What makes a reader set a book aside with the comment, “Unbelievable!”? And why should a writer care?
Because an agent or editor might set it side too. An author’s goal is to maintain readers’ attention and interest from the first word to the last.
If a reader wonders about an author’s nonfiction premise but is convinced the supporting logic is sound, the reader will feel compelled to keep reading.
If no supporting defense is offered, or if the pillars upon which the premise is built show their cardboard innards, readers need little more than that to abandon the book.
The same is true with fiction. Fiction depends on believability.
Fiction is truth, even if it is not fact. If you believe only in facts and forget stories, your brain will live, but your heart will die.― Cassandra Clare
A story can only stand if the reader is kept from saying, “That could never happen” or “Everyone knows that would never be possible” or “Where did the author get that information?” No writer can afford to make a reader pause or question believability.
Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn’t.―
What makes a story unbelievable? What causes a critique partner or contest judge to flag a line or word as a believability glitch?
Insufficient research
In the years when students were limited to a trip to the library or encyclopedia research for high school term papers, teachers often warned students to use three sources to undergird their point. In our era of uncountable sources of information at our fingertips–and with artificial intelligence contributing yet another layer of confusion–it can take much more diligence to ensure we’re using accurate information rather than opinion or misinformation.
When did that word come into common usage? Knowing when it was first used isn’t enough. If your diner waitress in the Midwest uses the term in your novel, is that believable? Would that make sense? It usually takes a number of years for a new term to become incorporated in the “language of the people.”
How fast did news travel in the year in which your novel is set? And from what source would the news come? Telegraph? Even if the telegraph had been invented by then, would it likely have been adopted in that relatively remote location?
In your contemporary novel, what are the odds a school-aged child wouldn’t have access to a cell phone–either theirs or a friend’s?
In nonfiction, is your research impeccable? Are you making statements that are theory claimed as fact? Or opinion proposed as truth? Are your quotes triple-checked for accuracy?
Character development mishaps
“Unbelievable! The unscrupulous mayor can’t be suddenly generous without good reason.”
(Cue throw the book against the wall.)
Every key character in a novel will grow or change in some way from the beginning to the story to its end. But even changes should make sense. If a turn-around is abrupt, what’s the reason for that radical shift?
History disconnected from context
Nothing happens in a vacuum in life: every action has a series of consequences, and sometimes it takes a long time to fully understand the consequences of our actions. –Khaled Hosseini
The above Hosseini quote can be applied backward and sideways as well. What’s happening now has been affected by all of history, and what we’re experiencing here is influenced by or influences actions and outcomes around the world.
Writers who don’t take into account what else is happening in the world at the time of their story or their nonfiction, even a memoir, miss an important element of solidifying the believability factor of their work.
Misquotes
Writing instructors have their favorite misquotes as evidence of the importance of an author’s responsibility to ensure accuracy. Mis-attribution of quotes can destroy a reader’s confidence in an author as well.
Unbelievable generalities and stereotypes
Do all southerners say “all y’all”? What might make that expectation suspect? Would a reader question the believability of something as simple as a common expression?
What if the character is a recent transplant from Minneapolis? Or born in Atlanta but has lived in Oregon since the age of four? If the character is hired as a national TV news anchor, natural dialect could have been intentionally edited to reach a broader audience, just as an actor’s natural British accent might be coached-out for a specific role.
We do a disservice to every occupation, every human, and to our stories if we lean on generalities and stereotypes. And we risk the validity and impact of our stories.
The author’s breadth and depth
We don’t know what we don’t know. All of us make assumptions based on our realm of experience, our traditions, regionality, and education. It’s one of the reasons writers are encouraged to read broadly and to leave their desks, if possible.
We can minimize unbelievable details in our writing if we listen deeply, read outside and within our genre, meet people, travel, experience other cultures and customs. It doesn’t disqualify us as writers if we can’t travel, for instance, but in this age of information and technology, we do have the means of free and accessible virtual travel.
Plot points, smells and tastes, where the shadows fall in winter, if the quote is original or misquoted for centuries–all affect the believability factor in our books.
And so does the writer’s character. Can the reader trust we’ve done due diligence? That we’ve sought to guide, not mislead? That we’ve cut no corners in research?
How does a writer know if what they’ve written is believable? Read it as if you hadn’t authored it. What would you question?
A Dozen Best Things About Being a Writer in 2023
You would not believe my tale,
and neither, friend, do I.
Cancer was s’posed to long prevail,
and I was meant to die.
