A Conversation for Writing Right with Dmitri: Fictional Exemptions
Suspension of Disbelief
minorvogonpoet Started conversation Dec 16, 2018
It's the business of suspension of disbelief, isn't it? There's a kind of agreement between the audience and the writers. The audience want to be entertained, and they're prepared to give the writers a certain amount of leeway. But the amount of leeway varies according to what the audience is watching or reading.
If the audience is watching a police procedural set in New York, they expect characters who could plausibly be policemen and settings that resemble New York.
If they're watching, or reading fantasy stories set on a discworld, like Terry Pratchett, or all over the galaxy, like Douglas Adams, they might accept all sorts of games with time and space. Maybe they still want characters with whom they have some sympathy - Sam Vimes or Arthur Dent perhaps?
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Suspension of Disbelief
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