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gmw · 03-06-2013, 11:04 PM

I was re-watching some of the newer Dr Who recently - a lot of laughs and a lot of fun ... but holes and inconsistencies? You bet. Same goes for lots of movies and TV series, the more modern the worse it gets (it seems to me). But that doesn't stop (at least some of) them from being enjoyable. Much the same applies to books, though I think readers have less tolerance for holes than viewers. Why?

When you read critical reviews of many books the plot-holes and inconsistencies often get listed near the top of any complaints. If you write fantasy and distant sci-fi you are bound to have some issues, it can't all be completely realistic or it wouldn't be fantasy and distanct sci-fi. But some stories get away with it and others don't. Why is that?

I could happily gloss over this with: Oh, if it's fast-paced enough then the readers won't even notice. And to a certain extent I think this is true. Give the person a fun ride and they won't care about the holes. But I also wonder if some sorts of holes are worse than others. Are there some inconsistencies that a reader is more willing to swallow than others?

How much can you get away with?

03-06-2013, 11:04 PM	#1
gmw cacoethes scribendi Posts: 5,809 Karma: 137770742 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Aura One & H2Ov2, Sony PRS-650	Getting away with it? I was re-watching some of the newer Dr Who recently - a lot of laughs and a lot of fun ... but holes and inconsistencies? You bet. Same goes for lots of movies and TV series, the more modern the worse it gets (it seems to me). But that doesn't stop (at least some of) them from being enjoyable. Much the same applies to books, though I think readers have less tolerance for holes than viewers. Why? When you read critical reviews of many books the plot-holes and inconsistencies often get listed near the top of any complaints. If you write fantasy and distant sci-fi you are bound to have some issues, it can't all be completely realistic or it wouldn't be fantasy and distanct sci-fi. But some stories get away with it and others don't. Why is that? I could happily gloss over this with: Oh, if it's fast-paced enough then the readers won't even notice. And to a certain extent I think this is true. Give the person a fun ride and they won't care about the holes. But I also wonder if some sorts of holes are worse than others. Are there some inconsistencies that a reader is more willing to swallow than others? How much can you get away with?