That is what my doctor said,
he made it crystal clear,
but that good man is long since dead,
and I am still right here,
dragging through the endless days,
writing of my faith and hope,
writing poems of love and praise,.
writing that I may yet cope
with that which is killing me,
the cusp of my Eternity.
So true! Thanks, Cynthia
You’re so welcome. We all need the reminder.
Great advice. You’re right about people not finishing the book. I’ve actually been driven to look up information when I find something that doesn’t sound right. Thanks for sharing words of wisdom!
And if the reader has to STOP to look something up, it interrupts the flow, doesn’t it?
I watched a very interesting documentary about the timeline of Exodus with the filmmaker interviewing Egyptologists, scholars and theologians.
I incorporated the larger idea as part of my character’s (an archaeologist) belief – but I had an editor flag it for credibility w/ lots of questions. I wanted it in because findings can have a ripple effect in culture but I’m still struggling w/ how to incorporate for believability – maybe a disclaimer … something along the lines of the character saying, “this is not a standard view today but I WONDER if …” (?)
I think your disclaimer could work!
Good article! This reminded me of a book I picked up recently in which the heroine has a corgi she carries around like a lap dog. If the author had done her research, she would have known that a corgi’s long (and bulky) body makes them difficult to carry. Plus, all good corgi owners know that you have to be very careful picking them up because of back issues that are inherent in the breed. I put the book down after one chapter, never to return. 🤨 My corgi thanked me.
And so do other readers! 🙂
Plus, they are so heavy!!!
Wonderful advice, Cynthia, and don’t get me started! LOL! I wrote my first historical novel this year, and since I’m a stickler for detail as a READER, I was also a stickler as a WRITER, and then as a content editor. Reading a book that is unbelievable is as frustrating as reading a story with bad grammar, IMO. Every content editor in the world should require their authors to read this post! 🙂
Thanks, Regina! The trickiest part is when we don’t even think to question something. Maybe we should just take the approach that we question EVERYTHING! 🙂
So much wisdom here, dear Cynthia. Thank you!
On the weekend I witnessed a family member put a novel on their not-to-be-read pile. The author wrote something that took the reader out of the story.
Critiques are critical for writers. Someone once flagged a word I used because she said it wasn’t my voice. It was a compliment as well as helpful that she pointed it out. Though it was subtle, readers pick up on things even if they’re not able to name what was wrong.
Blessings ~ Wendy Mac
Wendy, it might interest you to know that I actually edited the blog post to reword something that I realized could have come across offensively. 🙂 Writing is a moving object. 🙂
Our experience and circumstances inform our pet peeves for sure! Everyone is an expert on something, sometimes just because of where they grew up. I’ve lived off-grid for the past 37 years, before the term off-grid was coined.
When a cougar in a romcom I was enjoying killed a young calf, I was nodding along. Yep, that would totally happen. However, when that same smart predator left his fresh kill to accost the beautiful cowgirl, leaping through the air to “hunt her for food” I burst out laughing. No big cat is going to leave a kill they worked hard for to accost someone. Hunting is dangerous. They risk themselves every time. Their earlier risk gave them a young calf and they will protect that kill as a first priority.
The cat might drag his kill up a tree, give the cowgirl a bit of a chase, swipe and hiss. There are so many realistic possibilities. The cowgirl might get some nasty scratches if she doesn’t leave fast enough but the goal would be to make her leave, not go through the trouble of a second hunt. I’m not saying a cougar won’t kill you. Doesn’t happen often, but it does. They just won’t be stupid about it. Cougar don’t go into a rage like a bison. They are cautious, beautiful, and dangerous. And yes, I use the singular as plural for both cougar and bear … just like deer. It is a mountain person thing, ha!
Anyway, you have just learned WAY more than you wanted to about cougar attacks.
All of this to say, if an author has their hapless heroine hunted by a cougar she better be walking alone (preferably at night) somewhere that’s had a drastic dip in the deer population or where a young and foolish cougar is looking for his or her own territory because their natural habitat is being encroached upon! Or … she picks up these giant kittens in the forest, ha! That heroine is in for some excitement!
LOVE this example! Who would have thought…? Someone who knows!
I try to do all this, including traveling, studying etc. But, I also find myself reading a lot of books & authors I enjoy in order to gain an understanding of how they go about developing their work. It may be why there are so many styles of the Bible published too.
Abrupt character changes without proper motivation or backstory can break a reader’s immersion. A believable transformation needs to be grounded in the character’s journey.