Believing the Unreal

I first learned about the difference between "believable" and "realistic", two words which sound similar but have entirely different meanings, in my high school English class. The topic came up during a very open-ended assignment in which we were asked to write a short story about anything we wanted. We were introduced to this concept as one of the keys components of a good story, and ever since, the idea has intrigued me.

The meaning of "realistic" is pretty straightforward: Something that is realistic could actually happen in real life. However, the concept of "believable" is a bit more complex. It has little to do with how close to reality something is, but rather, refers to the audience's perception of reality as they read, watch, or listen to the story. Something that is realistic is obviously believable, but something not quite so realistic can be portrayed in a way that makes it believable.

Now that I think of it, the most memorable books I've read or movies I've seen have this "believable" quality. Even though most of these stories include aspects that are beyond the scope of reality, they are told in a way that makes you believe, for a moment, that what is happening is real. They draw you into the fictitious world that the author or director has created, and until you pull yourself out of that world by closing the book or turning off the screen, you don't question whether the story could actually happen in real life.

So what exactly makes a story "believable"? Here are a few characteristics I've noticed based on the ones that have really stood out to me.

- The author describes the scene and characters so vividly that you can visualize every detail. Also, the descriptions invoke all your senses so that you feel as if you were right there.

-The story reflects some aspect of real life or some real-life thought or concept. It doesn't matter how far away from reality the plot and characters are, but in the end, the story must offer something that the audience can relate to.

- The story must be coherent and flow logically. The key here is that the "logic" doesn't necessarily have to follow real life; it just has to follow the rules of reality established in the story itself.