Real Life versus beleivable fiction

[SemiColon]

OK, I am writing a story inspired by real life events but otherwise fictional. I find that some of the scenes seem totally implausible though they really did happen. I want to follow my inspiration but find myself thinking, "Why would anyone do that?" or "No one will believe this!" This isn't regarding sexual activity, by the way.

Does this happen to other people and how do you resolve it?

 

[Rob_mDear]

Motivation and Character

I'd need to see more details on what happened that you feel is unbelievable, but the two keys are probably motivation and character. That is, the people actually involved obviously felt motivated to pursue their actions, and their characters (how open, how adventurous, how conversvative, etc.) allowed them to follow their motivation.

In the context of a story, you just have to remember to establish those things, and reinforce them, well before the events unfold. Make sure that it's obvious to the reader how badly each character wants to pursue their interests, and establish the fact that some of them are willing to go further than the reader might, and do things that the reader might not.

Or are the incredible events more of a physical nature (like a car tipped up on two side wheels, and the teenage driver kept it going that way for a full city block)?

 

[SemiColon]

No, more odd. Like why on earth would you do that? But it felt right at the time, and I'd like to put it in the story for my own fantasy. But I guess it comes down to motivation, I'd have to make it seem the natural thing to do.

 

[sweet_peach82]

???

so you mean you want something in a story but do not know how to get from point A to point B?with it??? Well what I do is try to imagine each thing happening as slowly! That is the thing. People try to rush and tend to overlook so much when writing. Just take things slowly. And remember...nothing is ever too weird is YOU enjoy it yourself!

 

[Rob_mDear]

No, more odd. Like why on earth would you do that? But it felt right at the time, and I'd like to put it in the story for my own fantasy. But I guess it comes down to motivation, I'd have to make it seem the natural thing to do.

Not necessarily "natural," just not beyond belief.

You don't want to share what you consider odd?

Don't worry, no one else is listening. And I'm a priest. And a doctor. I won't tell anyone. Confidentiality is my middle name (Blabbermouth is only a nickname, and it's not necessarily deserved... just ask my mother).

 

[Rob_mDear]

Pm

And if you really don't want to post it here, you can PM me. I can give you some ideas on how to set it up. Unless you've already got the thread yourself... then just follow it whereever it leads you.

 

[dr_mabeuse]

Truth really is stranger than fiction because fiction has to seem real. It has to be plausible, believable. Maybe in real life you did just give $100 to some homeless man because you felt like it, but in a story you're going to have to justify that act somehow and explain it. We read fiction because we're looking for explanations. Life gives us enough mystery. Fiction's where we try to make sense of them.

It's impossible to give you any advice without knowing the specifics of your case and what the act was you're trying to justify, but you know, there's a whole theory of the short story that says that every story is no more than the attempt to explain one irrational act in a person's life. So it's kind of important. It's not a trivial question.

 

[bisexualsmoker]

I've had some strange things happen to me.Really strange.
The odds one in millions of happening really.
Just write about them anyway.

 

[oggbashan]

John Buchan, he of "The Thirty-Nine Steps", when writing about plotting his novels said that he might take three apparently unconnected incidents and devise a story that would link them together in a believable way.

His emphasis was that incidents and events that on first sight seemed improbable must be logically connected to make the story work.

Someone else said of biography that the art of writing a life is selection and presentation. What actually happened and the sequence in which they happened are less important than the wider picture of the person's life.

If you are writing fiction based on fact, the fiction will be judged as FICTION and must be reasonable as a story. That could mean omitting the improbable and substituting more likely scenarios.

Og

 

[LadynStFreknBed]

OK, I am writing a story inspired by real life events but otherwise fictional. I find that some of the scenes seem totally implausible though they really did happen. I want to follow my inspiration but find myself thinking, "Why would anyone do that?" or "No one will believe this!" This isn't regarding sexual activity, by the way.

Does this happen to other people and how do you resolve it?

I mentioned this phenomenon in another post. When I write a story based on real life experience, I get bombarded by comments and feedback telling me that it could not possibly happen. However, I rarely get such comments on my stories that are completely fictional. Go figure.

The only thing that I have come up with as a possible explanation is that when I write a true event, I already know what happened before I sit down at my computer. Therefore, when I am typing the story, maybe I am leaving out certain elements that affected the event. But, when I write fiction, it's like I am discovering the story as I write it. Therefore, since I am building it from scratch, I am much less likely to leave out something important.

