The Unofficial "Is This Plausible?" Thread

[MatthewVett]

I've noticed that one common reader complaint is that a certain story element is implausible. (I've gotten multiple comments on my most recent story regarding this.) So I was thinking, why not have a place for authors to ask each other whether a certain something is plausible or not?

I think we've all experienced a situation where a story just completely ruined our immersion by having a suddenly implausible scenario. "That would never happen!" we cry, and close the book. Happened to me when I was reading what I thought was historical fiction and suddenly winged horses showed up... It kind of killed the mood.

So to start, although it's too late for it now, I would still like to get some opinions on the plausibility of the following situation.

So in my story, a boy and his parents are visiting his cousin and her parents. The first night, since there's no spare beds and the cot is in storage, the female cousin's father suggests they share a bed for one night. Am I the weird one? I didn't even think twice about it when writing it, but multiple readers have commented on how implausible that suggestion is. So what do you guys think?

And share your own things that you want some suggestions on. Hopefully we can make our stories more plausible before the readers get to them.

 

[PennLady]

I don't know -- is it plausible within the story? Are they that kind of family?

And I'm confused. Is the father suggested the female cousin share the bed with him, or with this son? And how old are they? Assuming they are over 18, and that they haven't done this before, and that most people don't want to share a bed with someone other than their partner (or parents letting a little kid come in after a nightmare or something), then yes, I personally think it's a little odd.

But I also think you could probably lay a foundation for it so that it would be plausible within the bubble of your story. (Sorry, wrote that phrase a few days ago and am trying ot get some mileage out of it. )

 

[4glory6]

The 1750s? Plausible. 2012? Not so much. I'd think you'd have to lay a pretty elaborate foundation to make this plausible in today's world.

 

[LettersFromTatyana]

Personally, I think sharing a bed would be a really weird suggestion. Blankets on the floor work as a bed in a pinch, you know? And how hard is it to pull a cot from storage?

However, I'm willing to admit that my opinion is based on cultural norms, with culture being defined by middle-class America. Bedroom segregation by sex seems normal to me (unless you're talking big lofts in ski/summer homes, hostels with groups of friends, etc), so sharing a bed isn't even in the realm of the possible. Again, blankets on the floor.

But I know immigrants/first-generation Americans from Russia and China who not only shared bedrooms with their opposite-sex siblings for years, but who to this day (well into their thirties) don't see anything weird about walking into the bathroom to, say, brush their teeth when their opposite-sex sibling is in the shower. I think this is because my Russian friends grew up in Soviet apartment buildings where there were, at most, two bedrooms, so it was normal for siblings to share, regardless of sex; my Chinese friends were dirt poor when they came to the US (and everyone else in their Chinatown neighborhood was, too), so their parents (and everyone else's parents) couldn't afford an apartment with more than one bedroom, so they shared. The entire concept of segregation within a family by sex is just weird to them.

So for them, sharing a bed with an opposite-sex cousin might not be a big deal, due either to the economic circumstances of their youth or to cultural background. I've never asked though.

 

[PennLady]

It also occurred to me -- where is the couch? If the visit was planned, and there was a shortage of sleeping spaces, would they not have prepared for it? Before one gets to sharing beds, there would be a number of options: couches, sleeping bags, air mattresses, piles of blankets as LfT notes.

And I'm with Tatyana in that if you're talking about your average middle-class US household, it is highly unlikely that anyone would suggest or be comfortable with opposite sex cousins sharing a bed.

 

[TxRad]

It also occurred to me -- where is the couch? If the visit was planned, and there was a shortage of sleeping spaces, would they not have prepared for it? Before one gets to sharing beds, there would be a number of options: couches, sleeping bags, air mattresses, piles of blankets as LfT notes.

And I'm with Tatyana in that if you're talking about your average middle-class US household, it is highly unlikely that anyone would suggest or be comfortable with opposite sex cousins sharing a bed.

In Arkansas maybe.

It's a joke folks, before the lynch mob shows up.

 

[Stella_Omega]

So many American fathers talk so big about killing the first boy that so much as looks at their daughter...

i just can't imagine those guys inviting a male to get in bed with her.

 

[LettersFromTatyana]

So many American fathers talk so big about killing the first boy that so much as looks at their daughter...

i just can't imagine those guys inviting a male to get in bed with her.

Yeah, but I don't think dear old dad would think anything would happen between them, you know?

ETA: Sorry we're all being so harsh, LM! Good idea for a thread, though.

 

[TxRad]

Yeah, but I don't think dear old dad would think anything would happen between them, you know?

ETA: And sorry we're all being so harsh, LM!

As a father with a daughter, what part of the moon do you live on?

 

[LettersFromTatyana]

As a father with a daughter, what part of the moon do you live on?

You would actually think incest is possible between an adult daughter and her adult cousin? Really?

 

[TxRad]

You would actually think incest is possible between an adult daughter and her adult cousin? Really?

A certain redheaded cousin is the reason I have this fixation on redheads and nothing ever happened between us.

So yeah, the attraction can be there.

 

[soflabbwlvr]

If the visit were planned, then no, arrangements would have been made before the guests arrived. If it were an impromptu visit, maybe. But then you have to make the unannounced nature of the visit plausible, in addition to making the sleeping arrangements seem normal for this family.

 

[LettersFromTatyana]

A certain redheaded cousin is the reason I have this fixation on redheads and nothing ever happened between us.

