libraries catalogue newspapers and keep them until their pages wither away into dust.  If you ever need to research a time period, if you ever need to see how people thought way back when, the newspaper section of your local library would be your best bet.  Don’t go to the internet for this; dust off your library card and hunt!

            That said, I will now contradict myself:  Anything you could ever want will be on the internet, and that includes news events.  It’s not the same as a newspaper, but it’s still there if you’re feeling impatient or the library’s resources aren’t good enough.  Yes, everything is on the Web.  I could type gibberish into the search bar in any search engine and come up with something.  Therefore, if you are not after the ‘feel’ of a time and are just looking for information on a topic, like ‘Marie Antoinette’ or ‘Chronic Anxiety Disorder’, the internet is your best bet.  Just make sure you use credible sources. 

What’s a credible source?  Bear in mind that anyone can make a web page – but the URL will end in a .com or .net or something like that if they do.  A credible source would end in something like .gov, .edu, or .org.  These groups are funded either by the government, a school, or a reputable organization. 

Generally, simply cross-referencing your data from one website with that on another will help you learn if the data you’re reading is actually fact.

About Time This Issue Was Over!  Can We Go Write Now?

            Once again, I wrote you a novel on one tiny subject.  I’m sorry.  The next issue will be shorter, I promise! 

            Before you go, though, let’s recap: 

Research is essential to realism because it gives you more good, solid facts to work with and also a good ‘feel’ for the situation your characters find themselves in.  Ask yourself the three important questions if you’re deciding whether or not to continue your research – they’ve worked for me and might do the same for you.  Make up your own rules for realism if mine don’t work!  Like I’ve said before, I’m no expert, and the rules by no means apply to everyone.

Most of all, don’t sweat it too much!  You know the saying, “Write what you know?”  Whoever wrote that saying knew what he or she was talking about.  If you just sit back and let what you know take over, you might just end up with something credible.  Otherwise, research, research, research, and I’ll see you in Issue 3.  I promise that it will be shorter.

Keepin’ It Real

Issue 1

06-04-06

Welcome to the first issue of Keepin’ It Real, an online column whose sole purpose is to deal with the aspect of writing that everyone, everyone struggles with: Realism. Realism is a tough booger that undoubtedly has been the cause of wrinkled brows and smashed keyboards around the world. Often a story with potential will get only a few reviews because the average reader simply finds the plot or the characters much too fantastic to be believed. In the worst case scenario, an otherwise talented author’s ‘baby’ will get ignored because the readers believe – correctly or incorrectly – that the author needs a reality check. 

Most online writers get their start in fanfiction. I did, too. What’s the allure of fanfiction, you ask? Well, the simple answer is that, in fanfiction, the writer doesn’t have to make absolutely everything up. There are already premade characters and settings just waiting for the writer to use them – and all the writer has to do is tweak the plot a little bit. It’s the hundred-watt bulb of writing, and a whole lot of moths get their first writing fix there. 

One day, however, many aspiring authors wake up and realize that they’re sick of playing with somebody else’s toys. They want to make their own stories. This realization can either be a festering desire that suddenly explodes one day onto the computer screen, or it can be a spontaneous decision. Either way, the hopeful author’s fingers are filled with this sudden itch to create… and that’s when things can start to get ugly. 

I have so been there. The problem is that the author wants so badly to get to the climax of the story or to show off their wonderfully thought-out characters that they abandon their innate sense of reality in order to get there. It’s truly hard to not succumb to this instinct: The author wants to give the reader their absolute best immediately, and sometimes reality is simply a casualty of this course of action. I’ve done it. We’ve all done it; admit it! There’s no shortage of examples: 

Two very different characters that should have had a hard time adjusting to each other ‘magically’ connect over a mysterious memento in a witch’s lair located approximately in the Middle of Nowhere. A lifelong Minion of Evil abruptly realizes his mistakes when faced with evidence his crimes in his dreams; immediately he throws himself into the mercy of his lifelong enemies, who work for the Pure Cause of Noblest Good. Amazingly enough, said baddy never has trouble getting away from his cronies and/or bosses, never experiences the general disdain or mistrust of the team, and – heavens, no – never feels the urge to go back to the Dark Side. (I am personally guilty of that particular mischaracterization.) How about the spindly teenage girl who comes out of left field in order to lift that great, two-hundred-pound sword and chop of the baddy’s head? 