-Sheila

 

[SemiColon]

Truth really is stranger than fiction because fiction has to seem real. It has to be plausible, believable. Maybe in real life you did just give $100 to some homeless man because you felt like it, but in a story you're going to have to justify that act somehow and explain it. We read fiction because we're looking for explanations. Life gives us enough mystery. Fiction's where we try to make sense of them.

It's impossible to give you any advice without knowing the specifics of your case and what the act was you're trying to justify, but you know, there's a whole theory of the short story that says that every story is no more than the attempt to explain one irrational act in a person's life. So it's kind of important. It's not a trivial question.

That is it exactly! Justifying my own actions is harder than just amking them up, I guess.

 

[Roadbug]

Stranger than fiction

I am not a very good writter as of yet. I don't even have a word processor program with a spell checker. But when I was last in college, I had to take English 101 (AGAIN!!!) because my puntuation and spelling has always been poor.

I learned one important fact from both the times I took the class. They are (1 the subject is less important than how it is presented. It can be anything from "How I Chased My Dog Up A Tree" to "The Perfect Cure For Hang Nails". (2 The title is very important also. The mentioned subjects would work poorly for titles, but as a description, they might get some interest because of how implausible they sound. If the story is about real life surcumstances or incidents, it may not be necessary to tell the "why i did this" but it may be a good idea to give at least a bit of background as a lead up.

The last paper I wrote for my english class was a combined comparison and contrast that got me a very good grade because of how i presented the subject more that the subject itself. Most would be uninterested in a description of the similarities and differences of plant life in an arctic climate as apposed to a desert climate, but it did get me a good grade.
I don't know much about writing fiction from the authors stand point, but the purpose of all writing is to capture the attention of the audience quickly. You must present the material in a manner which will interest the target audience as quickly as possible and then keep it. I can't say much more about your story without knowing more about it but I hope I helped a bit

 

[Monazwx]

In the context of a story, you just have to remember to establish those things, and reinforce them, well before the events unfold.

Although this is RLreverie's thread; I'm going to hijack for a bit, because we're in the same boat but not quite. I too am writing a story based on real life, a mini-memoir if you will, however, I'm having trouble with the showing and not telling aspect of the work. If I understand it correctly, with memoirs, the narrator sums up the event or concludes with their opinion of the matter, and I am wondering if this a takin away from my actual story. Have any of you come across this problem with your writing?

RLreverie's, my story too has some 'unbelievable' elements, more emotional rather than physical, that I intend to 'explain away' as I know why what happened happened. Do the same if you can, but don't delete/omit them. In my case, if I did, I wouldn't have a story!

Someone else said of biography that the art of writing a life is selection and presentation. What actually happened and the sequence in which they happened are less important than the wider picture of the person's life.

This helps me out alot. Thanks!

I don't even have a word processor program with a spell checker.

Please get a spellchecker!!! They come in handy whenever you're typing something, and not just for English class.

Edit - Nevermind guys, I saw the Exposition over Telling thread, and I think that it may have the answers to my question. Thanks!

 

[helix27]

i am interested in the story when its done. you will have to post a link. don't have much extra input on the question at hand that hasn't already been posted.

 

[docgbrown]

Stranger than fiction

OK, I am writing a story inspired by real life events but otherwise fictional. I find that some of the scenes seem totally implausible though they really did happen. I want to follow my inspiration but find myself thinking, "Why would anyone do that?" or "No one will believe this!" This isn't regarding sexual activity, by the way.

Does this happen to other people and how do you resolve it?

Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction, we all know that. I will either add that 'this really happened' or add to its build up to make it more believeable.

 

[Corylea]

I have a friend who's a professional writer -- she's published sixteen science fiction novels -- and she's always complaining about this very problem. She's fond of saying, "Real life just happens, but fiction has to make sense."

 

[showher]

No Help? keep writing.

This is the first time I’ve entered a discussion of this nature.
I’ve posted a few stories, mostly true and some fiction. I try to be honest in my presentation but I want the reader to relate to his or her fantasy. My embellishments are within reason and, I hope, subtle.
My last endeavors have been about an incestuous affair between my mother and myself (a fantasy nurtured since puberty). I’ve tried to enlist the help of a female to relate the feelings of the mother but I have yet to receive any offers.
I can write without someone looking over my shoulder but I could put together a better tale if I had access to first hand info’ or at least an opinion from a mother. No help, keep writing!

