> <cite>u/KillerWhale in <a href="https://discord.com/channels/686053708261228577/805952223124520961/810888042583687209">Discord</a></cite> What happens is that I just go back and change details over and over again, though each retelling is more realistic than the previous. @Eleanor Konik If that's unsatisfying as an answer, my advice is to go pick up 5 books you like that you could use as a comp title and figure out what they have in common. Use that as a loose set of directions. See what you get. [9:55 AM] Hound of Genghis: Thanks for the advice [9:56 AM] Eleanor Konik: Is realism always a good goal? A transcript of a real life conversation would make for terrible dialog in a novel. :p 1 [9:56 AM] Eleanor Konik: Just a philosophical question about the nature of writing @Eleanor Konik I love writing tho, and I really, really value my writing group, and it's been amazing to see people get pub deals and see their books in the library and stuff. It's one of the reasons I'm so happy to have fallen into writing at worldbuilding Magazine (planning to share your youtube interview there in a post about Obsidian, btw) -- I love the community aspect of helping people. [9:57 AM] KillerWhale: Oh, thank you very much for the share @Eleanor Konik Is realism always a good goal? A transcript of a real life conversation would make for terrible dialog in a novel. :p [9:57 AM] Hound of Genghis: I model my writing in the history and tactics of the Mongol empire, so I have to be realistic about the technical jargon which is very important for me 1 @Eleanor Konik Is realism always a good goal? A transcript of a real life conversation would make for terrible dialog in a novel. :p [9:58 AM] Hound of Genghis: This is deep. If I ever write something else, I'll surely keep this in mind [9:58 AM] Eleanor Konik: (I just see a lot of new writers come thru workshop fretting over whether their character is "realistic" when 80% of the time a "larger than life" or at least slightly exaggerated character is more satisfying) 1 @Eleanor Konik (I just see a lot of new writers come thru workshop fretting over whether their character is "realistic" when 80% of the time a "larger than life" or at least slightly exaggerated character is more satisfying) [9:59 AM] Hound of Genghis: I guess I'm a part of it too. [9:59 AM] KillerWhale: Fiction is not about reality but truth. And the truth is not in the words, it's between the words, it's what you convey to your reader, what they imagine and make of it, what picture and feelings they paint in their mind. A writer is only a carrier wave. 1 1 [10:00 AM] Eleanor Konik: There's a balance to be had and some people overcorrect, and it's very audience dependent. Historical fiction needs to be more accurate than historical fantasy but space opera epics don't NEED their science to be "realistic" (although some people prefer it) [10:00 AM] Cheecken: I guess it comes down to the difference between realism and believability(edited) 2 [10:00 AM] Cheecken: I value much more that decisions characters take make sense over intricate realism [10:01 AM] Hound of Genghis: I'm so glad that I'm talking to experienced authors. I am in awe. [10:01 AM] Cheecken: Star Wars for the most part doesnt make sense. Lightsabers are unrealistic for instance, but how they are portrayed is believable. I am sold 2 @Cheecken I guess it comes down to the difference between realism and believability(edited) [10:01 AM] KillerWhale: Which brings to the central question of promise and payoff What kind of world and story do you promise? Deliver on this (but just enough to keep room for surprises and twists). [10:01 AM] Eleanor Konik: The perennial complaint of authorsi know lately has been "if I put this (real life thing) in a book, my editor would send it back covered in red"