Nope, Not Buying It: How Do We Maintain Believability in Our Writing?

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

While you might think believability is something only science fiction and fantasy writers have to deal with, all stories in all genres get bonked on the head when they lack credibility. We get readers who don’t believe a character would act a certain way, who don’t believe the situation would ever happen, who don’t believe how something is handled. Once we blow our credibility with a reader, it’s really hard to earn back their trust. Especially if the credibility is blown over something plot related.

A lot of it depends on how we craft our situations. Human nature says people typically try the path of least resistance to solve a problem. If a button pops off our shirt while we’re getting dressed, it’s easier to grab a new shirt than to sew it back on. And sewing it back on is easier than taking it down to the tailor’s to have it professionally mended. If we have our protagonist lose a button, then hop in the car and go to the tailor to have it fixed, and while they’re there something happens that affects the plot, readers will cry foul. They probably won’t even believe the going to get it fixed right away part, let alone the contrivance of having the protagonist so conveniently in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Let characters behave like real people. 

Sure, people can do all kinds of unbelievable things, but their reasons need to be solid and something readers can see doing if they were in that character’s shoes. They might decide to do something else, but they can see why someone would do as the character does.

What’s the most obvious thing to do? The easiest thing to do?  

Yes, I know this will in all likelihood trash the plot, but if something is obvious and simple and the protagonist doesn’t do it, that’s a credibility issue in the making. But all is not lost. Tweak it so that obvious thing can’t work--it’s not available, it will cause something else, the protagonist has strong reasons not to do it, whatever works for the scene. Keep asking, if this doesn’t work, what then? and work though the obvious answers, taking those options out so the thing to do is what you need the protagonist to do.

What are the character's motivations for it?

One movie cliché I can’t stand is the “cover your head in terror as something falls on you” shot. We’ve all seen it. Someone looks up, sees something crashing toward them, and they throw their hands over their head and scream. If they have enough time to do all that, they probably have enough time to dive out of the way. I know it’s just a way to show fear and make it more dramatic, but it bugs me every time. They have no reason to just stand there. I’d rather they stand there looking shocked than throw their hands up. Too shocked to move I can buy. Knowing it’s coming and not moving? Nope, not buying it. And here’s the kicker–for all I know, this is a perfectly legitimate response to this situation. I’ve never had anything large drop on me. But it feels wrong to me, so it never feels credible.

No matter what your characters have to do, make sure their reasons for it make sense to them. The reader can still think they’re idiots, but as long as they can see that, yeah, they’d do it that way too if they were in that character’s shoes, they’ll go with it.

Avoid the circle of (bad) plot. 

One plot device that often has credibility issues is a situation where someone acts against the protagonist to keep them from doing something, and that act is what makes the protagonist do the very thing they wanted to stop. Chosen One stories are frequent offenders here. The bad guys know a chosen one will mean their doom, so they send their minions out to kill that person. But the person had no idea about this bad guy until those minions show up. Had the bad guys just left him alone and had his minions keep an eye out in case he ever did come a calling, they’d have been home free.

(Here's more on why you should ask why)

Actions to prevent something that ultimately causes the effect to happen feel forced. Bad guys need solid motivations same as the good guys. Situations should feel as though they couldn’t have happened any other way and this was inevitable. The actions of both sides led to this.

Be wary of contradictions of character.  

Have you ever seen a character suddenly change their mind out of the blue? Or do something they’d never do in a million years? Credibility issues. People are who they are and they don’t change without good reasons (and often external forces). Problem is, most novels have a character arc that requires the protagonist to grow by the end of the book. So when we get there, bam! Our protagonist sees the light and changes their ways. But unless the groundwork had been laid to get there, it feels forced.

(Here's more on creating plots that don’t feel like accidents) 

Make sure you characters have reasons to change. They learned a lesson prior to that change that made them realize they had to do things differently. Most commonly, this is done by showing them make the wrong choice (or do the wrong thing) and having it blow up on them. They paid a price and want to avoid paying it again. They try something new, something that leads them toward who they need to be at the end, and they’re rewarded for it. Positive reinforcement.

Don't break your own rules.

One sure way to cause reader doubt is to break your own rules. If you’ve established that magic can’t work underwater, then have your hero use it underwater to solve a problem, readers will notice and be unhappy. It won’t matter if you explain why this time it worked after it’s all over, you’ve already lost the reader. The only way it will work, is if you’ve hinted at this and laid the groundwork for it all along. Rules of a world (fantasy or real) ground the reader and let them know what can and cannot happen. They’ll suspend disbelief for the framework of that world. You’ve set the parameters and they agreed. Breaking that contract is cheating.

(Here's more on playing by the rules of magic)

Watch out for silent reasons.

If you get a credibility issue comment in a critique, don’t automatically assume what you’re doing isn’t plausible. It could just be that you didn’t lay enough groundwork so the reader didn’t pick up on the reasons and the motivations for it. The character did act exactly right, but the problem occurred five pages earlier when you didn’t make it clear enough why they’d have to do it. This is pretty common for “I don’t believe they’d act this way” comments. It’s not always the action that’s the issue, just them doing it as is that feels off.

(Here's more on filling plot holes)

The biggest thing you can do to make your characters and novels believable is to make sure everything has a reason behind it that makes sense even if the story wasn’t there. While some things are okay if they just happen (like a lot of genre setup), readers will only suspend disbelief for so long until they start doubting you. They’ll believe a magic wardrobe can take them to another world, but that world had better adhere to the rules established.

Avoid anything that happens “just because.” That’ll hurt you every time.

What credibility issues drive you crazy? What are some of your pet peeves?

If you're looking for more to improve your craft, check out one of my books on writing: 

In-depth studies in my Skill Builders series include Understanding Conflict (And What It Really Means), and Understanding Show Don't Tell (And Really Getting It). My Foundations of Fiction series includes Plotting Your Novel: Ideas and Structure, a self-guided workshop for plotting a novel, and the companion Plotting Your Novel Workbook, and my Revising Your Novel: First Draft to Finished Draft series, with step-by-step guides to revising a novel. 

Janice Hardy is the award-winning author of the teen fantasy trilogy The Healing Wars, including The Shifter, Blue Fire, and Darkfall from Balzer+Bray/Harper Collins. The Shifter, was chosen for the 2014 list of "Ten Books All Young Georgians Should Read" from the Georgia Center for the Book. It was also shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize (2011), and The Truman Award (2011). She also writes the Grace Harper urban fantasy series for adults under the name, J.T. Hardy.

She's the founder of Fiction University and has written multiple books on writing, including Understanding Show, Don't Tell (And Really Getting It), Plotting Your Novel: Ideas and Structure, and the Revising Your Novel: First Draft to Finished Draft series.

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