Follow your rules

I picked up a book recently that I was very interested in checking out because it takes place in the area I grew up in.

To someone who didn’t have knowledge of the area, it may have still been a fun book. But for me, it felt like the author did no research on the region past hearing the name in passing. And because of that, the entire story falls apart. 

Now, I’m not going to rag on that book or use it as an example. I really don’t want to tear down other authors, especially indie authors who are in it solely for the sake of passion for storytelling.

So let’s make our own example.

Your protagonist has to get from point A to B. Let’s say point B is a literal destination, they have to cross the country or some great region. Think “The Stand,” by Stephen King. It takes place in a post-apocalyptic United States, which gives the reader something tenuous to hold onto. We know how big the country is, and the major locations are relative to each other. The characters travel at a realistic speed and take realistic routes.

But imagine if a character is going from New York City to Denver on a deadline. They push as hard as they can and take a week to walk to Jersey, then pass through Vegas two days later, before making it to Denver.

Wouldn’t really make sense would it? 

Side quests are fine, sometimes characters have to take detours. But if they played it off as a B-line quest to reach Denver and they’re not moving in a realistic way, they look like unmotivated idiots who can’t read a map. Readers would collectively slam the book shut.

They would feel cheated, like you, the writer, have insulted their intelligence.

If you base your story in some “real world” ground, especially if it is a true-to-reality story, do your research. You can take creative liberties but not to the point where it forces your characters to make dumb choices for the sake of the plot.

This idea doesn’t just extend to “real-world” stories. That’s why “Star Wars” and “Lord of the Rings” are more believable than movies like “Fast and Furious 9.” Although, as more “Star Wars” movies and shows come out, they break more and more of their own rules.

In “The Phantom Menace,” Qui-Gon is stabbed through the stomach by Darth Maul. He lives just long enough to give some final words to Obi-Wan. It’s a poignant moment that determines the fate of the galaxy and solidifies how lethal lightsabers are and the capabilities of force users.

Then “Rise of Skywalker” comes out and “Force healing” is a thing all of a sudden. It’s good to add new things to the world you’ve created, but not at the expense of hurting prior established rules and character moments.

The movie plays it off as, “Oh it was an ancient Jedi technique that was lost, and Rey found it in those books.” One, that undermines Anakin’s entire arc and why he turned to the Dark Side, making him and all the Jedi that came before Rey, look like idiots. That’s a pretty major force power that most audiences would not believe was just “lost to time,” especially when the Jedi were at the height of their power.

But EVEN if we buy into that, the movie breaks its own rules again! Rey learns these powers through the ancient texts she found on Luke’s island. Fine. So how did Ben learn those powers too if he never read the books, making the idea of the books an unnecessary plot point that further undermines the intelligence of literally every single Jedi that came before them?

Consistency of the rules you establish will help your audience buy into the world. If you break the rules you establish, then your audience has no reason to get emotionally involved because anything goes.

Create the world and the rules, and throw your character into that. Let them navigate the challenges. Don’t cater the world to the character’s needs.