Realism, when to use it and when to let it go.

[lovecraft68]

We all know all stories here and fiction and fantasy and as such suspend belief. But some authors more so than others.

Everyone writes differently and for different effect, people who write stroke for example are more apt to toss in 10" long freakishly thick cocks and triple E breasts, have guys who can get it up eight times and with only a few minutes in between and everyone man and woman alike comes like a fountain.

Other people who are writing something more story driven try to keep things more real. Try to create characters and situations people can relate to and even sex people can say "well, I could do that".

But at some point reality becomes a buzzkill and we have to cut loose, either that or risk a story so realistic people no longer see it as fantasy.

But where do you cut it off? Is it a solid line in your mental sand? Is it based on genre as some suspend belief by nature more than others, is it story to story and when you reach that point is it easy?

My recent story features a porn star. She has someone comes up and says he thinks she look familiar. There's some cat and mouse as she is pretty sure he already knows from where, but he's teasing of course she denies it.

The point of the scene was her being increasingly aware she will be ousted at some point so it was meant as a 'scare' and served its purpose in the story. After I finished the entire piece and edited it and I'm looking at it fresh it dawns on me.

In this day and age, almost everyone has their damn phone in their hand 24/7 and no longer think about anything, they look everything up, "Siri what time is it"

meaning in real life I could picture what this person would really do is look up the porn star on his phone, bring up a pic and then show it to her. That would be the way it would really happen, but that would be extra writing and she couldn't deny it etc...so I left it be, but the detail now nags at me...I can hear a reader now "why didn't he use his phone"

And our answer "Its a damn story"

In the end this is why Gandalf didn't simply plop Frodo on the back of a giant eagle and have him fly over Mordor and toss the ring in Mt Doom, there would not have been a story.

 

[NOIRTRASH]

For me Laurel creates conditions that require whopping measures of bull shit to win her approval. I read a swtory from the 1950s yesterday, it passed the scrutiny of the times, when most porn classics couldn't, but wont pass her standards, because many of the characters are teens doing what we did back then. The story is an early effort by Lawrence Block.

 

[NotWise]

meaning in real life I could picture what this person would really do is look up the porn star on his phone, bring up a pic and then show it to her. That would be the way it would really happen, but that would be extra writing and she couldn't deny it etc...so I left it be, but the detail now nags at me...I can hear a reader now "why didn't he use his phone"

I don't know if I've ever seen a porn star in real life. They shoot a lot of movies here, but not porn as far as I know. I expect that without the makeup, lighting, post-production processing and costume, a porn star might be pretty unrecognizable. He could pull up a picture and she might still be able to deny it.

But then again, that would be another element of reality you might not want to include.

Erotica is largely fantasy and some genre's are complete fantasy. You wouldn't want reality in your incest stories, for instance. You probably wouldn't even want reality in butt sex.

I try to keep my characters realistic, even if the things they do may not be. I also like elements in the stories that are utterly fantastic.

 

[lovecraft68]

I don't know if I've ever seen a porn star in real life. They shoot a lot of movies here, but not porn as far as I know. I expect that without the makeup, lighting, post-production processing and costume, a porn star might be pretty unrecognizable. He could pull up a picture and she might still be able to deny it.

But then again, that would be another element of reality you might not want to include.

Erotica is largely fantasy and some genre's are complete fantasy. You wouldn't want reality in your incest stories, for instance. You probably wouldn't even want reality in butt sex.

I try to keep my characters realistic, even if the things they do may not be. I also like elements in the stories that are utterly fantastic.

To prove your point about four years ago I went out to Vegas with a couple of other people from work for a trade show.

Now you know Vegas, hot women everywhere and hookers galore, they come in by the busload, literally, so seeing hot scantily clad women everywhere is not unusual.

I'm wandering around and I end up hanging around in a corridor to wait for the other guys. There's a an attractive brunette standing next to me, not dressed what I would say was trashy, but sexy little one piece number. But hair back, not much make up, not really putting it out there.

She made a comment about the tattoo on my forearm, asking what it meant(its in Latin) and I told her and then we chatted about fifteen minutes, nothing flirty, just shooting the shit, but she's giving me this kind of weird look, like expectant. I'm figuring maybe she's waiting for me to hit on her, but I'm married and not a what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas type.

My co worker comes over to me so quickly he looks like he's going to trip and says hi to her with this dumb ass look on her face and says its a pleasure to meet her, she immediately gets a bit of a tone and says, yeah sure then says it was nice talking to a 'gentlemen' and leaves.

The Adult film expo was there in the same venue and I'd been talking to sasha grey and had no clue it was her even though I've seen quite a few of her scenes. Its amazing what some hair style/make up and most importantly setting can change an appearance, so that look I guess was her waiting for me to say "are you?" but I was oblivious and better off I doubt she would have been friendly if I started yapping about her movies.

I used a bit of that in the story as to why she wasn't out right recognizable including outside her job she wore nothing but jeans and baggy t-shirts

 

[sr71plt]

You could have her meet me. I don't have a cell phone with a screen. I've seen "a few" porn stars on the computer, but I don't normally carry one around turned on when I am bumping into porn stars in RL.

Beyond that, I don't think the question has a universal answer.

 

[Handley_Page]

LC, I think I've read that story.
The absence of a phone never occurred to me.

 

[TamLin01]

I could picture what this person would really do is look up the porn star on his phone, bring up a pic and then show it to her.

I actually don't think anybody would do that, unless he was a socially challenged mutant who's only allowed human contact for an hour a week. ...but your larger point stands: More leeway can be given to seemingly unbelievable elements of a story if they are that story's entire conceit.

