Our readers need to be able to trust
us. Journalists must report the news with accuracy and honesty. News reporters
must check their facts and (should) report without bias, just the facts. There’s
no room for interpretation or personal opinions, and there is definitely no
room for made up facts used as filler. Opinions should be saved for editorials
and even then the information backing the perspective needs to be truthful. A
good journalist will never assume they know the true story because of a single
impression – they need to investigate, ask, and weigh possibly different
stories to uncover the truth. The reading public is entitled to an expectation
of honesty and the journalist that doesn’t deliver that is not doing his/her
job.
… But even fiction writers need to be
honest.
Even if the term truthful fiction
seems like an oxymoron, fiction writers still need to be honest. While the
story may be made up, life is real, and every writer should know and be able to
write about real life. No matter what genre you are writing or what time period
you’re placing your characters in, remember that you are writing about
real-life.
Make your reader believe in the story
you are building by making the sequence of events and the characters you create
believable. Make sure if you change things in the middle of play be sure to
have an explanation for it – don’t just assume that your reader won’t notice
the inconsistencies. If you suddenly insert something so fanciful, so
unexpected and so out of the ordinary, make sure that your characters believe in
it enough to convince your readers. If your plot is too unbelievable it will
actually insult and anger your readers which will result in fewer readers.
Assume your readers have enough intelligence to recognize real life even as
they look to escape into your fictional world.
You can still write fantasy,
historical fiction, or futuristic science fiction, but remember that whatever
world you create needs to have a set of rules which are kept constant
throughout your story. Every society needs rules and some form of hierarchy;
these rules and the society need to be evident to your readers. Every story
needs conflict and obstacles to overcome. Your story’s villain should be fearsome,
certainly more than a mere clichéd “two-bit thief”; the villain, while eventually
defeated, should seem almost impossible to destroy so that your hero has what
to prove him/herself against. Whether your character(s) are good or evil, they
should be driven by motivations and should grow during the length of the story;
every character will react to events in your story and change appropriately.
Writing Exercise: Write a detailed list of rules the society in
your story must adhere to. Who is the leader/ruler and how did they achieve
that position? Does this top position have aides or advisors? Write a brief “job
description” for each position. What would happen if there was a coup in your story
world?
Writing Prompt:
Challenge Assignment: Change EVERY character in your story to
an animal, Choose an animal whose personality will represent that character
best. Write a short-short fairy tale based on your story using only those animals;
try to keep the main conflict in the story and make it sound believable.
