Reality vs. Fiction
Here's a question for everyone, and I'm posing it in the hopes that it provokes some discussion, so detailed answers/comments are most happily welcomed:
Just how much disbelief are you willing to suspend for the sake of fiction? If, for example, I were to create a world which contained a city that functioned in an unusual, symbiotic way with its inhabitants, would you be willing to accept that it's simply so, or would you demand detailed, logical explanations for how such things worked? Are logical explanations of irrational/fantastical phenomenon necessary to ensure the enjoyment of fiction? Are you distracted by something because it's 'too far-fetched,' or do you willingly accept such things for the sake of a fictional plot?
If this is confusing, think about something like Star Trek: the various Trek series generally bullshit an explanation for something that the human characters (and thus the human audience) find unusual. Do these sort of inventive/creative explanations help you accept the unusual? Are they necessary?
... And on an entirely unrelated note, I'm assuming everyone watched yesterday's Doctor Who episode. Thoughts? I'm generally dissatisfied with the storyline and am still in awe of how phenomenally wretched the pacing was in the episode, but I'm willing to entertain differing opinions. ;)
Just how much disbelief are you willing to suspend for the sake of fiction? If, for example, I were to create a world which contained a city that functioned in an unusual, symbiotic way with its inhabitants, would you be willing to accept that it's simply so, or would you demand detailed, logical explanations for how such things worked? Are logical explanations of irrational/fantastical phenomenon necessary to ensure the enjoyment of fiction? Are you distracted by something because it's 'too far-fetched,' or do you willingly accept such things for the sake of a fictional plot?
If this is confusing, think about something like Star Trek: the various Trek series generally bullshit an explanation for something that the human characters (and thus the human audience) find unusual. Do these sort of inventive/creative explanations help you accept the unusual? Are they necessary?
... And on an entirely unrelated note, I'm assuming everyone watched yesterday's Doctor Who episode. Thoughts? I'm generally dissatisfied with the storyline and am still in awe of how phenomenally wretched the pacing was in the episode, but I'm willing to entertain differing opinions. ;)