safari invasion

So I'm about half-way into a story* and I'm not sure where to go with the plot. It's not to say that I'm totally stuck without any options that I can think of; it's more like I have two options that I like but I don't know which one I want to go with.

The main problem is that one of them is more believable than the other. Physically, both are possible of course, it's just that one is further "out there" and involves a more extreme case. I don't want to totally turn the reader off. What I'm trying to say is that I don't want the reader to be reading through and say "That would never happen." even though it could or might.

I'm not sure how "far out" I should go with a realisticly-set story. I don't want the reader to get turned off by something that they would consider unlikely or too extreme.

I don't know if any of that makes any sense at all. I hope it does. If you see what I'm saying, please let me know what you think. Thanks.


*I've got about 250 pages so far, I just hate calling it a novel when it's not finished. Just sounds wierd, and therefore, it is still a "story."

obiwanjabroni

I think the most important aspect of your story is consistency. I can't really give you an idea of which path to take, but I can say that you want the immersion into your story to be complete, and you want to take a path that will not deviate so much from that path that the immersion is destroyed.

To put it to example, I think some may remember the move "Mission to Mars". It seemed like a good story to begin with, until the sudden inception of aliens and the abduction of one of the astronauts. Read this sentence: The three men went on a routine mission to inspect a crash landing during the first manned-mission to mars, when the found an ancient structure on the planet which housed alien technology that instantly transported one of the astronauts to a distant, alien planet. It sounds ridiculous because it lacks consistency with the established setting.

I'm not telling you to take the more realistic path however. If you've set up your story carefully, and you believe that the reader is ready to take the road less travelled, then go for it. Writing is about experimentation after all. Good luck.

speculative

Stories should be about far-fetched things imo. If the things in the story aren't far-fetched, what is the point of writing about them? Otherwise, they'd just be boring, everyday things, and no one wants to read about those.

-speculative

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northerain

my two cents:Im having the exact problem right now, but with a short story.I actually chose the more ''far-out'' direction, but only because otherwise the story wouldnt make much sense.Well, the point is, go with the story...

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TimK

In the things I've read, I've found you can have your characters do almost anything, as long as they're self consistent; and you can put almost any strange element you want in the setting, as long as you manage these strange elements carefully.

So you could possibly take the strange road, but then have the protagonist react as you want the reader to react. Let's say the character receives news that his 10-year-old son has died from a heart-attack. (Not, strictly speaking, strange, but bear with me.) At first, he thinks that's crazy, but then the doctor explains to him that, yes, even children that young can die from a heart-attack. (Old research from an incomplete story idea. ) There are a hundred directions in which this character could then go, but the validity of the strange element is no longer in question, and the reader is feeling the grief that the father is feeling.

-TimK

blackswan

Well, I just think you should go with which ever one *feels* right to you and your characters, even though it does seem a bit far fetched. As long as it goes with your original storyline (you do have one, don't you? The one sentence that goes "what if..." and that you should somewhat follow through.) and as long as you'll work out some kind of explaination...then go with it! And also if the other one makes the story slow down or boring to read, of course...