The Realm of Possibility

I'm a big reader of ebooks. I have been since about 2005 when I started reading them on my computer before I graduated to the Ebookwise ereader. Now I use my iPod Touch.

During the last 5 years, I've gathered a list of favored epublishers. I know when they have their new releases and I check them out religiously. I've found a lot of great authors I probably wouldn't have had I stuck to just print books. Ebooks satisfy that instant gratification desire, especially now that I'm living in Germany. The PX and the library here is limited in choices and I don't speak/read German well enough to buy a book written in German. Ordering from the States is a minimum of a week. Have I mentioned that patience is not one of my virtues?

So I was checking out one of the epubs that I buy from on a regular basis. One of their new releases this week caught my eye. It was a new author. The blurb sounded interesting. So I clicked on the excerpt. I liked the writing, I was drawn into the story and the characters. I was interested to see what happened next. Then in the last bit of the excerpt, the heroine did something so outside the realm of possibility (for me, at least), that I was done. There would be no purchasing of said book.

This got me to thinking again (I know, it's dangerous) about what an author can get away with and still make it believable.

Back in February, I contemplated adding a scene to Blood Diamond and wondering if it was too graphic to include. Everyone encouraged me to include it, so I did. It ended up not being as graphic as I first thought it might, but it brought my story more depth and showed character motivation. Now I am asking again, how much is too much?

An excerpt is a small snip of the story, enough to whet your appetite but not enough to tell the whole story. Granted, this story was marked as to be an erotic romance and I know there is a bit more leeway in that sub-genre in regards to sex. I don't think I'm a prude. Heck, my first release was an erotic romance. But for me to enjoy it, it has to be at least semi-believable.

The heroine in this story (in this excerpt) did something that I, personally, would never, ever do and while I can't say that no one else would ever do it, I doubt there are many who would. It jerked me out of the story. I lost faith in this author and I'm so glad that incident was in the excerpt, because I would have been very disappointed to have bought the book and then read it. And I would have bought it, but for that incident.

I read to escape into another world. When I'm immersed in a good book, I'm invested in what happens to those characters. I feel what they feel and experience what they experience. Which is why, when I read a book, the characters actions should be in the realm of possibility. I'm not saying they have to make the same choices that would, but if they do something that I don't think anyone, whether I could prove it or not, would do, then they haven't sold it to me.

I'm also surprised the editor let it pass. Perhaps in the context of the rest of the story, it works. I don't know. I do know that I don't care to find out.

As an aside, I should mention that this was not urban fantasy/paranormal/fantasy/futuristic where boundaries of believable tend to be pushed. It was a contemporary.

What about you? If a character did something in a book that you thought no one in their right mind would ever do, could you keep reading to see if the author could sell it further in the story? Have you ever included a scene, or thought about including a scene, in your own writing and wondered how it would be received by readers?

Characterization and Patrick Jane

We moved to Germany in January of 2009, which coincided with the middle of the television season. Because we didn't immediately get AFN (Armed Forces Network) and we weren't fluent in German, we missed the second half of our favorite TV shows. No big deal, but we're now in the process of catching up.

This month has been The Mentalist. When this show originally came out, I wasn't sure I would like it. It appeared to be similar to another show already on USA Network called Psych. Now I'm a huge fan of Psych and from the previews, I thought this was an attempt to cash in on the success of Shawn Spencer. But I watched the first episode because I did like Psych and found that this was not a cheap imitation.

While there are some similar elements, these two shows are not the same. Last night, I watched the season one finale of The Mentalist. Wow, good stuff.

The writers and Simon Baker, who plays Patrick Jane, have done a wonderful job of building a character that people can relate to. He was an arrogant fraud and as a result, a serial killer targeted him and killed his wife and daughter. So, he's known personal tragedy and feels guilt and need for revenge, but his pain has caused him to seek redemption. But all this information is parsed out to us slowly (like in any good story) and the back drop for his character arc is playing detective for the CBI (California Bureau of Investigation).

We see this man go through investigations, asking inappropriate questions and noticing details that only Sherlock Holmes would catch while using hypnotism and slight of hand for misdirection. He acts joyful and full of life, yet we know there is a darkness inside him. We get a glimpse every so often. It makes us want more.

Watching his journey, I don't know if it's more evident to me because I'm learning how to build strong, believable characters in my writing or if it's because I'm watching the episodes back to back. Perhaps a little of both.

Do you watch this show? What do you think of the characterization? Who's your favorite TV character and why? Do you notice such things as you're watching TV or movies?