《Your Guide to Writing the Perfect Story》Being Realistic

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Today I am going to be talking about being realistic when writing your stories. To clarify, the plot does not need to be realistic. Werewolves don't exist and neither do fairies or sprites. The sun probably won't explode tomorrow and many other fantasy and science fiction plots most likely will never occur either. Books aren't about what will probably happen, but about imagining the impossible, experiencing things that would never happen to a reader themself.

Being realistic in a story isn't about the plot at all; it's about reactions and emotions and series of events. It's really important that these things are realistic because, damn, if they aren't you're in for a rocky ride.

Emotions are something that a lot of writers don't feel comfortable writing. Well, listen up folks, you better get used to it. Emotions are a necessary part of any piece of literature, even poetry; some people would argue especially poetry. The thing is, your emotions need to be realistic. I recently read a story about a girl whose brother was murdered in front of her eyes and she acted like nothing had happened; she even seemed more happy than she had before the incident.

Realistic? Heck, no.

On the other hand, you can over-do emotions as well. Realistically, a student that gets A's on all of her projects probably wouldn't faint out of joy from receiving another A unless she was on drugs or something. New emotions come from things out of the ordinary, or a change in events.

Character reactions are all about how your character, well, reacts. It all depends on their personality. When a very insecure girl is asked out on a date, it would be realistic for her to question their intentions or to be very, very happy and flattered that someone thought of them -- they'd probably be surprised as well. It would be unrealistic for them to refuse and say, "I'm too good for you."

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Likewise, the teacher's pet probably wouldn't be the one to slack off on their homework unless they went through this rebellious stage and that's the plot of the story.

Put yourself into the shoes of your character and try to see the world through their eyes. That way, it will seem natural when deciding how your characters will react to certain things.

Events that lead to another event should happen for a reason and those reasons should make sense. Unwarranted conflict is unrealistic, as is not having an outcome after a significant action. If someone steals another's pencil, they probably won't pull out a gun and shoot the person. And if that person did shoot someone, that dead person's friends and family aren't going to invite them over for tea. There should be consequences for actions because that's just how the world works.

I don't want to count how many times I've talked about motives, but here it is again. Motives should be realistic, also. A completely sane person does not drop bombs on random cities because they feel like it. Something or someone must have triggered that person to do something. Remember their backstory. Consider revenge. What drives a person to do what they do? Motives are one of the ingredients in the glue that holds your story together.

The next part is, how are certain things that happen in your story possible? A bullet wound will not heal itself. A man that has been burned cannot come back to life. After being engulfed by flames your character will not emerge unscathed. Unless, of course, you are writing a fantasy where all of these things just happen to be possible. In a fantasy, though, there must be limits to your world. There should be a vulnerability in everyone, a way that makes it possible for them to die.

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And many times people don't think about the little details because they aren't technically necessary in the book. Like, how is it possible that the villain who grew up in poverty got all of the money that they use for their cause if they don't even have support from the citizens? You've got to make sure that you think of these things.

The more your readers can relate to a character, their issues, emotions, and the things they go through, the more realistic your story will seem. Many readers will also be able to relate to themes, like discrimination, falling in and out of love, naivety, etc. Always, even in fantasy novels, look for ways that your characters will identify with your character and plot. People are people, after all. We like to empathize with each other.

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