See what I mean? Any of the above plotlines would be a great read if the author handled it well and gave a good explanation for the scenario. However, that rarely – if ever – happens, and most often the reader must choose either to abandon his or her sense of reality and forge ahead, or to pass up an otherwise interesting read in favor of something more grounded. 

That is what this column is all about. I may get sidetracked sometimes – see my bio for evidence – but that’s the general idea. I would, however, just like to say this once and for all: I am not an authority. I am not employed by any editing company, nor do I write professionally. Actually, I’m hoping to become a veterinarian some day in the distant future. This is just my take on things! So please, please, do not take my words as the final say on anything. Consult someone professional, who actually gets paid for this stuff (those lucky ducks).

What is “Realism”?

The first thing I think we have to do is agree on definitions for the very vague terms “real” and “realism”. We won’t go into any deep philosophical and Matrix-esque rants, but we should at least determine what those two words mean in relation to fiction. 

There are two working definitions, I think, for the term “real” as is applicable to the writing world: (1) A technique that makes the story come alive for the reader, and (2) The simple act of making things realistic. 

(1) A technique that makes the story come alive for the reader. What I mean by this is that the story becomes something very tangible to the reader. The author uses such brilliant imagery, for example, that the reader can imagine it for themselves – and I mean really imagine it. Often, readers will get a lukewarm visual in their heads if they really try for it, but it’s rare that imagery is employed to such perfection that the reader can really believe that they’re breathing in the air of New York City from their homes in San Diego. Obviously, realism can be employed using many different literary devices, not just imagery. Using realistic dialogue and context is also a great way to make this happen. 

(2) The simple act of making things realistic. It’s such a simple definition, yet it opens a whole can of worms in the literary world. With every sentence, the author must stop and ask himself or herself, “Is this believable?” Realism is important. It’s important not only for the sake of your reader’s interest, but for your own integrity as an author. You could make your one-hundred-pound teenage valley girl lop off the war-seasoned bad guy’s head with the heaviest broadsword, and you could do it well. However, most people automatically – and unconsciously – dock your story points for such a silly proposal. Once people begin to deduct points from your story, it becomes easier and easier for them to see other, more minor mistakes in your writing, and they become more and more easily persuaded to stop reading. It’s a lose-lose situation for both of you: They’ve wasted their time, and you’ve lost a potential reader. 

Both of these definitions are viable and work in any given situation. The first definition applies more to the five senses than anything else – it’s a good way to reel a reader in and keep them hooked. The second definition operates more on a logical level – if it’s simply not believable, chances are it won’t fly with readers. So, keep these definitions in mind as you read, and feel free to use your own definition! It’s not like I swallowed the dictionary, and “real” means many different things to many different people. 

Another point: All aspects of realism work together to make a realistic product. For instance, if you combine the positive, tangible imagery from definition one, your story will become that much more realistic in the sense of definition two. These two definitions work in tandem, and it’s a good idea to make more use of one if you can’t get the other to work out right. 

To make something realistic doesn’t mean it can’t be fantasy, or even fantastic in nature. It just means that the story should have an element of logic to it. Plenty of fantasy stories are more realistic than stories about Average Joe. 

For this issue, we’ll be focusing on definition two: The simple act of making things realistic. Future issues may combine the two or focus on other definitions, but we’ll stick with the basics for today. All right, let’s move on.

Why is realism so dang important, anyway?

It’s easy to discount realism. After all, it’s your world, and if Mary Sue’s personal gravity suddenly gets reversed to the point where she can leap over tall buildings, that’s her own business, right? 

Well, yes. That’s totally your prerogative. However, Mary Sue and her new Unparalleled Leaping Maneuver can hurt you in so many different ways, it’s almost impossible to list them all off. The one-word answer for your problem, however, is logos. 

