Quote:
Originally Posted by eschwartz
And it would all be so much simpler if more people had the capacity to simply imagine they live in a world where fill-in-blank-here.
Speaking as a lover of Sci-Fi/Fantasy, of course.
|
Agreed. I admit, I was stunned there was even a conversation about updating old books to reflect new technology. And I wouldn't advise any author to actually INSERT cell phones just to be modern. Even if they did--then they just have to have a paragraph about how the cell phone ran out of battery juice or got smashed. Doing all that to be "modern" seems like a wasted exercise if the plot ends up being: "No communication so the thief got away." It really doesn't matter if it's because the character forgot their cell phone versus they hadn't been invented yet.
But it is always interesting to see the varied opinions on such a topic. And I couldn't help wonder if the real problem with the story in question was that the reader was BORED with the story so put it aside with a flippant, "Well, if she had a cell phone there isn't even a story here." Because then the REAL problem is that the story wasn't engaging the reader.
But I'm analytical like that. Sometimes what a person perceives to be "wrong" with something is actually an indicator of something else entirely. For example, a person might be eating something and think a dish needs salt. But the reality is, that dish might be bland because the cook forgot the garlic. But if the eater isn't a cook and has never made the dish, their only experience might be: Add salt!