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Why don't readers understand 'fantasy'

SimonDoom said:
My general rule as a reader is that I'm willing to suspend disbelief in a big way once in a story, and after that the author needs to work within the framework of that suspension and not keep asking me to suspend disbelief many times. But I can suspend disbelief about just about anything if the author is skillful.

What's funny is that the LW readers aren't willing to suspend disbelief in certain ways even though there are real world stories that prove it's legitimate to do so. They say things like "no couple that loved each other would do this" (not true) or "they'd all get STDs" (maybe, but people in the real world ignore this possibility all the time). But they'd happily read a story about aliens visiting earth or about time travel, so long as no wife got away with cheating or unprotected sex. It's a strange world here.
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I don't necessarily consider suspending disbelief to happen in occurences or flashes as you've described, because I've often seen that the effect encompasses an entire concept or story. But I agree with what you're saying. There's a limit, a line that can't be crossed before it breaks my immersion.

And truth can be stranger than fiction, and often is. Which is why with a good deal of comments actually reflect more about the person commenting than the characters they are complaining about. Sometimes "No one would do that in real life" might actually translate better to "I wouldn't do that in real life". But that's a little bit of projection that cannot be helped on the part of a reader I think. We all do that a little from time to time.
 
As the OP is pointing out, the edge of tolerance is very low for some readers. That's not going to change, though, and I see no reason to cater to the lowest denomination on this unless, as an author here, you're still thinking there's some sweet spot that satisfies "the reader" here and wins you a gold crown.
 
Generally, stories set in the real world create the expectation that real world rules applies. [1]

If it has teachers and students, I at least would expect the characters to act like humans act in their given culture, and I'd move on if the action became unrealistic. [2]

In other words, you don't get to play the "It's Fantasy!" card if you're writing it like it's real world events. [3]
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Or just keep doing what you like. Sure some people won't like it, but you'll get that no matter what you do.
[1] Why ? I think it merely creates a situation (a backdrop ?) upon which the story events happen.
[2] The whole point of our stories is that the described events CAN happen (but usually don't for legal or moral reasons?)
[3] Of course you can. It's not supposed to be so real!
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[1] Well, that's not how I see it. If I settle in to read a story about the real world, I want it to seem, well, real. Nothing ruins a story for me faster than a realistic setting and then sudden mistakes that make it clear the author has no idea how, say, basic physics, or computer software, or even the behaviour of supposedly sane people, works. Ignorance about the real world is a massive turn off.

Now that's not the same as the deliberate introduction of a fantasy element, I love stories like Sylvie and Bruno, that put reality and fantasy side by side and start weaving them together. I do it myself in some stories, like Chosen. But those are not "real world" stories - they are fantasy with an interweaving of the world we understand, to make points and amuse.

[2] That's rarely the point of my stories; to each their own.

[3] Real is fun. So is fantasy. I'm not too fond of "it's supposed to!" in writing guidelines, especially here.
 
There's Fantasy, and then there are fantasies. The vast majority of LIT pieces are, to most readers, quite fantastic and unrealistic. LIT's audience are here for wet-dreams, not reality. The real world is out there somewhere, problematically impinging on sexual tales.

Most LIT pieces don't include Fantasy critters. Orcs, succubi, unicorns, superheroines, and double-dicked Rigelians imply that normal reality is irrelevant. The audience for such is a large niche but smaller that those seeking incest fantasies. The quotidian Real World is merely a fashionable backdrop for horny readers.
 
I wish management policed the politics around here. Start with post #27
 
I get the same thing happening on my current storyline "A Slut's Triangle". My choice isn't to immediately bring in cops to the storyline other than the use of it as a bluff. The situation that I'm trying to show is that T-girls rarely report acts of violence committed against them outta fear or embarassment. There are other solutions to a situation within a story whether it's fictional or truth based. Sometimes I feel like people that read a story tend to read the newspaper more often than a fictional story and associate the real world with the fiction. Maybe they don't know how to let go of reality for a short period of time and embrace a make-believe world?👠👠👠Kant🌹
 
SimonDoom said:
My general rule as a reader is that I'm willing to suspend disbelief in a big way once in a story, and after that the author needs to work within the framework of that suspension and not keep asking me to suspend disbelief many times. But I can suspend disbelief about just about anything if the author is skillful.

What's funny is that the LW readers aren't willing to suspend disbelief in certain ways even though there are real world stories that prove it's legitimate to do so. They say things like "no couple that loved each other would do this" (not true) or "they'd all get STDs" (maybe, but people in the real world ignore this possibility all the time). But they'd happily read a story about aliens visiting earth or about time travel, so long as no wife got away with cheating or unprotected sex. It's a strange world here.
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I had a comment on an LW story the other day that was along those lines. One Anon said that the story was shit because "98% of all marriages trying sharing swinging swaping or cuckolding get divorced." Besides the fact that he pulled the statistic out of his ass -- couldn't he have accepted that this story was about those other 2%? That's like saying it's unrealistic to have a story where the protagonist is a cop because only 0.3% of the population is a police officer. :)
 
NOIRTRASH said:
I wish management policed the politics around here. Start with post #27
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Report them. I don't have time to read every thread every day. The post in question has been removed.

If someone wishes to express their political views, we have a politics section of the forum for it. Political posts will either be moved or removed when found on the AH.

I have no control over signatures or avatar images. If you have a problem with those, you will need to report them to Laurel.
 
Homebound, the question is who are you writing this for? Is it your fantasy? It's your story to tell. You either write for you, or you write for the reader. If it's for you, you don't need to even consider the comments. If you write for them, you lose a portion of yourself and have to cater to their whims. It's a simple choice.
 
tomlitilia said:
I had a comment on an LW story the other day that was along those lines. One Anon said that the story was shit because "98% of all marriages trying sharing swinging swaping or cuckolding get divorced." Besides the fact that he pulled the statistic out of his ass -- couldn't he have accepted that this story was about those other 2%? That's like saying it's unrealistic to have a story where the protagonist is a cop because only 0.3% of the population is a police officer. :)
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Exactly. If you wrote a story about unicorns you'd get LW Anon trolls telling you that you are a piece of shit because real horses wouldn't want to have horns on their heads, and you must hate horses.
 
SimonDoom said:
Exactly. If you wrote a story about unicorns you'd get LW Anon trolls telling you that you are a piece of shit because real horses wouldn't want to have horns on their heads, and you must hate horses.
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Oh, hell. You could be the author of something like Gone with the Wind and still get trolled. Everyone's a critic. Just brush 'em off and laugh at them. :D
 
SweetWitch said:
Oh, hell. You could be the author of something like Gone with the Wind and still get trolled. Everyone's a critic. Just brush 'em off and laugh at them. :D
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We are on the road, an extended journey aacross the continent. We consult with TripAdvisor and Yelp etc to pick eateries, attractions, layovers etc. We study the reviews and ratings. Any five-star place laden with Excellent ratings usually has some Terrible votes. Moral: Ya can't please everyone.

BTW I'd rate GWTW at three stars out of five. Y'all can guess the reasons.
 
Hypoxia said:
We are on the road, an extended journey aacross the continent. We consult with TripAdvisor and Yelp etc to pick eateries, attractions, layovers etc. We study the reviews and ratings. Any five-star place laden with Excellent ratings usually has some Terrible votes. Moral: Ya can't please everyone.

BTW I'd rate GWTW at three stars out of five. Y'all can guess the reasons.
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It's still a fine piece of Literature. Some of it's passages conjure such great emotion, it's striking. "The first green is golden".
 
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