So yeah, the attraction can be there.

*snickers* OK, Tx. Consider me convinced.


In my defense, as someone who left for boarding school at fourteen, I totally avoided the entire protective parents thing when it came to relationships. And the way in loco parentis is applied to relationships at boarding schools is strange, to say the least.

 

[Verdad]

It might be plausible enough for some readers. Or rather, not jarring enough to chase them away.

We all understand forced intimacy scenarios are an excuse to get characters to interact sexually. Even much more elaborate scenarios wouldn't hold under scrutiny if we weren't willing to play along. If it happens early in the story, it’s not even like unicorns popping in out of the left field because the contract on what can be expected is just being established. A reader might accept it as “okay, I’ll grant you this one thing, now show me what you can do with it.” Sometimes this may even be preferable to lengthy justifications that delay arriving to the meat of the story.

That said, the scenario sounds extremely implausible to almost any modern westerner. Even if the premise is as simple as “cousins are forced to share bed; cousin sex ensues” a more plausible idea on how to put them in that situation should, I think, mean a broader readership.

 

[MatthewVett]

Yeah, but I don't think dear old dad would think anything would happen between them, you know?

ETA: Sorry we're all being so harsh, LM! Good idea for a thread, though.

Haha, it's okay. I need to remember to do this in advance next time... Does anyone else have a situation to contribute so I can get out of the fire?

 

[Verdad]

Does anyone else have a situation to contribute so I can get out of the fire?

I think it’s tricky to discuss situations in abstract because fiction thrives on unlikely scenarios made likely by presentation. I was actually wrong to say you needed a more plausible idea; you may have needed a more plausible presentation. I’ve no doubt someone here can write the dialogue which leads to bed sharing in such a way that every step seems natural and the conclusion inevitable. For all I know, you did (I haven’t read your story) and you’ve just got a few readers who like to complain. Hope I didn’t put you under fire.

 

[acearomantic]

it is completely possible. I had 4 older siblings, and my family would go camping with only two tents, while traveling down to the US. The older people would sleep in one tent the rest would sleep in the other tent. So as a child I would sleep in the same tent as my brothers, and my sisters would sleep with my step mother and my father. This continued to happen until my step mum and bio. dad split. Then again he was eventually arrested for child sexual abuse. So my experience may not be completely relevant. Except, when I was like 11 and my brother 13, my mom didn't find anything strange when we camped and my brother and I shared an air mattress in half the tent and her and my dad the other half. (I didn't like it, but that's probably 'cause I wanted the bed to myself. I hate not having space to sprawl out while asleep).
I think it's more likely that they'd offer a couch, blankets on the floor for the father, or something like that, rather then the two people sharing a room.

~~~
is it possible that a guy would become friends with benefits to a virgin (the virgin suggests it)?

 

[MatthewVett]

~~~
is it possible that a guy would become friends with benefits to a virgin (the virgin suggests it)?

Hm, I've had almost that situation, but the girl wasn't a virgin. Of course, she *was* trying to blow me into a committed relationship. Her plan didn't work, but I didn't really mind. She didn't tell me that was her plan until too late, though. I definitely think it's plausible, though. The sticking point would be her reasoning.

Does she have a crush, and think this is the best way? Or does she want experience?

 

[YDB95]

~~~
is it possible that a guy would become friends with benefits to a virgin (the virgin suggests it)?

An ex of mine once told me that was how she lost her virginity. So yes, I vote plausible.

 

[sun_sea_sky]

So in my story, a boy and his parents are visiting his cousin and her parents. The first night, since there's no spare beds and the cot is in storage, the female cousin's father suggests they share a bed for one night.

I've already read the story before I noticed this, so I know what you are talking about. That particular plot point made me slow up a bit, but I thought "oh well, they are related". It would be like brother and sister sharing a bed if there was a shortage. Not everyone might go for that, but on the other hand, you might think "what could go wrong?"

I think there is a certain suspension of disbelief in stories like this, like the fact that (if I recall correctly) she had already sucked his cock by the time this issue arose. And later, as I recall, he gets into a hot tub naked with her and her two friends. So if you are going to accept all that, I think the "you two go share a bed" isn't a deal-breaker.

Personally what I find implausible is something like this, which I read in another story here:

• Gangsters burst into the house
• They demand to see the man of the house (husband) about a debt owed to them
• Hubby isn't around so they decide to rape the wife instead
• Watching the wife being raped the son gets aroused
• Upon being invited to by the gangsters (!) the son rapes his own mother
• The wife/mother starts to enjoy it

Now that's implausible.

 

[4glory6]

Personally what I find implausible is something like this, which I read in another story here:

• Gangsters burst into the house
• They demand to see the man of the house (husband) about a debt owed to them
• Hubby isn't around so they decide to rape the wife instead
• Watching the wife being raped the son gets aroused
• Upon being invited to by the gangsters (!) the son rapes his own mother
• The wife/mother starts to enjoy it

Now that's implausible.

Invoking what was included in posts 2 and 16 above, I wouldn't say this was implausible with just the information given. I think an author could establish the characters of the son and the mother as being venal enough - and interested enough in each other sexually before the incident - to sustain them doing that - using the situation as something that unleashes the tension of what they wanted to do anyway. I think you make assumptions about the personality of the son and mother that aren't present in the list you give. We aren't given the specifics of a plotline or character study.