Logos literally means “word” in Greek, and was modified to become synonymous with “reason” by the philosopher Heraclites and his students. Reason was a powerful force in this ancient era; rhetoricians debated all day and night in those times over the simplest things. The question of the reason behind everything drove the ancient philosophers; Aristotle himself believed that the human capacity to grasp and follow reason defined us as a species. This line of thought is still evident today: It seems that everyone wants to know the reason behind other people’s actions (which is probably why “motive” is such a popular word in court). Even toddlers want to know the reason behind their mother’s refusal to give them another cookie. 

Reason, then, has been an important concept in history. Need more convincing? 

Any modern rhetorician will tell you that in order to make a good speech, you have to connect to your audience, and that you have to do it multiple times… and beyond that, you should relate to the audience in a different way every time. How are you going to do that if your characters are always perfect, or if you give readers no sense of familiarity in your futuresque space setting? 

You have to explain everything, and it’s hard to do – trust me. You have to make your characters believable. If Mary Sue is unexpectedly magicked into Ewok Land from her bed at home on Earth, don’t take the easy way out by making her fluent in Ewokese! Make her struggle with the Ewok language! Get her in trouble! Readers will connect with her, I guarantee it. They’ll say, “Hey, that’s what I would do in that situation!” You’ll have them hooked. (Note: I’ve noticed that a little self-deprecating humor never hurt a character either, especially in these situations.) Bottom line: Bring the story to your readers. After all, it’s them you’re writing for, right? 

Everyone will trip up once in a while. An otherwise realistic chapter story might stumble and fall in one of the final chapters – this is the case with my most recent story. I thought that after nineteen chapters of more or less realistic situations I could juice up the story slightly by making the two main characters randomly meet up in Times Square on New Year’s Eve. It turns out that most readers were willing to cut me some slack, and a lot of people liked it, but a handful of reviewers gently told me off for being so silly – good for them! What are the chances of two people meeting up in New York on New Year’s Eve? they asked. Answer: Slim to nothing. They were right. Oops. 

So remember: To keep a reader’s interest, keep it real! Make things logical and believable, even if it’s a fantasy story. Characters without motives or super powers beyond explanation will only put a reader to sleep.

How to look for and add realism:

Once again, I am not the only point of view out there. Many people hold very different views on realism; many will argue that realism is really not that important at all. Those that share my point of view, however, would also debate with me on the best way to add the right stuff to a story. The devices I use in my stories to try to add realism are different from those that other writers employ. There are so many ways to find realism and add it to a story. However, I’ll tell you what I do: 

I take off my rose-colored glasses and just look at things. If I’m trying to juice up a scene where a character is walking down a city street, I just go outside and look. I look for the details. Is the manhole in the middle of the street askew? Plug it into the description. What are the attitudes of the other people walking? Are they turned away from the wind? Do they ignore the beggar on the curb? Do they cast longing glances towards the coffee shop across the way? Put it in, put it in, put it in! 

This works well for any situation. So many things get ignored in every day life. We just assume that a story would become redundant and boring if we include those everyday, everyman items. Not so! Sometimes it’s refreshing to see a line about the state of someone’s television instead of the show that’s currently playing on it. 

The television example plays into another technique many authors use when they’re stuck, and it’s definitely something you should try once in a while. When you look at something, ask yourself what the first thing is that you notice about that object. Then cast that first impression aside. Think about something else. Write something unique. 

Say a character walks into a room where a family is watching a Disney movie on the television. Would it be more interesting for the character to expel a monologue on the plot of The Little Mermaid, which everyone has seen, or would it be better if the character instead focused on the tiny handprints in the dust atop the television, suggesting that the children have been up to no good? Yeah, I’d pick the second option, too. It just sounds fresher. It sounds more real. 

There you have it – two techniques for searching out realism and adding it to your story. If the scenario you’re drawing up is something you do every day, take off your Everyman Goggles and look – really look – at just what it is you’re writing about. If you’ve got an object in your sights that has multiple characteristics, don’t just pick the first one that comes to mind. Look at it! Write about its personality. Then you’ll see what life – and reality – is really all about.

In the next issue:

Well, that’s it for Issue 1. Hopefully we got the basics out of the way and can move on to more complex issues next time. Unless someone asks me to talk about another topic, next time we’ll be looking at some setting and dialogue examples, and also how credibility and research factor into realism. Thanks for reading, and if you want to leave a comment about this issue or column, go right ahead. I appreciate feedback of all types.