In the end this is why Gandalf didn't simply plop Frodo on the back of a giant eagle and have him fly over Mordor and toss the ring in Mt Doom, there would not have been a story.

Not to get off on a tangent, but the other reason is that the Giant Eagle Airdrop plan wouldn't work. The huge honking bird would have been spotted almost immediately.

 

[lovecraft68]

I actually don't think anybody would do that, unless he was a socially challenged mutant who's only allowed human contact for an hour a week. ...but your larger point stands: More leeway can be given to seemingly unbelievable elements of a story if they are that story's entire conceit.



Not to get off on a tangent, but the other reason is that the Giant Eagle Airdrop plan wouldn't work. The huge honking bird would have been spotted almost immediately.

Unfortunately there seem to be a lot of those mutants. Maybe its a regional thing, but when you go out to dinner around here, you look around and everyone has their phone on the table and they're on it...even young people that you know this is early on in their dating and they're not even paying attention to their date...stay home and save the money

As for LOTR...in Hobbit wasn't there an army of those Eagles? I'm thinking the book not the crappy recent movie.

One way or another, something tells there were better options than a trek on foot across middle Earth.

 

[Bramblethorn]

I think the official explanation is: eagles would've been attacked by the Fell Beasts (those things the Nazgul rode) and possibly by magic, so it was safer to infiltrate on foot.

But I like this answer better: http://oglaf.com/ornithology/

 

[TamLin01]

Unfortunately there seem to be a lot of those mutants. Maybe its a regional thing, but when you go out to dinner around here, you look around and everyone has their phone on the table and they're on it...

No no, you misunderstand: Of course people always have smart phones on them these days. But walking up to a strange porn star on the street and whipping out images of her work doesn't seem like a sound opening move. More like the actions of a person who still has trouble with solid food.

I'm sure actual porn performers have to put up with weirdos in public, but a normal person would be a touch more discrete when approaching her. Your scenario sounds perfectly plausible.

 

[lovecraft68]

No no, you misunderstand: Of course people always have smart phones on them these days. But walking up to a strange porn star on the street and whipping out images of her work doesn't seem like a sound opening move. More like the actions of a person who still has trouble with solid food.

I'm sure actual porn performers have to put up with weirdos in public, but a normal person would be a touch more discrete when approaching her. Your scenario sounds perfectly plausible.

I think it does, what is most likely the case is I'm a nit pick on details. Sometimes I annoy myself because I'll watch a movie and be like, oh, come on oh, seriously? I have a hard time going for a ride sometimes.

For example I watched this horror movie earlier this week "Deliver us from Evil" for what it was, not a bad flick. But at one point this cop who is special ops and his partner go in to get the suspect cop has a riot gun, kicks the door in...blah blah.

Later he's heading down the stairs, bad guy trips him, he loses the shot gun, now its him and his survival knife against the bad guy and a fire ax...

I'm sitting there alone saying out loud "Special ops and you have no other gun on your body? No ankle holster, small of the back? No damn pepper spray, no taser?

And the corridor is empty and an axe trumps a damn knife....how about a retreat?

I kill me sometimes.

FWIW the guy was kind of a d-bag and was busting her chops so I think that's why I saw it as plausible.

 

[Kantarii]

When I wrote my erotic horror story "My Brother's Ghost" I tried to keep the ghost story well within the boundaries of believability since it ultimately dealt with issues I can personally relate to. Now, the current story I'm working on The Diablo Masquerade is a hardcore science fiction erotic story that I am trying to do much the same way. But, it's set 20 years in the future. I am not really confined to keeping it within the realms of believability. So, I have relaxed the boundaries on the fantasy element.

 

[lovecraft68]

When I wrote my erotic horror story "My Brother's Ghost" I tried to keep the ghost story well within the boundaries of believability since it ultimately dealt with issues I can personally relate to. Now, the current story I'm working on The Diablo Masquerade is a hardcore science fiction erotic story that I am trying to do much the same way. But, it's set 20 years in the future. I am not really confined to keeping it within the realms of believability. So, I have relaxed the boundaries on the fantasy element.

I feel that sci fi, non human and erotic horror are the type of category where realism can easily take a back seat based on the fact by nature those genres bend reality

For the 'sexual' categories, I have always felt incest is the biggest stretch of reality because that shit just does not happen that way, nor in reality should it. But the other kinks you can go out and do and its no big deal(other than non con) but incest is noty a fantasy that should be fulfilled so you're in the twilight zone to some extent in any incest story.

 

[NotWise]

I feel that sci fi, non human and erotic horror are the type of category where realism can easily take a back seat based on the fact by nature those genres bend reality.

As a reader, I want the character to be realistic. Even if they're fantastical characters they need to respond in understandable ways.

 

[TamLin01]

For example I watched this horror movie earlier this week "Deliver us from Evil" for what it was, not a bad flick.

Odd you bring it up; I'm in the middle of the book. It's one of the worst I've ever read, and despite being pitched as nonfiction, it too has a chronic problem with lack of plausibility. Albeit for entirely different reasons.

 

[lovecraft68]

Odd you bring it up; I'm in the middle of the book. It's one of the worst I've ever read, and despite being pitched as nonfiction, it too has a chronic problem with lack of plausibility. Albeit for entirely different reasons.

I had no idea it was a book.

I rarely watch TV or movies, but I had surgery a couple weeks back and am stuck out of work so been watching a shit load of horror movies and the trailer looked okay.

The only hint in the movie it was based on real events was a note at the end saying the cop retired not long after his second kid was born and to this day still works with the priest.

On a similar note I saw there is going to be a Fox series starting in September and its a TV series version of Blatty's Exorcist. I've been waiting for a remake because they are remaking everything these days, but an entire series? Trailer shows promise though.