I have a couple. For one the idea of Teens Are Monsters and that a youth gang can have a city in terror. This actually happened where I live, a place that makes Raccoon City at it's most sleepy look like New York, at the height of the problems claims that it was safer in New York and Los Angeles. In terms of serious incidents it was worse than the Melbourne gangland wars, and we are seeing a repeat of this in regards to a number of tit for tat shootings and a disproportionately large amount of murders. I ramp up the tension in my story by including gun play, but there is a reason for that and at the moment I am working to limit the more fantastical elements of the story.
For another what a police officer might do in situation. Confusion over the use of CS spray for self defense for example. There really is legitimate confusion on this. Police advising to avoid an area rather than try and solve the problem, this actually happened.
Is it Willing Suspension of Disbelief? I think this is one of the problems that [1] ran into, the level of crime and the seriousness of the crimes especially when the series was rebooted and went into Darker and Edgier territory became unrealistic. At the time a friend on the force described it as as real as it gets we had police held hostage and bushfires, bank robbers, child rapists and killers, a cop suspected of murdering the pedophile and a police shooting. There's lots of small potatoes incidents as well that police would genuinely have happen to them, but it got worse from there. I think the idea is to have something that either did happen or legitimately could happen. Sometimes though the Willing Suspension of Disbelief is broken when it goes too far.
Currently reading up My Rule Fu Is Stronger than YoursYeah. Anything with Absurdly Sharp Blade tends to cross that line. Also, later on, the action tends to get over the top.
edited 1st Sep '13 8:42:20 PM by KW
I tend to avoid things that require a massive suspension of disbelief.
There may be dragons, and they may breath fire, but those dragons and that fire act exactly as they would in reality.
I find it more fun to merely change minor things, and see how things play out.
I write stuff sometimes. I also sometimes make youtube videos: http://www.youtube.com/user/majormarksI mostly go with really generic ones that I like sheerly for the sake of making fantasy not too ugly to look at. Like you know, everyone having perfect teeth despite there being no education on dental hygiene and stuff, and vicious fights that should result in a few misshapen noses or jaws and the like.
Read my stories!
You have any?
After a lot of brainstorming, planning and possibly having mastered an entire genre, I noticed that I may be having a pattern that many obstacles, mostly fights, will be designed specifically(while fitting the plot structure of the arc) to maximize the level and variety of strategy that can be applied.
Realistically(fantastically realistically?), if you were to go on mystery adventures in a fantasy world, you'll probably come across genius level puzzles now and again. But what my gang comes across in what should be four or five years at most, should happen over fifty or so years with proper frequency(at least more believably but I'm not sure :/).
edited 1st Sep '13 10:08:18 AM by PsychoFreaX
Help?.. please...