McAnally's (The Community Pub) > Author Craft

Unrealism In Books

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Velkyn_Faer:
There is a point to this, so bear with me.

Ever since I first started seeing things like this, I have hated them, and considered certain styles of writing to be totally unrealistic because of certain traits in most of the books.

1. Cat/fox/monkey/cow/anything else -demons. Uh-uh. I don't see why so many people were/are fascinated with a dude that has a tail growing out of his rear. While some people will certainly think differently, I don't see the huge deal about it. Why cross a human with a fox, what's the point?

2. Insanely big weapons. Why do people think swords that are taller than them are cool? And, how come almost all the people I talk to about this are willing to defend it vehemently, saying it's just really big, and we could use them in real life if we had them?

There are more, but I'm pressed for time, so I'll leave it at that for now.

My question to you is, do you use these items/characters in your stories? And, please try to persuade me with better reasons than 'it is cool'. I'd love to be persuaded, really. I just don't see the point behind it all.

(Yes, I do realize the whole 'magic' thing is also unrealistic to some people, but the two above styles just really get to me.)

Velkyn

Belial:
While I use neither as a general rule, I can defend one of them (that being the demons).

The point behind crossing a human with a fox is that it will be associated with a human, it can also be disturbing. If you have a cat demon, that's fine and dandy, but if you have a Humanish fox demon, first the reader has to deal with the fact that the thing is humanish, but that it is also an aberration. Think about this, the U.S. has laws against the making of Chimeras (crossing humans with other species and such), because with all the cloning technology, we're coming closer to being able to do it, and it scares the shit out of us. Would you want to consort with a fox-man? It pushes the reader off balance, and whether they conciously realize it or not, it's going to disturb them.

As for the big swords; that's just people compensating for things. In real life you'll never find a sword that weighs more than a few pounds (usually 3-5... I've heard of some massive ones being ten pounds, but that's enormous). Whoever tells you that we could use them, kick em in the crotch, cause we couldn't. We might be able to get in one swing, maybe two. The recovery time would be long, and we'd be cut up by people who weren't afraid they were too small down there.

Wolfeyes:
1) To be truthful, if it fits the story setting it might fit. However, if the author is just throwing in random cross breeds of animals and then deeming them "demons". Being truthful it reminds me of this picture I saw from the Naruto Fillers of a guy from episode one crossed with a tiger (thus "Tiger Mizuki") and not only does it looks ridiculous but it makes little sense. Now, for the "cross a human with a fox" if it makes sense like if like Belial suggested, and it was a chimera caused from something then I think it can be more acceptable. Now if it were like "Tiger Mizuki" I'd be shaking my head and thinking something around the lines of "What the hell?"

2) On the subject of "big swords" I think a lot of it comes from the simple fact "it looks cool!" and appears in things like anime/manga like Bleach. I mean, there is nothing wrong with big swords IF it's practical to a degree and makes sense. Example, a six foot-five guy like Harry+sword bigger than him=reeeeallly impractical in a fight. Depending on what you consider insanely big I may have used the second one. I actually have a guy (he's about 6-foot 2ish) in my story weilding a nodachi that's about five foot long (impracticle?)  but in my eyes it just fits the character. Because a) he's showy and flashy b) to begin with, he isn't the guy that relies completely on the sword. A lot of it is arguable for show. He mainly ends up using using his body to attack while people are worried about the sword and then uses the sword to finish things. and c) he's got the strength/skill to back up using it d) it's what he's trained himself to use since it was the only thing around when he started e) even though he's been told arguable that a naginata or a nagamaki is more efficiant since Draven's a stubborn guy (and an idiot) he refuses to be less than skilled with his chosen weapon.

Feel free to grill me if you don't like my reasons for using that sword for my character. I actually don't mind criticism but these are simply some of the things that I think contribute to why Draven uses his sword.

Belial:
The reasons seem to fit pretty well, and besides that it's an actual sword which people can use (although it's a bit big for my tastes, personally.)

I don't have problems with big swords, as long as they're reasonable. The thing about the Nodachi is that although it's long, it's also pretty slim, it's made for cutting not crushing. So it can be long, and still not weigh too much. A Nodachi is usually around 5 feet long I believe (correct me if I'm wrong). A western sword of comparable length is the Claymore, it probably weighs a good deal more though. It wouldn't matter if a claymore is sharp or not, it's going to hurt.

So, I guess I can stomach swords five feet long, maybe up to six (depending on who's using it). My problem comes when a sword would be fifteen to twenty pounds (or more) and be too massive to use properly. People seem to think that's cool, and I suppose if you don't know the mechanics it could be. But I've always preferred more accurate fighting.

WonderandAwe:
It really depends on the medium.  For example in anime and video games, I am pretty forgiving if it looks cool.  In those mediums, plot usually takes second place when compared to the look and feel.  For a live action movie or a novel, that sword should be reasonable length for the creature holding it. 

The Half issue.  I am sort of bias agaisnt such stories.  Hypocritical of me considering that most of my early fan fic work was Half-*blank*.  I think it is because there are so many of them and most of them go into either sugarly anime mode or cardboard cut out mode. 

There are good stories out there.  Barb and JC Hendee's Noble Dead series is damn good.  And that has a Half Vampire AND a Half-Elf for main characters.  I put off reading it because I though the concept was kind of hokey. 

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