It's a part of every story that you've read. A part of every movie you've ever seen. Hell...it might even be a part of the people that you come into contact with each and every single day when you go to school or to work. There's no way around it...at least to some degree.

Hehehe, can you imagine what ind of existential crisis you'd be throwing yourself into if you couldn't get yourself to believe that any of this is real? How would you function in any effective way at all?

This is all about the suspension of disbelief. It's a part of being invested in the supposed reality of the story you're reading or writing to the point where you can be immersed in the 'fictional' aspect of it all and actually enjoy yourself without being plagued with doubt and questions and random theories and a ton of other issues that ou probably don't want to wreck your brain trying to work out when you just want to write a damn story and, hopefully, have it be enjoyed by a willing audience. Hehehe! Sometimes it works...sometimes it doesn't. But with a few tips and, as always, some practice...you can make it happen. So let's discuss it, and hopefully we can figure this weirdness out together.

If there's one thing that is super easy to notice about the internet when it comes to...well, pretty much anything to be honest...is that ANY story can fall apart if your readers really take some time to sit back and poke holes in it. If, as writers, we were in a boat...and an audience was sitting there drilling one hole after another into the bottom of it, how long could it possibly stay afloat before sinking all the way to the bottom of the lake? The art of the suspension of disbelief is writing a story that is compelling enough to, ummm...not have them sit there and do that. LOL! Thanks, 'detective'...now neither one of us is having any fun. But, when I say that, I'm not giving you license to skip over anything important or ignore plot holes in your writing. Not at all. Just do what you can to hold their focus on the current tasks at hand...and let that guide them towards the next task before they start trying to unravel the whole thing. It'll probably happen anyway at some point...but at least they'll be far enough into the story to be having too much fun to really concentrate on going back to see what they can find wrong or missing.

There are three things that I try to keep in mind when it comes to trying to achieve this wondrous feat of magic. And I'll be sharing them with you in this article, but first? Let's recognize suspension of disbelief for what it really is, and how we can get around it for enjoyment's sake...pushing all of those pesky questions to the back of our minds long enough to have a good time.

Me, being the big movie buff that I am, I almost always have a blast, no matter what I'm watching. As long as it's entertaining. I can disassemble it later if I feel the need, but I actually like being lost in the moment while I'm watching. So none of that stuff really bugs me. Now...of course, in the back of my mind, I realize that having an entire Justice League all together in the same place at the same time would pretty much make the whole concept of 'crime' irrelevant. I know that in "Total Recall", when Arnold Schwarzenegger has to leave Earth and go to Mars...there's not going to be a caption that says, '8 Months Later' when he shows up there! Hehehe, it's not like he's taking a plane to Detroit! He's going to friggin' MARS! That is NOT a casual voyage! But...whatever. It's the future, maybe they've mastered a quicker way to get there or something, who knows? But again, that stuff doesn't bother me. I'm in the moment. I think "Aliens" is one of the greatest sci fi/action movies EVER...but I also know that if you open that airlock...alien or not...ummm, that's the infinitely cold vacuum of space out there! So, ummm...no! Hehehe, but I LOVE it though!

There are no real dinosaurs at Jurassic Park. There is no way for our world to fight off a gigantic swarm of interplanetary hordes that have already mastered the ability to travel through time and space. And I don't care HOW much of a badass action hero you are...if you cracked on the back of the head with a lead pipe during a fight...you don't just wake up with a momentary headache an hour later and walk it off. But, we accept some of these things for the sake of staying locked in to the story. And why do we do that? Because it's too much fun to let go just yet. Simply put. The idea is to create a touch of escapism, where the dream is more alluring than the reality your taking your audience away from.

We believe our dreams while we're having them, don't we? Even our nightmares. And then we might wake up later and think the whole thing was ridiculous and realize that it didn't make much sense for me to be skydiving with a golden goat into a field of pink turkeys and a shape-shifting lizard man who just happens to be playing 'Uptown Funk' on the kazoo...but it made perfect sense while we were locked in, didn't it?

Or...should I save a dream like that for my therapist someday? Whatever...moving on...

Three methods of trying to make pulling this trick off and having readers care more about the story itself than they're attempts to analyze and rip it apart ahead before they get a chance to have some fun with it...a little bit easier. These aren't foolproof, not by any means...but they might be able to help.