 

[The_Trouvere]

In his Poetics Aristotle said a plausible impossibility is preferable to a possible implausibility. He was writing about the scene toward the end of the Iliad where Achilles chased Hector three times around Troy. He said something like that would not happen in real life, but Homer made it work, and it contributed to the story.

In a plot I dislike coincidences and one in a thousand chances to come through. On my graduation day from college by chance I met a girl who was a family friend of a girl who had recently rejected me. We dated more or less happily for about a year after that. Because I went to a large university, meeting her was highly unlikely. I would not make an event like that important to a plot, unless something earlier in the story seemed to presage it.

 

[Techomancer]

OK, I am writing a story inspired by real life events but otherwise fictional. I find that some of the scenes seem totally implausible though they really did happen. I want to follow my inspiration but find myself thinking, "Why would anyone do that?" or "No one will believe this!" This isn't regarding sexual activity, by the way.

Does this happen to other people and how do you resolve it?

Personally, I remember a catchphrase from when I wrote/performed stand up comedy:
"At the root of every joke, every gag there is the nugget of truth. If you can't see this happening to some one, no-one will believe it"

It's as valid here as there. If you can't believe it yourself - neither will your audience.

The biggest thing for me (personally) was accepting how big an audience you were writing for. I write for a fairly narrow kind and I'm cool with that (Toys/machine kink). You might not be willing to be that boxed in and that's cool too.

Techomancer

 

[lmind]

I don't know your specific quandry, but I've seen authors successfully (and unsuccessfully) resort to the reality that women don't need to make any sense. Every girl I've ever known consistently mystifies me.

"Why would you do that?"

"I don't know, I just did it! God, do I need a reason?" (meanwhile every other woman within earshot nods her head sympathetically, as if she obviously would've done the exact same thing)

Authors also reverse this to excuse nonsensical male behavior.

"Hrmph! Men!"

This seems to work best when told from the perspective of the opposite gender, but when the person acting irrational has same-gender "cohorts" who accept the behavior as perfectly normal. This seems to suggest to the reader that the behavior, though inexplicable, is entirely plausible to those who would understand. (i.e., not the narrator)

Also, it's well documented that an effective persuasion technique is to preemptively voice your target's defenses (in this case, their doubts or skepticism) in order to induce an opposing response from their subconscious. Simply put: Reverse psychology.

"I refused to believe it. This couldn't be happening..."

That invites the reader to admonish, "Well it's happening, bud. What are you going to do about it?"

My personal favorite example, from real life experience: "You know, we're moving a bit fast here. We just met and we really shouldn't spend all night together." It's a Bishop's gambit, followed by Knight takes Queen, Check, and Mate! Hah!

 

[Kikori]

OK, I am writing a story inspired by real life events but otherwise fictional. I find that some of the scenes seem totally implausible though they really did happen. I want to follow my inspiration but find myself thinking, "Why would anyone do that?" or "No one will believe this!" This isn't regarding sexual activity, by the way.

Does this happen to other people and how do you resolve it?

It might be the detail you put into it. I look through my stories and I'm thinking "All of those details... do they really happen"

In real life, some people just know the feeling of pleasure; they don't pay attention to how far their bodies go or how they would describe, in words, the pleasure they feel. So you could be perfectly realistic and probably not see it as right until you just stop in the middle of the real life version and see the resemblance.

I just keep writing, myself.

 

[LOAnnie2]

If it's being written as fiction, who cares if people believe it?

 

[dr_mabeuse]

Mark Twain said, "Of course truth is stranger than fiction. Fiction has to make sense."

 

[Shwenn]

I have a friend who's a professional writer -- she's published sixteen science fiction novels -- and she's always complaining about this very problem. She's fond of saying, "Real life just happens, but fiction has to make sense."

I had a creative writing professor who used to say something similar any time a student defended something he wrote by saying it actually happened to him.

He always said, "Real life doesn't have to make sense. Fiction DOES!"

 

[AoNoDoY]

In his Poetics Aristotle said a plausible impossibility is preferable to a possible implausibility. He was writing about the scene toward the end of the Iliad where Achilles chased Hector three times around Troy. He said something like that would not happen in real life, but Homer made it work, and it contributed to the story.

Most anything has the possibility of being believable in fiction, as long as the author creates a reality that supports it.