Logical Story

by Vijay
(India)

Hi,


I'm a member of a critique group and actively working on my second novel. Some critters complain about the logic of the story. They say it's impossible for a character to behave that way though I feel that it is logical in some cases. For example, if husband dislikes his wife, and wife remain with him in the marriage, I say it is logical in some cases. Other may argue that the lady in question is mad to stay with such a husband.

My question is, should a story be very much adhering to the logic and reality, and should not drift from the principles? We see many movies which paint unrealistic picture but can we write a novel which can have some rare cases in our plot?

Thanks for your comments, I appreciate.

Vijay

Answer: Well, Vijay, there are certainly many instances in life where people remain in bad marriages, even it if is demonstrably a bad decision for everyone concerned.

Characters, like all human beings, can often do things that make no logical sense but may make emotional sense or make sense from a particular subjective perspective.

What you may need to do is create an opportunity for the reader to understand the wife's decision and the thoughts and emotions that keep her in this situation (and the husband's too). If the reader can see why the wife is emotionally compelled to stay with her husband, then the reader may be able to say, "I understand why she makes this choice, even though from an objective point of view, I can see it is a wrong or unfortunate or illogical choice."

One of the strengths of the novel form, as opposed to a film, is that a novel can delve more deeply into the character's inner world, into the various thoughts, feelings, memories, and perceptions of a character.

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