#1- Setup Consistency

I'm listing this first, as I think it's one of the most important parts of this process. When you're building your fictional world and the characters that inhabit it...consistency is crucial when it comes to luring your readers into your story. This isn't just when it comes to the science fiction or horror or fantasy genres. If you're telling a story about a bunch of college kids on campus...the same rules apply. If you've got two guys flirting with one another in the office at work, or a couple of teenagers in the suburbs, or some runaways who are all living under a bridge somewhere beneath the freeway...you need to set up the rules...and STICK to them! At least for the beginning of the story. If you decide to break those rules later for the sake of character or story development? Then so be it. But you need to build a solid foundation and stay there. Give your audience something concrete and consistent to anchor them to the reality that you're building for them. Have a definitive game plan. If your world, your surroundings, or your character's personality traits, begin to feel unstable or erratic...it will take your readers out of the moment. The illusion is broken, and now it's like you have to start all over again from scratch, trying to get your audience anchored into a whole other level of this reality that you created for them. The immersion takes a hit. Once that happens...some readers will shrug their shoulders and keep reading regardless. But others won't.

Always remember...you're competing with every single author on the INTERNET when you're writing! There are way too many options out there for you to stumble over this whole suspension of disbelief thing. Figure out your vision...set the stage...and hold it as steady as you can, all while keeping your reader's interest on you. You want them to stick around for your big finish, right? Good! Be tenacious about holding their attention, and getting them invested in what you're doing. It's a big part of building a loyal fanbase over time.

I've been writing a story called SKYLIGHT which has a sudden astronomical disaster that takes place when a huge chunk of passing meteorite passes by the Earth breaks off and showers down fire and fury down on an entire suburban and an ensemble cast of teens find themselves trapped inside of a high school, leaving the survivors to deal with the tragedy of the aftermath all on their own. And I always look for ways to do something different from the stuff I've seen or read before...so I definitely took a LOT of 'creative liberties' with the subject matter. Reading does take a great deal of suspension of disbelief, but it's not like we haven't done it a million times in the past. So I used the technique of writing it in the 3rd person and switching/transitioning from one character story to another to see how everything might eventually fit together. (Hehehe, giving away one of my magic tricks here! Grrrr! I should shut up!) Anyway, the idea is to keep the focus on the characters' individual stories. I built up my foundation in the first few chapters, letting my audience know, 'Hey...this is how things work in my story. So keep that in mind, and I'll just keep that going strong for now.'

Reality is mine now. Hehehe! So settle in, and follow me so I can entertain you.

Now, this is a movie that I thoroughly enjoyed for its drama and massive destruction. Disaster movies have a special place in my heart. But, in the back of my mind, I know that things wouldn't quite work out like this in a real life situation. I don't want to trigger any anxiety attacks or anything for you guys...but if this scenario were to really take place? It's probably a wrap on humanity as a whole. Hehehe, you won't be looking up at the sky to see a giant meteor and a trail of smoke heading towards the middle of the ocean while you wait to be obliterated from the impact. It will be traveling at tens of thousands of miles an hour, and the light from it entering the atmosphere will probably blind you so fast that you won't see anything when the intense heat of it vaporizes you and burns you to ash. BUT...it's an awesome idea and a sweet visual for the movie...so I pushed all that aside and just enjoyed it for what it was. And it worked. I'd LOVE to see something like, firsthand, to be honest. I just find it fascinating. Hehehe!

The point is...this movie set up the rules, they stuck by them, told you what the potential damage could be...and I was thoroughly entertained! That's the goal, isn't it? If you can complete step one? Then you're more than halfway there!

#2- Theme Stability

Theme stability is like a literary 'piggy back' to step number one. You have to ask yourself exactly how far you're willing to go with your suspension of disbelief...and figure out how much your audience is going to be willing to accept. It's always important to know your audience on some level. Who are you writing this for? I can break this down into the 'Star Wars'/'Star Trek' category...

If the vibe of your story is going to be about space wizards with laser swords and using the force and alien planets teeming with life? Cool! Write that story! But the 'Star Trek' audience isn't going to appreciate that in the same way. Now, if you want to write a more scientific story with a deeper anchor in a possible future reality where things have to work within certain boundaries and take a more realistic approach? ALSO cool! Write that story too! But the 'Star Wars' crowd isn't going to always get the same enjoyment out of it. Either way...you'll be pulling your readers out of the moment, and now they're forced to question whether they want to keep reading or not. The rules that you set in place, and are willing to bend or break for the sake of your project...depends heavily on how much you can get away with in terms of suspension of disbelief.

The more grounded and realistic your story is meant to be...the more you have to make sure that you're keeping your ideas based in a realistic and grounded setting. The more carefree you are with your ideas and situations...the harder you're going to have to work to set those rules and limitations for your world in order and cling to them so you don't just have a bunch of random 'stuff' happening out of nowhere. Learn to find your balance, and choose the theme or tone for your story that will best fit what you have planned out from beginning to end.

