Reality

IOMfAtS

All good fiction is based upon reality.

I wonder if that is really all I need to say about the topic? Let's let it stand for a moment.

"But my story is about magic!"

So it is. And the magic is really only five percent or so of your story. The balance has recognisable relationships, geography, language and all the rest. Trekkies will acknowledge that Star Trek works because of the reality in the shows. We can argue about plot and production qualities all we like, but look at the reality. Harry Potter works because it is grounded in reality.

Your story's world has gravity, physics, love, romance, sex, people of various flavours, some with interesting abilities, others without. It has vegetation or desert, buildings or not, and is 100% familiar even in unfamiliarity. We can picture ourselves there.

The people in your story live in hierarchies, have problems, have wishes, hopes, dreams.

We can suspend our disbelief for the five percent of strangeness provided we stay with the things that are real to us. That is as true with SciFi as it is with a thriller or with romantic fiction.

And that is what I mean when I say that all good fiction is based upon reality.

Segments

Writing Masterclass

Authors, How Useful | Readers, How Interesting is this Masterclass?
Vote for every answer you find appropriate
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I'm an author - Very Useful
I'm an author - I learned some things
I'm an author - Interesting, but not useful for my work
I'm an author - I will contribute to this
As a reader - Wow, there's a lot to it
As a reader - I picked up a few things
As a reader - I am now thinking of writing
As a reader - a bit of a yawn, really
As a reader - I will contribute to this


Current Results

Not all of these segments are complete, and more will be added over time. Existing segments will be updated from time to time. You may want to contribute yourself. Please do. This is a work in progress