On Suspension of Disbelief

There is a recurring argument in fantasy writing circles that seems to be split down the middle between those who understand the need for research and those who pooh-pooh the very idea.

It’s fantasy! some exclaim. Anything goes! And they continue to scribble away, not seeming to care about a very important concept: Suspension of Disbelief.

Suspension of Disbelief is the willingness of a reader to go along with a story, to put aside logic and critical thinking (UP TO A CERTAIN POINT) in order to enjoy the story.

As Aristotle pointed out, the audience (or, in our case, the reader) ignores the unreality of fiction in order to experience catharsis; in other words, to be emotionally engaged.

Whether we are aware of it or not, we write or read fiction (or watch drama) to have an emotional experience, to experience vicariously what the characters go through.

Yeah, yeah, I hear you say, but…what’s that got to do with research? Doesn’t anything go in fantasy?

Here’s my answer, FWIW. No, because any reader worth their salt will NOT go along with too much that makes no sense. There is a certain point (and it is reached earlier in some than others) beyond which a reader will NOT keep reading, when their critical thinking is so under siege, when so much is unexplained and inexplicable, when logic has left the room, never to be seen again.

Maybe you do not NEED to do research. Maybe you do not think that world-building and magic systems need to make sense. But if they did, you stand a much better chance of hooking your readers, of leading them through your story so they become engaged with your characters and get the vicarious emotional catharsis that they did not even know they were hankering after.

Here’s the secret: When you inject just enough realism into your fantasy stories, your readers cannot help but wonder how they ended up in a believable other-world with engaging characters they can identify with, whom they grow to love, whose struggles wrench at their hearts.

And, yes. Often, that realism has to come from research.