This is a trailer for the movie, "This Is The End". This is a comedy (Hilarious, in my opinion), where all of the actors and comedians play themselves, basically...and there's a party at James Franco's house. Then...BOOM! What do you know? It's the apocalypse! LOL! The reason I put this here is because this is meant to be a silly comedic romp with a heavy disaster movie/sci fi/horror tilt to it. BUT...because of the theme and the vibe of it...suspension of disbelief is EASY here! Readers aren't expecting to analyze and check the 'science' behind what's going on here. No matter what kind of craziness happens in this movie...you can shrug your shoulders and say, 'Yeah. Why not at this point?' You don't upset or distort reader expectations, and they can remain completely invested in all of the other batshit crazy details of the movie! Hehehe! If you haven't seen it before, give it a watch some time. You won't find many better examples of suspension of disbelief than this one.

#3- Plot Momentum

The third, and final step? Plot momentum. Again...the last thing that you want to do is take your readers out of the story by allowing them to think too much about what's going on. Now, the easy way out would be to simply not give any details about the more difficult aspects of your game plan at all...but let's not cop out on that. Hehehe, at least not entirely.

Plot momentum is simply the skill of using the information given to explain what's going on (both to the main character and the reader, simultaneously), but connecting it to your main plot in such a way that it draws people back to the main point of the story and how it compares and fits into everything that's happening or anything that could happen further along in the story. What you're doing is basically giving them an overview of the details and the schematics of how everything works (Based on the rules that you set up in the beginning, right? Good! You're getting it now!), instead of allowing them time to fuss over the logistics of it all. Follow the story for now, have fun...ask questions later. At least, that's how I always treat it when I'm writing. It's not being lazy, it's simply realizing that there are certain aspects of any story that are going to have loopholes and errors somewhere along the way. The key is to get your readers to anxiously turn the page and get back to the story before that inevitable analysis begins.

Hehehe being a writer also means being part trickster' sometimes.

The best example that I can give you guys about this is the theory of time travel. Almost every movie that deals with it, tries to do it a bit differently...but there are still loopholes, regardless. Although, I did see ONE time travel movie that really went out of its way to be as logical and scientific about how such a thing would work, and I barely remember it, but I remember being impressed by how much thought went into their theories about every aspect of time travel. (It was called "Primer", if you're interested.) For instance, I never thought about this before...but the Earth moves! We're rotating really fast in space when you think about it. So...if you jump back in time ten minutes...the planet isn't going to be in the same position as when you left. You could end up inside of a wall, or in another neighborhood altogether. Weird, right?

Down below are time travel theories from the movies "Back To The Future", and "The Terminator"! Two of my all time favorites. But yes...there are plot holes in both theories when you stop to think and analyze them both. The thing is...neither movie gives you the chance to DO that. They expertly weave the explanation of time travel in with the current storyline, and create a specific momentum where you just accept whatever they tell you and immerse yourself in their world so you can chug chug chug along to the next chapter. I mean...Marty McFly changes the future and it seems like a happy ending, sure...but when you stop and think about it...his entire family has been erased and he's now living with strangers that he doesn't know at all. That would be a nightmare? And is Marty really Marty anymore? He was raised by an alternate set of parents in a completely different household. So...is he still himself? Or somebody different? And what happened to the other Marty that went back when he came back? Does he get stuck in 1955? Or "The Terminator"...does the war still happen? Because if it doesn't, then there's no warrior level John Connor, which means there's no rebellion, which means there's no Reese...so he can't be born. So he doesn't exist. No matter how you set these stories up, there will always be questions left over to twist your brain into knots at the end of it. BUT...none of us were thinking about that during the movie, were we? It's because the effective exposition about their particular views on time traveling were extremely entertaining, and they were threaded into the overall plot in a way where we just wanted to 'get the gist' of it all and get back to the story as quickly as possible.

This is an excellent smoke and mirrors technique that pushes doubt and questions aside for the thrill of instant gratification. Whether it's through a bit of comedic timing, or through a rushed action sequence. Watch the videos below to see how they kept you moving forward with the plot, whether the science and logic worked out or not. Two very different tones in these examples, but take notice of how they give a bit of info that 'sounds good enough to me', and then interrupt themselves to bring everything back to the main plot of the story to deflect your focus...

Now, using these methods, or at least thinking about them while you're writing...isn't going to save you from the 'why didn't he just do this instead?' crowd. That's impossible. But if you can hold a reader captive long enough to follow you on the journey that ou so elaborately set out for them through hours and hours of hard, emotionally draining, work...then you've truly earned your spot as one of the best of us. And that's something to be proud of.

Anyway, as always, I hope this all made some sense, and will help you guys out with your writing in the future! If you have any comments or questions, feel free to leave them down below! Take care, and I'll seezya soon!